New Philip Scharwenka CD from Sterling

[Mark Thomas]

jpc have just begun advertising the new Sterling CD of orchestral muisc by Philip Scharwenka. The headline work is the Dramatische Phantasie which is effectively a three movement symphony. Lovely stuff.

[Alan Howe]

Dash! Just spotted this CD myself. I quite agree about the Dramatische Phantasie, so this is a must-buy for me!

[febnyc]

Philipp Scharwenka! - Looks like another gem from Sterling. (A second recording  of this composer's orchestral music.)

Funny though - the CD, as far as I am able to determine, is not listed on Sterling's own website.

[JimL]

When, oh when, I wonder will they get around to the symphonies and the violin concerto?  Rhetorical question.  Last, obviously.

[Alan Howe]

Dunno, Jim. But this one's well worth picking up for the Dramatische Phantasie - virtually a symphony anyway, and really powerful stuff.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Apart from the Symphonia Brevis, I did not know Philipp Scharwenka had written any actual symphonies - or, at least, works he called symphonies. Can you enlighten me, please, Jim?

[Peter1953]

Here is a list of opus numbers: http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Philipp_Scharwenka

I like to take this opportunity to ask your attention for his brother Xaver's beautiful symphony in c Minor, op. 60, also released by Sterling and performed by an orchestra conducted by our member Christopher Fifield! Anyone know this symphony?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Thanks very much, Peter. I've just done a bit of research myself and find that while the Wikipedia entry for Philipp mentions 3 symphonies, your list gives only two (Op. 96 in D minor and Op. 115 "Symphonia Brevis" in E flat major). Certainly those are the only 2 which seem to have been published (by Breitkopf und Hartel). Only one major library has Full Scores of these: the Library of Congress; and the Fleisher Collection does not possess any performing material for these works. The online catalogue of B. & H. lists no works of P. Scharwenka as available for purchase or hire - but this does not mean they do not have copies in their archive. (I have sent an email enquiry.)
Imcidentally, you can see images of the Full score of Scharwenka's Violin Concerto, Op. 95 here: http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/0001/bsb00010013/images/
I have also written to Evelinde Trinkner of the Scharwenka Gesellschaft to see if she knows whether orchestral parts for the symphonies and VC are available.

[Peter1953]

Thank you for your interesting information, Gareth. I can only hope for the release of Philipp's VC and that it will be astonishing as the 4th PC of his brother...

[JimL]

Apart from the Symphonia Brevis, I did not know Philipp Scharwenka had written any actual symphonies - or, at least, works he called symphonies. Can you enlighten me, please, Jim?

Thanks Peter.  I had heard mention of two symphonies (I guess including the Brevis) on a thread on the old Forum.  I knew I wasn't hallucinating!

[Alan Howe]

I can confirm that this is a must-have CD. The Dramatische Phantasie is a stunning work - very reminiscent of late Tchaikovsky, but powerful in its own right. A 38-minute 3-movement symphony in all but name...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Rather worryingly, Evelinde Trinkner said with absolute certainty that a set of parts for the Symphonia Brevis was held in the Fleisher Collection, but it is not listed in their online catalogue and Kile Smith, the curator, confirmed to me by email that they do not possess this work. No word from B. & H. yet.

[Gareth Vaughan]

There is still no mention of this release on Sterling's own website. I have reported to Bo before now the fact that news of Sterling releases on other websites frequently precedes the announcement on the label's own site. This is a very poor advertisement for Sterling as it makes the label look inefficient. If the fons et origo of the recording does not advertise its availability until months after it has actually been released one is forced to the conclusion that they are simply playing at having an internet presence. In the 21st century there is no excuse for it. Potential buyers go to a label's website looking for the most up-to-date news about that label's releases. If they don't find it what are they to conclude? I'm a great supporter of Bo Hyttner and everything he does, and I know he does not have the resources to employ a large number of staff, but bunging a picture and a paragraph of text onto a web-page is a matter of seconds. A label's homepage MUST be the first port of call for information about its products - in the internet age businesses ignore this at their peril.

[Mark Thomas]

I've been in frequent contact with Bo over the two Raff projects which we have on the go and he's very well aware that the web site is letting Sterling down. It has recently be redesigned to make updating easier but, just as that project came to fruition, he and the person with whom he was working on the project parted company. I believe it's his intention to get back up to speed in the next month or so.

That explanation aside, I can only agree with all you say, Gareth. The CD market is shrinking, although our little corner of it is holding up well, and an out of date website is commercial suicide.

[Alan Howe]

I have pondering the idiom of Philipp Scharwenka's magnificent Dramatische Fantasie Op.108 (essentially a three-movement symphony) - and this after listening this afternoon to Puccini's Madame Butterfly. What strikes me much more than it did when I first heard the piece is the influence of Wagner upon both composers - much more so than Tchaikovsky whom I named on first hearing. In fact, much of the Scharwenka seems positively operatic in style - which is interesting because his late chamber music positively reeks of Brahms. Curious...