The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol.58 - Pixis, Thalberg and (later) Bronsart

[jameswesthead]

I have today received an e-mail from Simon Perry of Hyperion in which he reveals that Volume 58 of The Romantic Piano Concerto, to be issued on November 1st will contain

JOHANN PETER PIXIS :  Piano Concerto Opus 100 and Piano Concertino Opus 68

SIGISMOND THALBERG : Grand concerto for piano and orchestra Opus 5.

The performer is Howard Shelley with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra – CDA67915.

Furthermore, he says that Hyperion are in the planning stages of the recording of the Bronsart Piano Concerto, though the coupling is not yet decided and the release is some way off.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks very much indeed for sharing this exciting news with us - oh, and welcome to the forum!

[Mark Thomas]

As Alan says - on both counts!

[thalbergmad]

The last thread I saw was on Volume 56 and now we have Volume 58.

Do we know what is on 57???

Thal

[jameswesthead]

I only asked Simon Perry about the Pixis and Bronsart concertos, because in my opinion they are amongst the two best works that Vox Turnabout recorded over thirty years ago and I have been waiting for new, better versions to appear. The Bronsart has been re-issued, but the orchestral playing is scrappy to say the least and the recording leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, the Pixis has never reappeared and has the most wonderful slow movement ..... So, as you can see I didn't ask about specific volumes in the series - Simon Perry just volunteered the information I have quoted and so I have no idea about the content of Vol. 57.

[thalbergmad]

I did not know the Pixis Concerto or Concertino had been recorded before, only the Concerto for Piano, violin and string orchestra.

Good news about the Bronsart though. An absolute belter.

Thal

[jameswesthead]

Until I received Simon Perry's e-mail I was not aware that Pixis had composed two concerted works for piano. I have just dug out my old Turnabout LP of one of these concertos (the one for piano and strings), but the sleeve note does not quote an opus number.

Finding information about his works on the internet is not particularly easy, however the web-site http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Peter_Pixis mentions only two concertos, Op.68 and Op.100 each composed in 1826. In neither case is there any mention of the type of orchestra used.

However, it is also possible to download a scanned version of the original score of Op.68 (the concertino) via http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/1/14/IMSLP20145-PMLP46976-Pixis_Concertino_Op_68.pdf from which it is clear that this work has parts for piano,violins,cellos,flute,clarinet,oboe,bassoon,horn and timpani.

Unless I am completely misinterpreting things, it would seem that the Concerto for Piano and Strings on Turnabout must be the Op.100 piece.

[JimL]

The Turnabout work is a Double Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings in F-sharp minor.  We have it in our download archives; I believe you will find it here, if the link still works.  It has nothing to do with the Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 100 other than authorship.  This will be a world premiere recording.  It was hoped by some here that the Double Concerto would be the companion piece, but apparently the RPC series is about solo piano concertante works, which disqualified it.  That, and the fact that they found the concertino and the Thalberg as companion pieces.

[Rob H]

The last thread I saw was on Volume 56 and now we have Volume 58.

Do we know what is on 57???

Thal

I thought vol 57 was due to be the Wiklund Concertos - this was the last one on the last list that Mike put out just over 2 years ago.
Rob

[Gareth Vaughan]

We've been through this discusion on the Pixis concertos before - but maybe it was on the old forum. At that time I wrote: "After I directed Mike Spring to the Full Score of Pixis' PC, Op. 100 in the library of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, he became keen to record it and the original coupling was to have been with the Rosenhain. However, since he discovered the score of Pixis' Concertino for piano & orchestra in the Sibley Library in America, he is now thinking about an all Pixis disk which would have to include the splendid double concerto for violin and piano. The problem is that Kees Kooper has the score and parts and declines to reply to any emails about the work. I think he wants the Vox/Turnabout recording he made with his wife, Mary Louise Boehm, to be re-released before he'll condone another recording. All a bit frustrating."  I believe the MS score was discovered by the late Mary Louise Boehm.

[jameswesthead]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of a rather tangled suibject - I am now feeling rather disappointed that the splendid piece I discovered in the 1970's is not about to be newly recorded.

Perhaps the other Pixis works will be good, and at least Simon Perry has said that the Bronsart Concerto is on its way, which I hope is  a cause for celebration.

[JimL]

I wonder what the coupling will be for the Bronsart?  IIRC, Vox Candide paired it with a slightly hacked Goetz #2.  Well, alright, the finale was mightily hacked; the entire central episode was missing.  I'm hard pressed to find a comparable work.  The Raff would be a no-brainer for me, but apparently there is a prejudice against it over at Hyperion.

[edurban]

Gareth and I have both made approaches to Kees about the Pixis double...without success.  I asked him in person and got the response referred to above.  I have never seen the score in their apartment (though I'm sure that's where it is,) and I don't know where they found the score in the first place.  Kees is now quite old (late 80s) and unwell, and I'm sure the score will eventually find its way to some library with the other contents of the apartment...

David

[Peter1953]

I'm sure the score will eventually find its way to some library with the other contents of the apartment...

David

Or it ends in the wastepaper basket, if his inheritance is not taken good care of and being dealt with by an incompetent family member who doesn't recognize the Pixis score. If seen this before, albeit not with rare scores but with other valuable papers.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Let us hope not. Since "Edurban" knows Kees and is on the spot, perhaps he could keep an eye on things. If the collection goes to auction, of course, it may end up in private hands. I really would like to know where Miss Boehm found the MS and what its provenance is.

On the subject of Bronsart couplings, Mike was contemplating the Urspruch PC at one time, but if this is to be released by CPO (as we have heard) then he may be looking for a different work. The two unrecorded piano concertante works by Brull - the early Rhapsodie and late Concertstuck (recently edited by Michael Laus, the conductor of the Malta Philharmonic) are a possibility. There is Neitzel's PC, but I haven't seen the score and have no idea how good it is. There is also a Konzertstuck by Volkmann which could do with a new recording. Bronsart's PC was written in 1873 (I think); a PC written a year later is that in G minor by the American Otis Boise - a big-boned and, I think, rather good work if a little bombastic (but then we quite like bombast - in the right context!!). Other roughly contemporaneous German/Austrian PCs are those by Emil Paur, Oskar Raif, Reinhold (Suite for piano & strings), Julius Zellner and, perhaps, Max Vogrich (though his was published in 1888). Apart from the Raif, which I like, I haven't seen any of these others, and I'm not even sure that the orchestral parts still exist for the last two. One might contemplate Gernsheim's lovely PC - but Mike Spring is loth to do so, and, besides, we may see that on CPO eventually.