Friedrich Gernsheim concertos

[eschiss1]

erm... ok...
Friedrich Gernsheim was a composer born in Worms in 1839, died 1916, a good friend of Johannes Brahms (though they did not actually meet until 1868.)
I'm aware of four concertos by him off the top of my head:
*Piano concerto in C minor, Op.16 (ca.1869)  (there's been a recent broadcast performance of this you can find on YouTube, with Oliver Triendl- who also performs Felix Draeseke and others - as the soloist.)
*Violin Concerto No.1 in D major, Op.42 (ca.1880. Dedicated to Sarasate.)
*Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.78 (has been recorded commercially on Hyperion. Premiered 1907 Feb.16 in Eisenach by Karl Piening.)
*Violin Concerto No.2 in F major, Op.86 (1912? dedicated to Marteau.)

Scores (or in the case of violin concerto no.2, and the cello concerto, a violin/piano reduction; NYPL has a full score of the cello concerto, I seem to recall looking at it) of the string concertos are available at IMSLP, though not yet the piano concerto. The violin concertos, if good enough, need a violinist to take them up...

[Balapoel]

Two additions:

Divertimento for Flute and Strings (1888), Op. 53
Fantasiestück for Violin and Orchestra (1876), Op. 33

I too, await recordings of the violin concertos.

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately there's no sign of them being done.

[eschiss1]

hrm.  The violin and piano version of the Fantasiestück was I believe included in a recent pair of CDs of Gernsheim's music? Though the orchestral version would I expect still be appreciated. (I haven't heard either yet.) (At that, there's a number of his other works I wouldn't mind hearing- most of his chamber works except for his 2nd string quintet and 2nd and 3rd cello sonatas seem to be covered in one form or another, I think, quite a few @IMSLP, but there's all those choral works and symphonic poems one probably won't get to hear... ah well.)

[Alan Howe]

I meant the two VCs.

[eschiss1]

I haven't seen complete material (full score, or parts, etc.) for the 2nd violin concerto, at that. I hope the reduction isn't all there is left of it...

(though if anywhere has them, maybe it's Staats. Bibliothek Berlin, which I just found out has scanned-in autograph scores of at least two of his symphonies. Neat.)

[eschiss1]

Oh right. The Fleisher Collection has the score & parts to the 2nd concerto. That really needs to be my "go-to"...

[FBerwald]

The piano concerto is quite curious and beautiful... I dont know much [.. perhaps someone can shed some light..] but Gernsheim doesn't seem to be a Piano composer yet he writes quite nicely... Sort of like what Berwald did with his Piano concerto.

[eschiss1]

it is a fairly early work. He wrote a fair amount for piano during his career and had been a concert pianist since 1850 (ca. age 11).

[Gareth Vaughan]

The Fleisher Collection has the score & parts to the 2nd concerto. That really needs to be my "go-to"...

When looking for scores & parts of orchestral music, Fleisher should be every researcher's first port of call. It's a stunning collection. We are indebted to old man Fleisher and his dedication and generosity.

[Mark Thomas]

Amen to that, Gareth.

[eschiss1]

There's a few others that seem to be very good at carrying complete parts too (depending and probably in specialized areas) at least judging from their catalogs- maybe Dutch Royal Library etc.- but yes - agreed!!

[Gareth Vaughan]

I agree, Eric. The Dutch Royal Library is a fine repository of orchestral music.

[Ilja]

The problem is that the national subsidy of the NMI (Nederlands Muziekinstituut, the institute that houses the music collection of the Dutch Royal Library) has been cut off. The KB (Royal Library) and the municipality of The Hague are contributing to a solution, but there's a good chance that accessibility to the material will become restricted in the future. That would be a disaster.

[Alan Howe]

Many thanks to Mark Thomas for uploading the much better-sounding recording of Gernsheim Piano Concerto. In my view the piece is greatly enhanced by the excellent sound: it's an even more beautiful, memorable and repertoire-worthy piece than I had remembered.

What's interesting is where Gernsheim 'fits'. It's his 'Schumann-on the-way-to-something-more-lyrical-than-Brahms' idiom that fascinates me, if you'll excuse my clumsy description. The composer he most reminds me of in the PC, I suppose, is Bruch (e.g. VC1).

What do others think?