Rufinatscha piano music from Innsbruck

[eschiss1]

No argument there! "Originality" is overrated...

[MusFerd]

Many thanks to the Rufinatscha fan community for their valuable comments! It is a pleasure to read that our recordings are discussed intensively. Greetings from Innsbruck!

[JimL]

He's even got a fan page on FB, MusFerd!

[thalbergmad]

I have now started to listen to these works, starting with the sonata Op.3. If that is anything to go by, I am in for a treat indeed.

Cannot help wondering if Rufinatscha had heard or played the Beethoven Op.57, because that was the vibe i was getting. A dark work that gives you a glimmer of hope and then withdraws it again. Captivating stuff.

In the process of adding this to my feeble repertoire. Mechanically it is not demanding, but I intend to add a lot more fire to the last movement than in the recording, so perhaps I will struggle.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Thal, for your positive reaction. And good luck with getting to know the music...

[thalbergmad]

It has been pointed out to me that perhaps the Op.3 Sonata bears a greater resemblance to the Dussek Op.77, which would be praise indeed. Written in the the year of Rufinatscha's birth as well.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

An afterthought: Could, perhaps, Rufinatscha's last Piano Sonata (D minor, 1880) be orchestrated? Is it possible that this is a symphony in disguise?

[Mark Thomas]

Could it be orchestrated? Clearly it could. Should it be? I suppose it depends whether you think the composer's intention is important. Rufinatscha strikes me as a serious, deliberate composer. If he had intended this fine, serious piece as a sixth symphony then why wouldn't he just have written a Sixth Symphony? Why disguise it? If it was a study for one wouldn't it have been laid out for four hands? Although I'd love to hear more orchestral Rufinatscha, especially after Herr Huber made such a good job of reconstructing the Third, personally I'd rather leave well alone and enjoy the Sonata for what it is.

[Alan Howe]

Herr Huber's opinion on the matter might be enlightening. Interestingly, the D minor Sonata does indeed exist in a version for piano 4-hands...

[Mark Thomas]

Ahh...

[Alan Howe]

It's still a Piano Sonata, of course...