Violin Music

[jonfrohnen]

I haven't been here in quite a while, what's new in the violin world!?

[jonfrohnen]

What does everyone think of the Josef Spacek Ernst album on Naxos?

[Alan Howe]

It's not my kind of thing at all. When I see the amount of time expended on these virtuoso trifles, I think of all the substantial concertos as yet unrecorded which deserve the attention of marvellous violinists such as Josef Spacek featured on the Naxos CD.

[jonfrohnen]

Sounds like it might be time to start your own label 

[mjkFendrich]

Hello Jonathan,

nice to have you as a member of this forum. I haven't noticed this new Ernst disc, and having grown up with
Gidon Kremer's singular interpretations of his major solo works I haven't found any need to investigate this
direction any further. Maybe I'll consider this disc sometime later.

But I am really grateful to Naxos for several other gems! In particular we now have superb interpretations
of Sarasate's complete works with Tianwa Yang! There have been two alternative complete sets before in a
quite doubtful artistic quality. I am wondering about the contents of the remaining vol.4 for vn, pf - we now
at least have all works with opus numbers.
Btw, in Mrs Yang's bio there once has been an announcement of planned recordings of Manén's concertos, which
has been changed to Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Could you perhaps tell us a bit more about these plans?

Best regards,
                          mjkFendrich

[jonfrohnen]

Hi, I'm glad you're enjoying the Sarasate!  Also note that there is no other complete Sarasate set...both the two you mention are incomplete.  For instance, there are two different fantasies on Faust as well two different fantasies on Don Giovanni.  Another that is missing from the other sets is the La Juive Grand duo written in collaboration with Diemer.  Volume four will contain transcriptions for violin/piano along with the Souvenirs de Faust.  I unfortunately do not have any notes on Tianwa recording the two Manen Concertos.

[JimL]

If these virtuoso/composer releases are warm-ups to some real substantial German Romantic releases (Gernsheim, Thieriot, etc.), then I'm all for it.  I find composers such as Ernst, Rode, Kreutzer, Lipinski, etc. delightful, but rather unmemorable as a whole.  I have to side with Alan - there are too many major composers from later on in the 19th Century, with more robust violin concertos as yet unrecorded, to stop with these.  It wouldn't be a bad thing at all, actually, to have Naxos do a new Raff with the violin concertos (ur-Concerto 1) and Fée d'Amour on one disc.  You'd have to leave off the Suite, but at least the original VC 1 would have a second release, as would the 2nd and the Konzertstück.

[jonfrohnen]

Fee D'amour was a Sarasate staple and is included on the transcriptions disc.  I'm sure the Raff concertos will be recorded again one day but they are already available on disc.  I'm working with violinist composers typically. 

[Alan Howe]

Well, Jon, then why not turn your attention to the two concerti by that marvellous violinist-composer Reinhold Becker (1842-1924)? No.1 is certainly in the Fleisher Collection...

[jonfrohnen]

He is on the list, I've not had time to hunt down the second concerto, if you send me the music to both I will see about getting it moved up in the queue! 

[jonfrohnen]

The Sitt concertos could also use some attention, they are great.

[eschiss1]

The two sources listed by Worldcat for Becker's 2nd concerto (Op.100, pub.ca.1901?) are for the reduction, but hopefully the score and parts are still -somewhere-... (interestingly, the Library of Congress has his violin sonata Op.150. If the 2nd concerto is too elusive, maybe try that instead? (And his symphony in C Op.140, but that's a whole other horsie.)) (His violin music also includes a Romance Op.135  with piano, a Capriccio Op.23 after Boccherini, a "Zwiegesang : für 1 Singst., Violine u. Pianoforte; op. 8"...)

[Alan Howe]

if you send me the music to both I will see about getting it moved up in the queue!

I'd love to. But funds do not allow: I'm already committed to a project to record another 19thC VC.

[eschiss1]

Mr. Frohnen- that said, the Fleisher Collection does have the scores and parts to a number of other violin concertos (a very large number)- they'll loan to institutions (orchestras, universities, etc.) rather than to individuals not associated with them (I have forgotten if you are, apologies- I seem to recall that you are, though...) - so they do have, I think , the materials for Gernsheim's 2 concertos etc. (but often they're manuscript scores and parts and depending on readability may require, for-all-I-know, that an edition be prepared from them, or something... - still, better that than just a piano score, which is all one can find too many other places. Having both, or as much information as possible too- better still I imagine, since the tempo markings, errata, etc. - changes the composer made from manuscript to first published edition (and changes the publisher made without consulting the composer, so having access when possible to the composer's papers... etc.) - the more often any of this is available, I would agree, the better. (And some universities have collections of composers' papers, manuscripts, early scores, etc. - a valuable thing for performers and researchers, and not only maintained for the established and known greats and/or "greats".  Anyhow.

(They have several interesting works for violin or 2 violins & orchestra by Hermann Zilcher in their collection ,e.g., including his first of 2 solo concertos, his "Skizzen aus dem Orient", his Concertpiece "Klage", also his Concerto and Suite for 2 violins and orchestra. (Another 2-violin work is Ludwig Maurer's Concertante Op.56 also in their collection, etc. See Free Library for their catalog. Anyhow. )