Personal Revelations of 2011

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Well, Fodor 4 and Beethoven 1 probably come from the same year - 1801.

Let me double-check the album when I get home... I think it's a little earlier, if I remember correctly.  (My brain tells me that I looked up the date of the Beethoven at the time...but then, my brain tends to be a dirty, lying little scoundrel, so take that for what you will.  )

Incidentally, I forgot one:

Siegmund von Hausegger: the Natursymphonie, which I just received for Christmas.  Wonderfully lush, and great fun to listen to.

[JimL]

Well, it took me some Ferdinand Hiller to start paying more attention to chamber music.  That and Carl Petersson's engagement to a cellist.  I downloaded a bunch of cello sonatas in order to make some recommendations to him and his fiancée.  Love the Raff and Urspruch, but the Rozycki and Melikian have much to offer as well.

[Dundonnell]

I shall simply repeat myself(not for the first time, I fear ).....

....finding this Forum

[jerfilm]

Well there were a ton of good things and asking is like asking who your favorite composer is.  But I think the Georg Schumann Piano Trios were my favorites.

Jerry

[Christo]

Caveat: I've only heard the one piece, the Symphony No. 4, on the second album of the "400 Years of Dutch Music" series.  But it struck me as having more body than Haydn - more oomph, if you will.  More weight.  It reminded me very much of the Beethoven First.  I'd like to get to know him better...perhaps then my opinion would be revised downward. 

There is, actually, a cd with his second symphony (Op. 13, the one mentioned above is considered to be his `Third', Op. 19, if I'm correct), but the cd isn't widely available:
http://www.amazon.com/Carolus-Fodor-Johan-Meder-Symphonies/dp/B00004LMY7.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carel_Anton_Fodor and http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Carel_Anton_Fodor

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Caveat: I've only heard the one piece, the Symphony No. 4, on the second album of the "400 Years of Dutch Music" series.  But it struck me as having more body than Haydn - more oomph, if you will.  More weight.  It reminded me very much of the Beethoven First.  I'd like to get to know him better...perhaps then my opinion would be revised downward. 

There is, actually, a cd with his second symphony (Op. 13, the one mentioned above is considered to be his `Third', Op. 19, if I'm correct), but the cd isn't widely available:
http://www.amazon.com/Carolus-Fodor-Johan-Meder-Symphonies/dp/B00004LMY7.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carel_Anton_Fodor and http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Carel_Anton_Fodor

Alas, $2,300 is a little out of my price range at the moment.

(Now if it were Lilburn... :-) )

[alberto]

For me the revelation of 2011 have been G.F. Malipiero "Impressioni dal Vero", three sets.
A true revelation the forum which prompted me to discover a lot of works (last title: Silvestrov Symphony n.5).

[Mark Thomas]

Several revelations this year: In common with many of us I found Samuragochi's Hiroshima Symphony a riveting listen and 2011 was also the year when the music of Georg Schumann (the First symphony, Piano Trios and Violin Sonatas) finally registered with me in a big way. Ferdinand Hiller is another composer who has finally come in out of the cold - the Piano Quintet, Third Piano Quartet and, most of all, the first movement of the E minor Symphony all revealed a much more compelling composer than I had previously credited him with being. I'm not as much of a 20th century music buff as some here but, as well as Samurgochi, three symphonists in particular: Janis Ivanovs, Arnold Cooke and John Kinsella have come as very agreeable surprises this year. A revelatory work by Raff which I heard properly for the first time a couple of months ago is his big half-hour Variations on an Original Theme for piano. It's by far the cleverest instrumental work of his that I've come across; the recording will be released in 2012. Finally, my 2011 award for "broad grin on first hearing" goes to the recent Hungaroton recording of Dohnanyi's student Symphony in F major. It may be derivative and it's certainly not deep, but it's so chock full of melody and delicious orchestration that I just love the piece.

[Peter1953]

Caveat: I've only heard the one piece, the Symphony No. 4, on the second album of the "400 Years of Dutch Music" series.  But it struck me as having more body than Haydn - more oomph, if you will.  More weight.  It reminded me very much of the Beethoven First.  I'd like to get to know him better...perhaps then my opinion would be revised downward. 

There is, actually, a cd with his second symphony (Op. 13, the one mentioned above is considered to be his `Third', Op. 19, if I'm correct), but the cd isn't widely available:
http://www.amazon.com/Carolus-Fodor-Johan-Meder-Symphonies/dp/B00004LMY7.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carel_Anton_Fodor and http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Carel_Anton_Fodor

Alas, $2,300 is a little out of my price range at the moment.

(Now if it were Lilburn... :-) )

____

In Germany it's slightly cheaper...  http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Carolus-Antonius-Fodor-1768-1846-Symphonien-Nr-2-3/hnum/1711918

[Christo]

Alas, $2,300 is a little out of my price range at the moment. (Now if it were Lilburn... :-) )
____
In Germany it's slightly cheaper...  http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Carolus-Antonius-Fodor-1768-1846-Symphonien-Nr-2-3/hnum/1711918

Of course: it does include the Third (Op. 19) as well. My apologies, I had forgotten (because I don't own this cd, notwithstanding its modest price in Germany  ). Good to hear the music examples on the JPC site - the Third really is a great piece of music, and quite remarkable `Beethovenian' for a symphony dated 1801 (probably).

His close musical friend, another composer active in Amsterdam in those years, is Johan[n] Willem[Wilhelm] Wilms, whose Sixth and Seventh proved quite a revelation when they appeared on this cd with the Concerto Köln, that was re-issued as a Brilliant (bargain price) cd recently. Recommended.


BTW: Lilburn!  (But that's another story)
       

[albion]

In terms of specific commercial records from various enterprising companies, it was wonderful to finally get a first-rate recording of Cowen's Concertstuck (Hyperion), a complete opera by Macfarren (Robin Hood on Naxos) and to welcome a whole raft of splendid new Havergal Brian discs (Dutton, Toccata and Hyperion) - amongst the latter composer's works perhaps the chief revelations were the 1903 Burlesque Variations, as maverick a composition as any that came subsequently from his pen, and the orchestral music from the hitherto-virtually-unknown operas.

Amongst several 'catch-ups' was the glorious Chandos disc of Hoddinott, including the marvellous Symphony No.6. Also new to me were the symphonies of Ferdinand Ries (CPO), .

In the off-air downloads provided on the forum there have so many superb discoveries, too - major choral works by Fricker (The Vision of Judgement), Reizenstein (Voices of Night), Harrison (Mass in C) and Jacobson (The Hound of Heaven), and many scores by Daniel Jones (it was wonderful to complete the Symphony cycle), Hoddinott again (especially Symphonies 4 and 7, now firm favourites), Alan Bush (especially the operas Joe Hill and Men of Blackmoor), William Wordsworth and Arnold Cooke. Several of the names now included in the archive, such as William Gillies Whittaker and Ina Boyle, were completely new to me but I have been surprised, enchanted and moved in equal measure by their music.

All told, another excellent year of listening.

[Dundonnell]

I would echo your comments on Hoddinott's Symphony No.6

Those who find his earlier symphonies(particularly Nos. 2, 3 and 5 coupled together on the Lyrita cd) hard-going really should try No.6 on Chandos. It is a quite superb symphony

IF I ever get round to listening to some music I am particularly looking forward to hearing No.4. First weeks of uploading and now days(so far) of downloading Czech, Rumanian and Japanese music with the Poles and Russians etc. still to come

[M. Henriksen]

Kurt Atterberg's symphonic output has dominated in my listening-schedule for 2011.
But looking at new records from this last year I would have to go for Havergal Brian's Gothic, Philippe Gaubert's Au pays basque from Timpani and Malipiero's Impressioni dal vero from Naxos as alberto has mentioned here.


Morten

[vandermolen]

John Kinsella symphonies 6 and 7 (but listen to 3 and 4 if you don't know them on Marco Polo)

Hovhaness 'Song of the Sea' (short but very moving)

Stanley Bate (all the Dutton releases have been revelatory)

Casella symphonies 2 and 3

Ince 'The Fall of Constantinople'

[vandermolen]

I would echo your comments on Hoddinott's Symphony No.6

Those who find his earlier symphonies(particularly Nos. 2, 3 and 5 coupled together on the Lyrita cd) hard-going really should try No.6 on Chandos. It is a quite superb symphony

IF I ever get round to listening to some music I am particularly looking forward to hearing No.4. First weeks of uploading and now days(so far) of downloading Czech, Rumanian and Japanese music with the Poles and Russians etc. still to come

I agree re Hoddinott - although I have come to appreciate Symphony No 3 too for its gritty and uncompromising integrity - it has an oddly moving final chord.