Urspruch piano music

[thalbergmad]

I say chaps, where is the best place to order this from for UK residents?

Amazon don't have this until 15th May and by what has been written here, I cannot wait that long.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

Amazon Germany have one copy in stock...

http://www.amazon.de/Gesamtwerk-Klavier-Vol-1-Ana-Marija-Markovina/dp/B004TNZVAS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303310895&sr=1-2

[Alan Howe]

It's still available from Amazon.de...

[Jonathan]

It's E15.99 at JPC at the moment...

[Alan Howe]

That's where I got mine from. I just wondered whether non-Germans might find Amazon easier to purchase from...

[thalbergmad]

Thanks chaps.

Thal

[Martin Eastick]

I ordered my copy from Amazon UK several days ago at £10.82 and although they claimed that it would not be released until 16th May, I received a notification TODAY  that  the item was now in the post!

[Jonathan]

Lucky you Martin - I ordered mine from Amazon and i've not heard anything yet! 
I'll keep my fingers crossed...

[Peter1953]

Not rarely I buy a CD just out of curiosity, or because I read a good review, but after listening I ask myself what the music really adds to what I've already have from similar composers. Like many of us, I think,  I have a lot of piano music from the (late) romantic era, so why should I buy the double disc with Urspruch? Because of what Alan has written in his replies #10, 11 & 13. This has triggered me, and I'm very grateful to Alan for his recommendation!
This IS definitely an addition to my collection. Urspruch has something to say in his piano pieces. Indeed, what a passion. There are emotional explosions followed by quiet passages, and the music leads the listener through all kinds of moods. It is not background music, on the contrary. Each piece deserves to be listened concentrated. And indeed, what a pianistic pyrotechnics in the last piece of his op. 2.

Disc 1 is 44:38 and disc 2 46:54, together just too much for one CD I suppose. Beautifully played by Ana-Marija Markovina. The booklet notes by Prof Dr Helmut Reuter gives some interesting information on Urspruch, but says nothing about the twelve piano pieces. BTW, there is an Anton Urspruch Gesellschaft e.V., see http://www.antonurspruch.de/Aug.htm for those who can read German.

Indeed, very warmly recommended. This double disc is Vol. 1. Due for release is Vol. 2 and that's good news.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, I have been meaning to add my two penn'orth to the commendations for these two CDs. All that Alan says about the music and Markovina's performance of it is justified. I'm not as enthusiastic as some here are about Urspruch's Symphony and Piano Concerto, but almost every piece here had me sitting on the edge of my seat trying to anticipate just what Urspruch was going to do next. Considering the man's background  - he was a pupil of Raff and was then pretty much buried as a piano teacher at Raff's Frankfurt conservatory until his death in his 40s - this music is really quite remarkable for its independence of mind and, above all, the depth of passion which invest almost every piece.  It's broadly in the Schumann tradition and very much of the end of the 19th century (or the beginning of the 20th in the more adventurous works), but actually Urspruch is imitating no one. As Alan says, it is certainly busy, but to a purpose. I can't think of a piano music recording which has impressed me as much since Dale's Piano Sonata.

[Peter1953]

Strangely enough the CD doesn't give the keys of the 12 recorded pieces. The website of the Anton Urspruch Gesellschaft provides us with that information in German, which is in English:
Op. 2 Nos 1 in D flat major, 2 in C sharp minor, 3 in A major, 4 in E major and 5 in G sharp major.
Op. 19 Nos 1 in E major, 2 in B major, 3 in E flat major, 4 in B flat major and 5 in G minor.
Op. 20, the Cavatine is in E major, the Arabeske in A major.

Urspruch also wrote four-handed piano music and piano music for two pianos.

I hope his PC op. 9 will be released in the near future.

[eschiss1]

also operas "das Unmöglichste von Allem" (published in 1897 by August Cranz, prelude available on YouTube, apparently scheduled to be revived this November?; and Der Sturm (poss. after Shakespeare?) published 1888.) and vocal and choral works (e.g. "Die Frühlingsfeier" for mixed chorus and orchestra, op26, "Ave Maris Stella" op24, lieder op.25, and of course the 6 works for male chorus that - not to deprecate them in themselves - one of which is unfortunately the only work I could find scanned-in online, now also at IMSLP. (The work uploaded is listed under 6 Mannerchöre because it's part of the group with that title, and does not get a page to itself- especially in case other works from the set of 6 are found and uploaded in the future) )

[JimL]

Strangely enough the CD doesn't give the keys of the 12 recorded pieces. The website of the Anton Urspruch Gesellschaft provides us with that information in German, which is in English:
Op. 2 Nos 1 in D flat major, 2 in C sharp minor, 3 in A major, 4 in E major and 5 in G sharp major.
Op. 19 Nos 1 in E major, 2 in B major, 3 in E flat major, 4 in B flat major and 5 in G minor.
Op. 20, the Cavatine is in E major, the Arabeske in A major.

G sharp MAJOR?  There isn't any such key.  There isn't even a signature for it (unless on wants to make one up with a double sharp, which wasn't a period practice during Urspruch's lifetime).  It's either in G sharp MINOR (relative of B Major) or in A flat Major (for which there IS a key signature).

[Peter1953]

Jim, I know you are an authority on keys. FYI, as a source I've taken the information, including translations, from a Belgian website: http://www.winob.be/media/data/bibtechnologie/16uniformetitel.pdf The translation of the keys is on page 49, which is the last page (Dutch, German, English, French, Italian). They could have made a mistake, but I cannot comment on that.

______

You're absolutely right, Jim. I've checked the Urspruch website again, and the key of Op. 2 No. 5 is gis Moll which is G sharp MINOR. My mistake, although the Belgian website mentions the existence of G sharp major.

[Jonathan]

I've been enjoying this disc recently too as well.  Ana-Marija Markovina really is an excellent pianist and seems very much at home in this music.  The whole of disc 1 is fantastic and it's been round in the car several times, so much so I've not even put disc 2 on yet!
Roll on volume 2!!