Joachim Raff (1822-1882) - biography & catalogue

[Mark Thomas]

Joseph Joachim Raff (1822-1882)


Raff in 1877

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
Joseph Joachim Raff was born on 22nd May 1822 in the little town of Lachen, beside Lake Zurich in Switzerland. Although his mother was Swiss, he was a citizen of the south German Kingdom of Württemberg, as was his music-loving father, a schoolteacher. Raff was a precocious child but, although his father taught him to play the violin and organ at an early age, he was no musical prodigy. At twelve he left home to be educated at Rottenberg Gymnasium in Württemberg. In 1838 he returned to Switzerland because political upheavals there had forced his father to move to a Jesuit college, where Raff finished his education. He was so proficient at Latin that he was chosen to act as interpreter for a Papal Nuncio visiting Switzerland and his success in that role resulted in his appointment in 1840 to a school in Rapperswil, across the lake from Lachen.

Raff was highly regarded as a teacher, but his growing passion for music gradually undermined his determination to forge a career in education. He devoted all his spare time to learning about composition. Friends urged him to send some of his early compositions (which included a piano sonata) to Felix Mendelssohn who in turn recommended them to his publisher and himself encouraged Raff to become a full-time composer. This, and favourable reviews from Schumann, persuaded Raff to give up his well-paid position in 1844, much to the dismay of his family with whom relations remained strained for much of his life thereafter. He was soon reduced to penury and moved to Zurich to try to make a living in the larger city. Despite the friendship of its Kapellmeister Franz Abt, he fared no better there and quickly sank into bankruptcy.  He was rescued from this desperate situation, during which he had sometimes slept outdoors, by Franz Liszt whom he met in June 1845 in Basle, after walking there from Zurich to hear the virtuoso play.

Liszt recognised Raff's talent and took him back with him to Germany as part of his entourage. In 1846 Raff moved to Cologne, where he worked in a piano shop, a position secured for him by Liszt. Falling out with his employers in 1847, he intended to travel to Leipzig to take up an offer of study with Mendelssohn but was stymied by the latter's unexpected death. More bad luck befell him on his way to Vienna to take up a post there with the publisher Mechetti, who also died suddenly. Raff then settled in Stuttgart, where he began a lifelong friendship with the young Hans von Bülow, the piano virtuoso and conductor, who was to prove a staunch champion of his friend's music. Throughout these early years he continued to study composition assiduously, although he never had any formal training. He concentrated on writing piano works, many of which were arrangements of well-known opera melodies, producing so many that Liszt presciently warned him of the dangers for his reputation of over-production. Although he recognised that these pieces were of small artistic value, they were readily taken up by publishers and so contributed to his meagre income, which was also helped by writing music criticism. Once in Stuttgart he quickly began to compose lieder and then chamber, orchestral and choral music, culminating in his first opera: "King Alfred". His clumsy attempts to persuade the city's musical establishment to stage the work made him so unpopular and unhappy that he left Stuttgart suddenly at the end of 1849, moving briefly to Hamburg, where he worked harmoniously for the music publisher Schuberth, who offered Raff a job at his New York office.

At the beginning of 1850 he took up Liszt's offer of a position in his household in Weimar as a general musical assistant. As well as secretarial duties, Raff made fair copies of Liszt's manuscripts and also orchestrated many of his mentor's sketches for major works, producing performing versions for Liszt so that he could assess their effect. This particular part of his duties not only made for frosty relations with Liszt's partner Princess Carolyne Sayn von Wittgenstein, who felt that Raff was insufficiently artistic and was debasing Liszt's originality, but after both men's deaths also provoked controversy  over how much of a hand Raff had had in the finished scores of several of Liszt's major works.

For the first couple of years in Weimar Raff's relations with Liszt were very cordial; "King Alfred" was produced there with great success (but to no lasting benefit) and Raff met his future bride, the actress Doris Genast, the daughter of the city's theatre director. The initially positive mood was scarcely dented by a brief spell in prison, a consequence of his still-unpaid Swiss debts. Gradually, however, Raff began to feel that he was being used by Liszt, at risk of losing his musical independence and increasingly out of sympathy with the ideals of the New Weimar School, which championed the music of Liszt and Wagner.  In 1854 he published a book, "The Wagner Question", which provoked the hostility of Liszt's circle because it was felt (on the whole wrongly) to be critical of Wagner; soon afterwards he added to the impression that he was distancing himself from his Weimar associates in an article written to celebrate Mozart's centenary. His frequent attempts, selflessly helped by Liszt, to find a permanent Kapellmeister or music director post in one of Germany's major cities all came to nought. Despite his heavy workload for Liszt, he was still able to devote many months to researching and composing a second substantial opera, "Samson". He also found time to write not just more piano music but some major works as well: a Symphony, a Concert Piece for violin and orchestra, his First String Quartet, the Violin Sonata No.1 and a large scale secular cantata "Sleeping Beauty", all of which were praised by Liszt and his friends.

After their engagement in 1853, Doris Genast had moved to Wiesbaden and Raff began to spend more and more time there, cultivating its musical establishment. These efforts were rewarded by well-received performances of some of his major works in the city and this finally persuaded Raff to move there from Weimar in 1856. It was to be his home for 21 years. He earned enough money from teaching posts with Wiesbaden's two premier girls' schools and as a music and theatre critic to live modestly and, although he held no formal position in Wiesbaden, soon became well-known and respected there as a composer. His marriage in 1859 further improved his lot and he began to produce a series of works which built on his already growing reputation: several piano suites, the String Quartet No.2 and the Second Violin Sonata, culminating in his Symphony "To the Fatherland", which won a prestigious prize in Vienna in 1863 and catapulted Raff to fame. The appearance that year of a cantata, "Germany's Resurrection" (which also won a publisher's prize) and of Springtime of Song, a set of 30 songs, secured Raff's newly-won success.

Over the next ten years Raff worked incessantly in the evenings, weekends and holidays, producing works in all major genres of music, generally to great acclaim. His 1869 Third Symphony, "In the Forest", was a sensational success and for a time was the most programmed contemporary symphony throughout Europe and in the USA. The Fifth Symphony, "Lenore", of 1872 was almost as popular. The Violin Concerto No.1 of 1871 and the Piano Concerto, which followed three years later, were hugely popular with virtuosos and audiences alike. Raff's chamber music (especially the Piano Quintet, Seventh String Quartet and the Piano Trios Nos.1 & 2) were praised and played everywhere. His large-scale piano suites and grateful individual pieces aimed at the salon were equally well received by pianists. Eventually he was earning enough from his compositions to be able to give up teaching.  Only in the field of opera was his success limited. He suffered disappointment after disappointment in attempting, and failing, to get "Samson" staged. He turned to lighter fare, but could interest no one in his comic opera "The Watchword", although he did see its successor, "Phantom Lady" (1869), performed with some success.

By the mid-1870s Raff was being spoken of seriously as the premier symphonist of the age, a third luminary of German music alongside opera's Wagner and Brahms, who was then thought of as a choral and chamber music composer. But no matter how great his fame was amongst audiences and performers, he remained a controversial figure with the critics. His tireless fecundity, the result of his strong work ethic, and his continued production of small piano pieces for the salon (which provided a necessary if unspectacular income) gave rise to accusations from some quarters of over-production and a want of self–criticism, resulting in a lack of consistent quality in his output. This, coupled with his stubborn determination not to be associated with either of the warring camps into which the musical world was dividing itself, began to eat away at his reputation. His Sixth and Seventh Symphonies were cited as evidence of his failing powers. Pablo Sarasate declined to play the Violin Concerto No.2 which had been written for him, and David Popper followed suit by shunning the Second Cello Concerto. Raff had to be content with premieres in Wiesbaden, rather than those in more prestigious Berlin and Leipzig which some of his earlier works had enjoyed. Major compositions, such as the two Piano Quartets and the Suite for Piano and Orchestra, were virtually ignored.

Raff understandably began to doubt his own ability. Perhaps as a result he put aside an unperformed, newly-completed Symphony, "Winter" (it was published posthumously), and moved on immediately to compose another, No.8 "Sounds of Spring", which went some way to restoring his reputation as a symphonist.

The crisis was resolved for him by his appointment in 1877 as the first Director of the Hoch Conservatory in nearby Frankfurt. He threw himself into this prestigious appointment, organising every aspect of the institution and appointing highly-regarded teachers like the pianist Clara Schumann and the singer Julius Stockhausen. Raff's enthusiasm and aptitude for teaching reasserted themselves, as did his principled streak; he taught the composition class himself but forbad performances of his own music. The new institution, helped by a ground-breaking willingness to enrol women students, proved to be an immediate success and his leadership rapidly established it as one of the foremost conservatories in Germany. Amongst its most famous early students was the American Edward Macdowell, who retained an affection for Raff's memory throughout his life.

Raff's role as head of the Hoch Conservatory naturally curbed his compositional activity, but in his final five years he still managed to write a substantial number of major works: the last two symphonies in his cycle illustrating the seasons, No.9 "In Summer" and No.10 "In the Autumn Time", the innovative "The Times of Day" (a cross between a piano concerto and a choral symphony), two more unpublished and unperformed operas, a cantata "The Stars" and the song cycle "Blondel de Nesle", as well as four orchestral preludes to Shakespeare plays and several piano pieces, including a third piano sonata. His final great work was the Oratorio "World's End — Judgement — New World" which he finished in 1881. Although most of these compositions were well received, Raff suspected that they often gained only a succês d'estime. He still regarded himself primarily as a composer, but all the praise which was showered upon him at his sixtieth birthday celebrations focused on his work as Director of the Conservatory, not as a creative artist.

Although loved by his students and respected by the Conservatory's trustees, his final days there were clouded by two disputes: with Stockhausen, who proved to be an impossible employee and involved Raff in unseemly public wrangling before he left his post, and with the trustees themselves. The Conservatory was a victim of its own success and had outgrown its resources but Raff refused to countenance the measures which were needed put it back on a sound financial footing. The difficult negotiations were still underway when Raff, worn down by heart disease and overwork, died suddenly on 24 June 1882. He was buried in Frankfurt where eventually a grand monument, paid for jointly by public subscription and by his friend Hans von Bülow, was raised above his grave.

[Mark Thomas]

CATALOGUE:
(* recording available, ^ recording of part of the work available)

Operas:
WoO.14 - King Alfred (Ov., 4 acts). 1848-52 ^(Overture)
WoO.20 - Samson (5 acts). 1853-1865 ^(Prelude)
WoO.29 - The Watchword WoO.29 (Ov., 3 acts). 1868 ^(Overture)
Op.154 - Phantom Lady (Ov. 3 acts). 1869 ^(Overture)
WoO.46 - Benedetto Marcello WoO.46 (Ov. 3 acts). 1877-78 ^(Overture)
WoO.54 - The Jealous Ones (Ov., 3 acts). 1881-82 ^(Overture)

Works for Chorus and Orchestra:
WoO.8  - 121st Psalm (3 mvts). 1848
WoO.14A - Prometheus Unbound (orchestration and arrangement of sketches by Liszt – Ov., 8 choruses and other nos). 1850
WoO.15B - Domine Salvum Fac Regem by F. Liszt (orchestration). 1853 *
WoO.16 - Te Deum. 1853
WoO.19 - Fairy Tale Epic: Sleeping Beauty (Prelude, 4 parts). 1855 ^ (Prelude & Entr'acte)
Op.80 - Awake! 1858
Op.100 - Cantata: Germany's Resurrection. 1862/3
Op.141 - De Profundis (Intr., 5 mvts). 1867
WoO.30A - Laudi Sion & Stabat Mater (wind accompaniment). 1868
Op.171 - Two Songs for Mixed Choir. 1871
Op.186 - A. Morning Song; B. One who has passed away. 1873 *
Op.209 - Concertante: The Times of Day (4 mvts). 1877 *
WoO.53 - Cantata: The Stars (5 mvts). 1880 *
Op.212 - Oratorio: World's End – Judgement – New World (36 nos). 1879-81

Symphonies:
WoO.18 - Symphony (5 mvts. - lost). 1854
Op.96 - Symphony No.1 To the Fatherland (5 mvts). 1864 *
Op.140 - Symphony No.2 (4 mvts). 1866 *
Op.153 - Symphony No.3 In the Forest (4 mvts). 1869 *
Op.167 - Symphony No.4 (4 mvts). 1871 *
Op.177 - Symphony No.5 Lenore (4 mvts). 1872 *
Op.189 - Symphony No.6 (4 mvts). 1873 *
Op.201 - Symphony No.7 In the Alps (4 mvts). 1875 *
Op.205 - Symphony No.8 Spring Sounds (4 mvts) *
Op.208 - Symphony No.9 In the Summer (4 mvts). 1878 *
Op.213 - Symphony No.10 In the Autumn-time (4 mvts). 1879-81 *
Op.214 - Symphony No.11 Winter (4 mvts). 1876 *

Concertos:
Op.67 - Concert Piece for Violin & Orchestra: La Fée d'amour. 1854/5 *
Op.76 - Concert Piece for Piano & Orchestra: Ode au printemps. 1857 *
Op.161 - Violin Concerto No.1 (3 mvts). 1870/1 *
Op.180 - Suite for Violin & Orchestra (5 mvts). 1873 *
Op.185 - Piano Concerto (3 mvts). 1873 *
Op.193 - Cello Concerto No.1 (3 mvts). 1874 *
Op.200 - Suite for Piano & Orchestra (5 mvts). 1875 *
WoO.44 - Cello Concerto No.2 (3 mvts). 1876 *
Op.206 - Violin Concerto No.2 (3 mvts). 1877 *

Orchestral Songs:
Op.66 - Dream King & his Love. 1854
Op.199 - Two Scenes. 1875.

Orchestral Suites:
Op.101 - Suite No.1 (5 mvts). 1863 *
WoO.35 - Italian Suite (5 mvts). 1871 *
Op.194 - Suite No.2 In the Hungarian Style (5 mvts). 1874 *
WoO.45 - Suite: From Thuringia (5 mvts). 1877 *

Other Orchestral Works:
WoO.15 - Festival Overture (lost). 1851/2
WoO.16A - Fantasy Overture (lost). 1853
WoO.17 - Music to the Drama: Berhard von Weimar (Ov., 4 nos). 1854
Op.103- Celebration Overture. 1864 *
Op.117 - Festival Overture. 1864 *
Op.123 - Concert Overture. 1862 *
Op.127 - Overture: A Mighty Fortress is our God. 1854-65 *
Op.139 - Festival March. 1867 *
WoO.34A - Homage March by R. Wagner (orchestration). 1871 *
WoO.39 - Chaconne by J.S. Bach (orchestration). 1873 *
Op.163b - Evening: Rhapsody. 1874 *
WoO.41 - English Suite No.3 by J.S. Bach (orchestration – 6 mvts). 1874 *
WoO.48 - Elegy. 1879 *
WoO.49 - Orchestral Prelude to Shakespeare's The Tempest. 1879 *
WoO.50 - Orchestral Prelude to Shakespeare's Macbeth. 1879 *
WoO.51 - Orchestral Prelude to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. 1879 *
WoO.52 - Orchestral Prelude to Shakespeare's Othello. 1879 *
WoO.56 - Grand Fugue. 1882.

A Capella Choral Works:
Op.97 - Ten Songs for Male Choir. 1853-63.
Op.122 - Ten Songs for Male Choir. 1853-63.
WoO.27 - Four Marian Antiphons. 1868
WoO.31 - Kyrie & Gloria. 1869
WoO.32 - Pater Noster. 1869
WoO.33 - Ave Maria. 1869
Op.195 - Ten Songs for Male Choir. 1860-70
Op.198 - Ten Songs for Mixed Choir. 1860-74

Works for Wind Instruments:
Op.124 - Festival Overture on four favourite Student Songs. 1865
Op.188 - Sinfonietta (4 mvts). 1873 *

Works for Strings:
Op.176 - Octet (4 mvts). 1872 *
Op.178 - Sextet (4 mvts). 1872 *

Piano Quintets:
Op.107 - Piano Quintet (4 mvts). 1862 *
Op.207b - Fantasy. 1877 *

Piano Quartets:
Op.202:
      No.1 - Piano Quartet No.1 (4 mvts). 1876 *
      No.2 - Piano Quartet No.2 (4 mvts). 1876 *

String Quartets:
WoO.13 - String Quartet (4 mvts. - lost). 1849/50
Op.77 - String Quartet No.1 (4 mvts). 1855 *
Op.90 - String Quartet No.2 (4 mvts). 1857 *
Op.136 - String Quartet No.3 (4 mvts). 1866
Op.137 - String Quartet No.4 (4 mvts). 1867
Op.138 - String Quartet No.5 (4 mvts). 1867
Op.192
      No.1 - String Quartet No.6 Suite in Vintage Form (5 mvts). 1874 *
      No.2 - String Quartet No.7 The Beautiful Miller Maid: Cyclic Tone poem (6 mvts). 1874 *
      No.3 - String Quartet No.8 Suite in Canon Form (7 mvts).1874

Piano Trios:
WoO.9 - Piano Trio (4 mvts. - lost). 1849
Op.102 - Piano Trio No.1 (4 mvts). 1861 *
Op.112 - Piano Trio No.2 (4 mvts). 1863 *
Op.155 - Piano Trio No.3 (4 mvts). 1870 *
Op.158 - Piano Trio No.4 (4 mvts). 1870 *

Violin Sonatas:
Op.73 - Violin Sonata No.1 (4 mvts). 1853/4 *
Op.78 - Violin Sonata No.2 (4 mvts). 1858 *
Op.128 - Violin Sonata No.3 (4 mvts). 1865 *
Op.129 - Violin Sonata No.4 Chromatic Sonata in one Movement. 1866 *
Op.145 - Violin Sonata No.5 (4 mvts). 1868 *

Other Chamber Music:
WoO.10A - Three Etudes and an Elegy by K. Vollweiler (arrangement for violin/cello & piano - lost). 1849
WoO.10B - Two Romances for piano by A. Henselt (arrangement for violin/cello & piano - lost). 1849
WoO.10C - Song by L. Spohr (arrangement for violin/cello & piano - lost). 1849
WoO.10D - Song by C. Reissiger (arrangement for violin/cello & piano - lost). 1849
Op.57 - From Switzerland for violin & piano. 1848-52 *
Op.58 - Two Fantasy Pieces for violin & piano. 1850-52 *
Op.59 - Duo for violin/cello & piano. 1848-52 *(both versions)
Op.63 - Three Duos for violin & piano on Motifs from Wagner's Operas. 1853 *
Op.85 - Six Morceaux for violin & piano. 1859 *
Op.86 - Two Fantasy Pieces for cello & piano. 1854 ^
Op.182 - Two Romances for cello/horn & piano. 1873
Op.183 - Cello Sonata (4 mvts). 1873.
WoO.42 - Three Cello Sonatas by B. Marcello (added piano accompaniment). 1875.
Op.203 - Volker: Cyclic Tone poem for violin & piano(12 nos). 1876
Op.210 - Suite for violin & piano. 1879
WoO.55 - Duo for violin & piano. 1882.

Songs:
Op.16 - Three Lieder after Lord Byron (1st Op.16. Lost). 1844
Op.18 - Three Lieder after Julius Scheffel (1st Op.18. Lost). 1844
Op.47 - Three Lieder by J.G. Fischer. 1848
Op.48 - Two Lieder by Gotthold Logau. 1848
Op.49 - Three Lieder by J.G. Fischer. 1848 .
Op.50 - Two Italian Lieder by C.O. Sternau. 1849
Op.51 - Five Lieder by Emanuel Geibel. 1849/50
Op.52 - Three Lieder by C.O. Sternau. 1850
Op.53 - Two Lieder from the Rhine. 1849
WoO.20A - Dead Love (12 songs). 1855 or earlier
Op.98 - Springtime of Song  (30 songs). 1855-63 ^
WoO.21 - Serenade. 1859
Op.114 - Twelve Songs for Two Voices. 1860-64.
Op.172 - Maria Stuart: A Cycle of Songs (12 songs). 1872 ^
Op.173 - Eight Songs. 1868-70
Op.191 - Language of Flowers (6 songs). 1874
Op.184 - Six Songs by Emanuel Geibel for Three Female Voices. 1870-73.
WoO.47 - Spring Song. Before 1879
WoO.52A - Two settings of Tennyson's Tears, Idle Tears. 1878 or 79.
Op.211 - Blondel de Nesle: A Cycle of Songs (11 songs). 1880 ^

Work for Organ:
WoO.25 - Introduction & Fugue. 1866.

Piano Sonatas & Suites:
Op.14 - Sonata avec Fugue (1st Op.14. 4 mvts). 1844
Op.14 - Piano Sonata (2nd Op.14. 4 mvts). 1881 *
Op.69 - Piano Suite No.1 (5 mvts). 1857 *
Op.71 - Piano Suite No.2 (5 mvts). 1857 *
Op.72 - Piano Suite No.3 (5 mvts). 1857 *
Op.73b - Piano Four Hands Sonata (4 mvts). 1854
Op.91 - Piano Suite No.4 (4 mvts). 1859 *
Op.162 - Piano Suite No.5 (4 mvts). 1870 *
Op.163 - Piano Suite No.6 (6 mvts). 1871 *
Op.168 - Fantasy Sonata. 1871 *
Op.204 - Piano Suite No.7 (6 mvts). 1876 *

Other Piano Works:
WoO.1 - Trois Fantasies de Soir (lost). 1841
WoO.2 - Fate (lost). 1841
Op.1 - Sérénade. 1842
Op.2 - Trois Pièces caractéristiques (1st Op.2)
Op.2 - Trois Morceaux (2nd Op.2). 1876 *
Op.3 - Scherzo (1st Op.3). 1842
Op.3 - Scherzo (2nd Op.3). 1881
Op.4 - Fantaisie brillante on Donizetti's Maria di Rudenz (1st Op.4). 1842
Op.4 - Fantaisie (2nd Op.4). 1881
Op.5 - Quatre Galops brillants (1st Op.5). 1843.
Op.5 - Quatre Galop-Caprices (2nd Op.5). 1878
Op.6 - Morceau Instructif: Fantasie et Variations brillantes Op.6 (1st Op.6). 1843
Op.6 - Variations (2nd Op.6) 1878
Op.7 - Rondeau brillant on Donizetti's  "Io son ricco e tu sei bella". 1843
Op.8 - Douze Romances en Forme d'Études. 1843
Op.9 - Impromptu brillant (1st Op.9). 1843
Op.9 - Introduction et Rondeau (2nd Op.9). 1875
Op.10 - Hommage au Néoromantisme: Grand Capriccio (1st Op.10). 1843
Op.10 - Hommage au Néoromantisme: Grand Capriccio (2nd Op.10). 1881
Op.11 - Air Suisse 1844
Op.12 - Morceau de Salon: Fantaisie gracieuse (1st Op.12). 1844
Op.12 - Fantaisie (2nd Op.12). 1881
Op.13 - Waltz-Rondino on Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots for piano four hands. 1844
Op.15 - Fantasy on Two Characters from the Paris Mysteries of Sue (1st Op.15. Lost). 1844
Op.15 - Six Poèmes (2nd Op.15. Lost). 1845
Op.16 - Impromptu (2nd Op.16. Lost). 1845
Op.17 - Three Character Pieces Op.17 (1st Op.17. Lost). 1844
Op.17 - Album Lyrique (2nd Op.17. 9 nos). 1845
Op.17 - Album Lyrique (3rd Op.17. 9 nos). 1849
Op.18 - Two Paraphrases on Songs by Liszt. 1845
Op.19 - Jarner Fantasy in Rural Style (1st Op.19. Lost). 1844
Op.19 - Eight Lieder by F. Mendelssohn (2nd Op.19. Arrangement - lost). 1845
Op.19 - Fantaisie dramatique on Esser's "Les deux Princes"Op.19 (3rd Op.19). 1845
Op.20 - Jaléo and Xeres. Two Spanish Dances (1st Op.20. Lost). 1844
Op.20 - Deux Morceaux de Salon (2nd Op.20). 1845
Op.21 - Hunting Fantasy on Popular Hunting Songs (1st Op.21. Lost). 1845
Op.21 - Loreley: Song without Words (2nd Op.21). 1846
Op.22 - In the Mountains: Idyll (1st Op.22. Lost). 1845
Op.22 - Deux Rhapsodies élégiaques (2nd Op.22). 1846
Op.23 - Trois Pièces caractéristiques. 1845
Op.24 - Valse mélancolique. 1846
Op.25 - Romance-Étude. 1846
Op.26 - In Scarlatti's Style: Scherzo. 1846
Op.27 - Angela's Last Day in the Cloister (12 nos). 1846/7
Op.28 - Deux Airs Fameaux from Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (lost). 1846
Op.29 - Love's Spring: Songs without Words (6 nos. - lost). 1846
Op.30 - Deux Mazurkas (lost). 1846
Op.31 - Tarantelle 1847
Op.32 - On the Rhine: Romance. 1846
Op.33 - Album Piece (lost). 1846
WoO.3 - Alla Tarantella: Caprice  (lost). 1846
WoO.4 - Scherzo fantastique (lost). 1846
WoO.4A - Paraphrase on Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (lost). 1846
WoO.5 - Sérénade (lost). 1847
WoO.6 - Sicilienne (lost). 1847
Op.34 - Six Lieder by Abt, Barthelemy, Kücken, Molique & Schmidt (arrangements). 1847
Op.35 - Capriccietto on Weber's Der Freischütz. 1847
Op.36 - Fantasie Militaire on Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. 1847
Op.37 - Fantasy on Bellini's La Sonnambula. 1847
Op.38 - Grande Mazurka. 1847
Op.39 - Notturno after a Romance by Liszt. 1847
Op.40 - Capriccietto à la Bohémienne. 1847
Op.41 - Romance. 1847
WoO.7 - Fantasy on themes from Kücken's Prätendant (lost). 1847
Op.42 - Le Prétendant by Kücken: Transcriptions (3 nos). 1847
Op.43 - Divertimento on Halévy's La Juive. 1848
Op.44 - Fantaisie on Rossini's Barber of Seville. 1848
Op.45 - Memories of Mozart's Don Juan. 1848 *
Op.46 - The Last Rose of Summer: Impromptu. 1849
WoO.10 - Grand Fantasy on Saloman's Das Diamantkreutz (lost). 1849
WoO.11 - Two Violin Romances by L. van Beethoven (arrangements). 1849
WoO.12 - Waltz-Rondino on Saloman's Das Diamantkreutz. 1849
WoO.12A - Étude de Concert on Bellini's I Puritani. 1849
WoO.12B - Fantasy on the Song "I will be thinking of You Op.53 no.2" (lost).1849
WoO.14B - Nocturne (lost). 1850
WoO.15A - Fantaisie. 1850/1 *
Op.54 - Dance Caprices (3 nos). 1852
Op.55 - Harbingers of Spring (12 nos). 1850-52 *
Op.56 - Three Salon Pieces. 1849
Op.60 - Swiss Airs (9 nos). 1851
Op.61:
      1. Caprice on Wagner's Lohengrin. 1853
      2. Reminiscences of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. 1853
      3. Fantasy on Wagner's Tannhäuser. 1853
      4. Capriccio in Rondo-form on Schumann's Genoeva. 1855
Op.62 - Three Salon Etudes from R. Wagner's Operas. 1853
Op.64 - Capriccio. 1855
Op.65: 1855
      1. Fantasy on Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini
      2. Caprice on Raff's King Alfred
Op.68 - Five Transcriptions after Beethoven, Gluck, Mozart, Schumann & Spohr. 1857
Op.70 - Trovatore et Traviata: Two Salon Paraphrases. 1857 *
Op.74 - Three Piano Solos. 1852 *
Op.75 - Suite de Morceaux pour les petites mains (12 nos). 1858/9
Op.79 - Cachoucha-Caprice 1858
Op.81: 1858
      1. Sicilienne from Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes
      2. Tarantella from Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes
Op.82 - Douze Morceaux à quatre mains for piano four hands. 1858/9
Op.83 - Mazurka-Caprice. 1858
Op.84 - Chant de l'Ondin. 1858.
Op.87 - Introduction & Allegro scherzoso. 1858
Op.88 - At the Giessbach Falls. 1858
Op.89 - Villanella. 1859
WoO.22 - Two Marches from Handel's Oratorios: "Saul" and "Jephta" (transcriptions). 1859
Op.92 - Capriccio. 1860
Op.93 - Dans la nacelle. 1860
Op.94 - Impromptu-Waltz. 1860
Op.95 - La Polka de la Reine. 1861 *
Op.99 - Trois Sonatilles. 1861
Op.104 - La galop: Brilliant Caprice. 1861
Op.105 - Cinq Eglogues. 1861
Op.106 - Fantaisie-Polonaise. 1861
Op.108 - Salterello. 1863
Op.109 - Rêverie-Nocturne. 1863
Op.110 - La Gitana. 1863
Op.111 - Two Caprices. 1856
Op.113 - Hungarian Rhapsody. 1863
Op.115 - Deux Morceaux Lyriques. 1864
Op.116 - Valse-Caprice. 1864
Op.118 - Valse favorite. 1864
Op.119 - Fantasie. 1864
Op.120 - Spanish Rhapsody. 1864
Op.121 - Illustrations de L'Africaine (4 nos). 1864
WoO.23 - Selected nos. from the Violin Sonatas of Joh. Seb. Bach (18 nos. arranged). 1865
WoO.24 - Schumann's Evening Song: Paraphrase for the Piano. 1865
Op.125: 1865
      1. Gavotte
      2. Berceuse *
      3. L'Espiègle
Op.126 - Three Piano Pieces. 1865
Op.130 - Deux Études mélodiques. 1866
Op.131 - Styrienne. 1866
Op.132 - Marche brillante. 1866
Op.133 - Elegy. 1866
Op.134 - From the Rhine (6 nos). 1866
Op.135 - Leaves and Blossoms (12 nos). 1866
Op.135b - Leaves & Blossoms for piano four hands (12 nos) 1866
WoO.26 - Reminiscences from Wagner's Die Miestersingers von Nürnberg (4 nos). 1867 ^
Op.142 - Fantasie. 1867
Op.143 - Barcarolle. 1867
Op.144 - Tarantelle. 1867
Op.146 - Capriccio. 1868
Op.147 - Deux Méditations. 1868
Scherzo - Op.148. 1868
Op.149 - Deux Elégies. 1868
Op.150 - Chaconne for two pianos. 1869 *
Op.151 - Allegro agitato. 1868
Op.152 - Deaux Romances. 1868
WoO.28 - Valse-impromptu à la Tyroliene. 1868 *
WoO.30 - Six Sonatas for Cello by J.S. Bach (arrangements). 1868 *
Op.156 - Valse Brillant. 1870
Op.157: 1870
      1. Cavatine
      2. La Fileuse *
WoO.34 - Improvisation on the Damrosch's Song "The Linden Branch". 1870
Op.159 - Humoresque in Waltz Form for piano four hands. 1870 *
Op.160 - Travel Pictures for piano four hands (10 nos). 1870 ^
Op.164: 1871
      1. Sicilienne
      2. Romanze
      3. Tarantelle.
Op.165 - La Cicerenella. 1871
Op.166: 1871
      1. Idylle
      2. Valse champêtre
Op.169: 1871
      1. Romance
      2. Valse brillante.
Op.170 - La polka glissante. 1871
Op.175 - Orientales (8 nos). 1872
Op.174 - From the Dance Salon for piano four hands (12 nos). 1872
WoO.36 - Thirty Progressive Etudes. 1868-72
WoO.37 - Berceuse after an idea by Gounod. 1872
WoO.38 - Valse de Juliet by Gounod (arrangement). 1872
Op.179 - Variations on an Original Theme. 1873 *
Op.181 - Dance of Death. 1873
Op.187 - Memories of Venice (6 nos). 1873
Op.190 - Feux follets. 1874
WoO.40 - Three Suites for Orchestra by Joh. Seb. Bach (arrangements). 1874
Op.196: 1875 *
      1. In the Reeds
      2. Berceuse
      3. Novelette
      4. Impromptu.
Op.197 - Capriccio. 1875
WoO.43 - Four Capriccios on Wallachian & Servian Airs. 1875
Op.207 - Fantasy for two pianos. 1877
Op.215 - From the Swabian Jura (2 nos). 1881
Op.216 - At Advent Time: A Christmas Gift (8 nos). 1879

RECORDINGS:
* Full recording on CD.
^ Part of the work available on CD.
Thankfully, Raff is now well represented on disc. For a full listing go to the discography pages at www.raff.org.

The biography and abridged catalogue are adapted from those in my book: A Catalogue of the Music of Joachim Raff, available here.

[adriano]

The Swiss Raff Society has just published a lavish book:
http://www.joachim-raff.ch/004/default.nsf/74766A31657937E4C1257D590074EFC6/$file/RaffBioProspekt.pdf
It's only in German, of course.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, I have a copy of Res Marty's book and a mighty tome it is. Lavish is definitely the word -  the copious illustrations are a delight. It's an absolute mine of never-before published information, relying very heavily both on Res' new research in libraries throughout Germany and Switzerland, and particularly on the letters of Raff's lifelong friend Hans von Bülow. It's fair to say, I think, that it brings few new insights to Raff's music, but if you can read German, and are intrigued by his fascinating life (and few romantic composers had a more interesting one) then I do recommend it most highly.

[Alan Howe]

Price is a bit steep...

[adriano]

Thanks, Mark :-)
Incidentally, Res is just visiting me tomorrow morning. I will give him a private CD transfer of my old (but still world premiere) "Adriano Records" LP of Raff's "Grand Quintuor", which was the first recording I realized as a producer - with modest financial and technical means, of course. I recorded it in 1977, in a hall of Raff's town Lachen, thanks to some support by the Raff Society.
Alan, considering the size and printing quality of the book, it's not too expensive!

[Mark Thomas]

Adriano: Your LP of the Raff Piano Quintet was one of my earliest Raff recordings - bought at Musik Hug on Zurich's Bahnofstrasse in June 1980. I have always treasured it. Give my best wishes to Res when you see him please.

Alan: At £45.50, and remembering of the cost of other upcoming must-buy music books recently mentioned here, I think the new Raff biography remarkably good value for 400+ double column A4 pages, many of them in colour. Of course, that little phrase zuzüglich Versandkostenanteil (plus shipping and handling charges) may bump up the price hugely - it's a heavy book. Best thing to do is get someone visiting Switzerland to bring a copy back with them!

[DennisS]

I also have a copy of Res Marty's Raff biography which I was very fortunate to be given as a present and would just like to echo Mark's comments re-the quality and contents of this fascinating new biography. I am at present reading it and it is giving me much pleasure. If I had had to puchase it, I would have paid the price gladly.Although it is of course written in German, hopefully one day, for those who do not speak German, there will be an Engish translation.

[Alan Howe]

The problem with the book is twofold IMHO:
1. As a narrative it is constantly interrupted by excerpts from letters, etc. This means that, although it is an absolute mine of information, it makes for an rather disjointed read.
2. The book is advertised as being about Raff's 'Life and Works'. However, there's very little about the music - which is somewhat disappointing when so much more needs to be said about the compositions themselves as they undergo revival (at least on CD) and, as a result, critical reassessment.
Essentially, this is an extensively researched and lavishly illustrated coffee-table book. Having translated two books by Raff's daughter, however, I don't find that it throws much new light on the composer - just a lot more of the same. It's a book one would be absolutely delighted to receive as a present (as I was), but, if purchased, I'm not sure whether I'd think the content worthy of the price paid. Nevertheless, if one wants to know about Raff's life in great detail, this would be the book to buy. And it looks great!

[adriano]

Thanks again, Mark 
Let me have me your postal address through the UC message box and I will send you the CD transfer of Grand Quintuor as a Christmas gift. Will pass on Res your wishes with pleasure.

[FBerwald]

Just a small question regarding the Piano Sonata Op. 14 - 1844 version. Has there ever been a commercial or non-commercial recording of the piece? The Tra Nguyen and other releases seem to have concentrated on the 1881 version..

[Mark Thomas]

No, there hasn't. Tra did consider including it in her series for Grand Piano, but if I remember correctly didn't feel it to be a strong enough piece. I have a copy of the score, but I can't really judge its quality. However I can see that it isn't comparable to the grand piece which Raff's 1881 re-composition is. The original's four movements last only 18 minutes or so and are rather unbalanced:

I. Prélude: Allegro con brio ~5 minutes
II. Scherzo: Presto ~2 minutes
III. Romanza: Andante ~3 minutes
IV. Finale: Allegro appassionato-Lento-Fugue ~8 minutes.

Within the Finale, the fugue takes up half of the time. I suspect that to our ears it would come across as more of a suite than a sonata.

[FBerwald]

Nevertheless, being a piece by Raff, I'm sure it's worthy of at-least 1 hearing!?!

[Mark Thomas]

I didn't say that it wasn't, and I'd jump at the chance to hear it. For myself, I want to hear every note that Raff wrote, but that isn't a practical proposition. In the case of the Grand Piano series, even those six discs really didn't allow us to go very far in exploring Raff's piano music. There were plenty of ideas which were floated and abandoned: a disc full of his fantasies for piano, another of the capriccios, another (or two) of his set of twelve Die Oper im Salon opera fantasies, etc. Practically, though, it came down to choosing the scores which we, and in particular Tra, felt showed Raff in the best light. It's a very big commitment for any solo artist to learn one CD's-worth of music, never mind six. They must believe in the worth of what they're playing, and with so much music to choose from, that's its relative quality, not absolute. Although we wanted to avoid duplicating existing recordings, Tra was particularly keen to include her own interpretations of the Fantasy Sonata and the 1881 Piano Sonata in the series and, although that cut the overall time available for other works by 45 minutes or so, I think the results justify that decision.

[FBerwald]

Please don't misunderstand.. I am extremely grateful for the 6 volumes of Raff. It seems a pity as many of Grand Piano's series seem to be exploring complete Œuvres eg - Saint-Saens, Godard to name a few. Nevertheless Tra Nguyen's 6-cd survey is a strong and compelling case for this neglected master and for that we are all thankful. Now if only someone would start releasing the operas .. [CPO?] .. I'm quite curious about Samson considering that Raff himself wrote the libretto ..