Edouard Silas

[Simon]

The name of this composer/pianist has not been mentioned yet here... Born in 1827 in Amsterdam, he died in London in 1909. Grove's have a short article about him. He wrote several light pieces for piano, but there's also a symphony, a PC, chamber music, a Prize-winning Mass, etc. Reviews are quite uneven from what I've seen. The score of his Symphony is available at imslp.org. Am I the only one familiar with this name?

Simon

[Alan Howe]

As far as I'm concerned, yes. But how fascinating. Any idea what the Symphony is like?

[Lionel Harrsion]

I had never heard of Silas and so I downloaded the score of the Symphony to see if it might be a lost masterpiece.  In my opinion, it isn't.  It's quite old-fashioned for its time and while some of the themes are attractive (especially in the scherzo), they are worked to death in an uninspired, rather four-square and mechanical manner.  The orchestration is competent, owing something to Schubert, but overall (to damn with faint praise) I found it not unpleasant -- merely dull.  However, I must emphasise that I express this view on the strength of one reading (rather late at night); others may find things in it that I have missed and so I'd be interested in the opinions of any who might care to peruse it.

[Alan Howe]

Very good of you to take a look, Lionel.

[semloh]

Lionel, I am so envious of your ability to read a score so well. Silas is a new name to me, and I echo Alan's thanks for taking the trouble.

[Lionel Harrsion]

Lionel, I am so envious of your ability to read a score so well. Silas is a new name to me, and I echo Alan's thanks for taking the trouble.

  Thanks, chaps; glad to be of assistance.  The ability to read a score comes from what feels like about 100 years of practice!

[Rob H]

Apart from his D minor Piano concerto I believe there is a "fantasy and elegy" for piano and orchestra (according to Giles Enders' Piano concerto site) - I thought there were three piano concertos though I can't remember where I got that information. I heard a march that he wrote which seemed rather banal but my piano teacher spent the weekend with his friend Ronald Stevenson who apparently played several pieces by Silas that he enjoyed. I see his name in organ circles more - some of his organ music is still in print. I would love to hear the concertante works though maybe he is an unsung for a reason.
Rob

[ahinton]

Ronald Stevenson! Ah - now there's an unsung composer for you!

[Alan Howe]

Ronald Stevenson! Ah - now there's an unsung composer for you!

Quite. But not for us here...

[pcc]

In looking over the score of the Symphony (not thoroughly yet, I admit) I'm not sure it would come off as dull in performance as it has been made out to be.  It has a light instrumental touch - very open, graceful woodwind writing (including some unusually high bassoon for the time in the first mvt), reserving the trombones for the finale and then deploying them quite elegantly - and some rather nice effects, such as the cross-rhythmic string writing in the recap of the finale (violins exchanging the main 6/8 drive over a 3/4 pulse in the violas and a 2/4 in the cello/bass) as the winds give out the main theme chorally.  (I do admit, that particular conceit "looks" better than it would probably sound, unless accents were strongly marked, and at speed it might be lost anyway.)  It doesn't seem that old-fashioned for 1852, either, certainly not in its post-Schubertian/Mendelssohnian style, and it's the work of a young man: he's 25 at the time of publication, and it is only his op.19.  What I've been looking at so far seems rather lyric and jolly, and almost deliberately _un_-profound.  I think it would play well, actually; I'll keep reading on deeper and preparing to be disillusioned, though.

[Lionel Harrsion]

pcc, I'm very glad that you are looking at this score.  When I wrote in my earlier post that "others may find things in it that I have missed" I did so in the hope that at least one "other" would peruse it.  It's always good to get a variety of opinions on unsung works (especially those by unsung composers) to ensure that a gem doesn't stay hidden when that fate is undeserved.  I note that you say you haven't looked over it thoroughly yet; once you have done so (if you do), I hope you will post again with your final thoughts.

[pcc]

I definitely will. What I've seen in it so far seems very interesting to me, as it doesn't seem like it would sound "thick", which is an initial discouragement to me sometimes.

[giles.enders]

In reply to hammyplay, I have a reference circa 1880 which states Silas composed three piano concertos.  in D, in C minor and in D minor.  I have no idea if the scores are still extant or if they were ever published.

[semloh]

According to Grove (1900 ed.):

SILAS, EDOUARD, pianist and composer, was born at Amsterdam, Aug. 22, 1827. His first
teacher was Neher, one of the Court orchestra at Mannheim. In 1842 he was placed under Kalkbrenner at Paris, and soon afterwards entered the Conservatoire under Benoist for the organ and Halevy for composition, and in 1849 obtained thest prize for the former. In 1850 he came to England; played first at Liverpool, and made his first appearance in London at the Musical Union, May 21. Since that date Mr. Silas has been established in London as teacher, and as organist of the Catholic Chapel at Kingston-on- Thames. His oratorio 'Joash' (words compiled by G. Linley) was produced at the Norwich Festival of 1863. A Symphony in A (op. 19) was produced by the Musical Society of London, April 22, 1863; repeated at the Crystal Palace, Feb. 20, 1864 ; and afterwards published (Cramer & Co.). A Concerto for PF. and orchestra in D minor is also published (Cramer & Co.). A Fantasia and an Elegie, both for PF. and orchestra, were given at the Crystal Palace in 1865 and 1873. In 1866 he received the prize of the Belgian competition for sacred music for his Mass for 4 voices and organ.

Mr. Silas is the author of a Treatise on Musical Notation, and an Essay on a new method of
Harmony both unpublished. He has still in MS. an English opera, 'Nitocris'; overture and incidental music to 'Fanchette'; a musical comedietta, 'Love's Dilemma'; a Cantata; an 'Ave Verum'; two 'O Salutaris'; a Symphony in C major; and other compositions. The list of his published instrumental works is very large, and includes many PF. pieces, among which the best known are Gavotte in E minor, Bourree in G minor, 'Malvina' (romance), Suite in A minor Op.103, Six Duets, etc., etc.

Mr. Silas is well known as a man of great humour and extraordinary musical ability. He is a teacher of harmony at the Guildhall School of Music; and his pupils there and in private are very numerous.
****************

Only two of the three piano concertos listed in Brown's Biographical Dictionary (1886) are mentioned here.

The concerto in D minor recieved its first perf. 28th May 1852, with the composer at the piano.

I can't find anything about the others.... 

[eschiss1]

no idea about publications of the piano concertos, at present. The piano trio in score and parts is at the Library of Congress.

I am wondering based on hints of evidence whether the New York Public Library might have some part of the D minor concerto. It's not in the (incomplete) online catalog, but might be in their printed catalog (pre-1964), which has been scanned in by Google and then made inaccessible except in the "your search terms are here somewhere, you just can't see where, too bad" sense (... since when is a reference book, esp. of that sort, copyrighted? Eh.)