Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 62 - Gounod!

[LateRomantic75]

I'd agree it doesn't start with a certain year, but would disagree that it has to do with a certain _composer's_ style, as these things vary from work to work and even within works... some of these works, with this soloist (from his website, I think, not sure, or radio recordings?) (possibly a different conductor and orchestra) can be heard on YouTube, I think, so you don't have to wait until the Hyperion recording is released to decide whether you personally think these works are mid- or late-Romantic. I forget at that whether I've heard them, and will do so myself...

You've got a point there that a composer's style varies throughout his/her compositional career, but overall Wagner and Tchaikovsky, for example, are late-romantic composers. Re Gounod-I guess it depends on how you define "late-romantic". I, personally, define late-romantic music as having the following characteristics: complex orchestration, lush harmony, chromatic but tonal melodic lines, elements of nationalism, evocations of nature, etc. By my definition, Gounod is not a late-romantic composer, but I'm not saying he shouldn't be one to others...

[Alan Howe]

Well, I was tempted to start an exchange about definitions, but let's not even try. Bound to lead to strife...

[eschiss1]

Wait, we're not discussing war-symphonies?
... BTW, I had no idea that Hyperion announced things 4 months ahead. Even MDT only seems to catch them only 1.5-2 months or so (though individual performer websites, etc. can get one more information about plans, I suppose- e.g. one still waits for the Weismann symphonies and some other works mentioned by Werner Andreas Albert on an earlier incarnation of his website, while realizing that cpo - etc., again. ) Anyhow- thanks!

[petershott@btinternet.com]

I suspect things are more complex in that a mid / late Romantic divide (if there is such a clear distinction) doesn't coincide between Germany, France, England (and let's not forget Sweden and Russia).

Maybe not a very useful discussion, for works and composers always resist categorisations?

But I'm tempted to agree with LateRomantic's initial point: the general drift of Hyperion's RPC series (which is surely going to be one of the landmarks in the history of recorded music) has been towards the first half of the 19th century. Some invaluable recordings indeed, but like LateRomantic, I'd also like to explore works that have fallen by the wayside up to the start of the 20th century.

[eschiss1]

No argument there, I just thought perhaps it might not (or might) not apply to the works in this thread (some of which can already be heard online, I think), rather than e.g. Gounod or Hyperion in general.

(Isn't there a thread - several years untouched I expect - for suggestions as to what we'd like to see in the Hyperion Romantic concerto series, if we had our druthers, if performers were available who were willing to play them/had them in their repertoires, etc. etc. etc. ... ? I speaking for myself (and who else should I be speaking for, silly Eric...) shouldn't mind seeing that thread lifted/revived/etc. That piano concertos website and similar sites (violin, etc.?...), various works we've heard since then, etc., ... might be relevant, even...)

[JimL]

Mr. Prosseda emailed me last month, I believe, and notified me that this would be coming out, but I didn't know it would be so soon!  I can't wait to hear the Suite Concertante!  I already have the concerto, of course!

[TerraEpon]

Well the sound samples are there and sound great, very much looking forward to the disc.

[FBerwald]

I wonder what's next in line for the romantic Violin Concerto series....

[Alan Howe]

Good question...

[obermann]

I wonder what's next in line for the romantic Violin Concerto series....

I am not sure but I have a feeling we can expect the Pfitzner Cello Concertos soonish from Hyperion with Alban Gerhardt - if they consider these to be romantic!

[jonah]

I recall that they were talking of doing the Tovey Cello Concerto - the Toccata recording seems underpowered, and the Casals on Symposium is virtually unlistenable, soundwise.

[Gerhard Griesel]

One of the stars in my little CD collection is 'Charles Gounod Triumphal Music for Organ and Orchestra from Ingolstadt Münster'. It contains the 'Russe' and the Suite Concertante, played on a massive organ with orchestra in a venue with a terrific echo. Imagine transposing the piano in a piano concerto to grand organ. A caviat though is that the recording has a rough and ready ring to it. It does sound sometimes as if the town band is playing and the recording was done in one sitting.

[FBerwald]

I am not sure but I have a feeling we can expect the Pfitzner Cello Concertos soonish from Hyperion with Alban Gerhardt - if they consider these to be romantic!

Or course the Pfitzner cello concertos are romantic ... late atleast .. they did the Korngold Piano Concerto and that's in the margins. Is your feeling based on a rumor or a guess? We could do with a new Vol. in the RCC series after 2 years!!!!

[obermann]

Is your feeling based on a rumor or a guess? We could do with a new Vol. in the RCC series after 2 years!!!!

It's based upon the information on Gerhardt's website:

The past few weeks were rather exhausting for me because of some reason I had the strange idea of recording all orchestral works with cello by Hans Pfitzner. Partly great, partly really bizarre music, and as always I learnt every single piece just for that recording, and in order to know it inside out I forced myself to memorize his three concertos as well as the duo for violin and cello for which I managed to convince my wife Geri to join me. We did it in Berlin with the RSB and wonderful Sebastian Weigle who is mainly an opera conductor but whom I heard do the best pictures of an exhibition ever; every single movement of this guy have a direct effect on the orchestra, and besides being a very good musician he just knows what he is doing with his hands, his arms – his entire body-language is so clear that orchestras get very inspired and tend to play their best for him.