Symphonies for 2015 - here's wishing...

[Alan Howe]

With a number of excellent first recordings of symphonies having come out during 2015 (Bargiel in C, Rudorff 3, etc.), I'd very much like to hear which other romantic-era symphonies forum members would like to draw the attention of recording labels to for 2015. Please accompany your suggestions with reasons so that we avoid mere list-making!

To kick off: the four symphonies by Ödön Mihalovich (1842-1929):

    No. 1 in D minor (1879), premiere: Budapest,1885.
    No. 2 in B minor (1892), premiere: Budapest, 1893.
    No. 3 in A minor, 'Patethique'(sic) (In memoriam Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen
           consort of Hungary, 1900), premiere: Budapest, 1901.
    No. 4 in C minor (1902), premiere: Budapest, 1903.

Reason: Mihalovich was known as a Wagnerian, so it would be interesting to hear what he did with the symphony in this period.

[Mark Thomas]

Two Germanic mid-romantic nominations from me:

1. Julius Otto Grimm (1827-1903): Symphony in D minor Op.19 (published in 1875, but probably written in the 1850s).
Reason: Things will be clearer when we have Chris Fifield's book, but Grimm was a great friend of Brahms, and allegedly this symphony was a major influence on Brahms' symphonic thinking. There are a couple of MIDIs available which hint at something very special and the score is at imslp here.

2. Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885): Symphony in E minor op. 67 (1848) - motto: Es muss doch Frühling werden (There Must Be Spring).
Reason: The first movement (broadcast three years ago and still available to download here, courtesy of BritishComposer) is a hugely impressive piece of work, and I'd love to hear the other three movements in the hope that Hiller maintained his inspiration in them..

[eschiss1]

The full score of the Hiller is available at IMSLP, so if one can read score one can get at least some idea (though an actual, good, performance would be much preferable to - well, yes.) (Likewise Mihalovich's first symphony) Have performing materials for the 2nd-4th symphonies of Mihalovich been located? (Apologies for my tone!)

I hope cpo will move on to Rudorff 2; have heard a recording of it and am impressed, but am sure they can do better. I also hope they'll try Wilhelm Reinhard Berger's and Wilhelm Taubert's symphonies on for size (the latter's 4th(?) in B minor seems impressive in score anyway; if any of the others survive I'd like to hear them, and the B minor too.)

[semloh]

OK - quick first response:
1)   Adelina de Lara – Symphony
Reason: pure curiosity! de Lara was born in 1872 in Carlisle, not a long way from where I grew up, but was a friend of Brahms and studied with Clara Schuman; she lived a long life that spanned a host of musical styles and tastes; she was awarded the Order of the British Empire, and was a remarkable woman; the symphony is hardly mentioned anywhere, but was once available from YouTube - it quickly disappeared and I missed it!

[Alan Howe]

Have performing materials for the 2nd-4th symphonies of Mihalovich been located?

Good question. One for your unparallelled sleuthing skills, Eric?

[Gareth Vaughan]

I know they have been recorded, but I am sure I am not alone in hoping that CPO will at last release the set of Jadassohn's symphonies in 2015.
Of Romantic era symphonies I would like to see recorded in 2015, that by Stojowski comes near the top of my list. The YouTube recording shows what a splendid work this, but the somewhat recessed sound on YouTube makes one wish for a good digital version.
Any of Emanuel Moor's symphonies would also be welcome - especially the C major (1895) "In memoriam Lajos Kossuth". This score is available at IMSLP and I consider it to be a noble work.
If Joseph Holbrooke is not too late for this forum, his Choral Symphony "Hommage to Edgar Allan Poe" and 2nd Symphony "Apollo and the Seaman" are extraordinary scores which it would be wonderful to hear well performed.

[eschiss1]

Re Mihalovich, I'll see if I can contact and find out from the author of a recent dissertation on the composer, an Akos Windhager. (Szechenyi Library catalog lists about 2 dozen works by him, but no symphonies. Will check other places...)

[Alan Howe]

Thank you very much indeed, Eric.

[eschiss1]

I forget if we have a separate thread about Mihalovich- seems worth having- but there is a 10-page summary of the thesis in PDF here. The entire 295-page dissertation (in Hungarian) is here.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric. I did some googling too. There also appears to be a 37-page version of the thesis in German.

[eschiss1]

Hrrrrrrmmmm. Interesting. Judging from the movement-by-movement descriptions of Mihalovich's symphonies that Windhager gives toward the end of his dissertation (the 295-page version), I'm guessing either they still exist, or they were described at great length in music journals at the time of their premieres (admittedly, not all that unusual then). Hopefully the former. E.g.
(translating a little, copying the rest- sorry!)
Symphony 3 E-moll, Patetikus (60', Kerner: 50'):
Symphonie Pathetique pour grand Orchesre
K: 1900.02.20., 3.tétel: 1898.12.xx, ea: 1901.01.30., a 4.tétel:1899.01.25., mj:?
Zenekara: 1 kisfuvola, 3 nagyfuvola, 3 oboa, 1 angolkürt, 3 klarinét, 1 basszusklarinét, 3 fagott, 1 kontrafagott, 4 kürt, 3 trombita, 3 harsona, 1 tuba, üstdob, cintányér, hárfa, vonósok

1.tétel: Allegro patetico-Sostenuto-Bentenuto (25', 15 ')
2.tétel: Scherzo-Allegro-Trio (10-9')
3.tétel: Marcia funebre sulla morte dell' Imperatrice Regine Elisabetta d' Austria-Ungheria, Grave e lento (11-10')
4.tétel: Allegro con brio, (Epithalame Paola Borhese esküvőjére) (Ünnepi hangok címmelis) (15', 12 ')

That's from pp277-78 of his dissertation.

[alberto]

Two nominations for me:
1) The Symphony by Ildebrando Pizzetti (contemporary of Britten' Sinfonia da Requiem and commissioned by Japan) but in idiom decidedly Romantic.
An undeservedly otstanding Symphny by a very worth musician (in awful sound tha first performance circulates on the web).
2) An impossible wish.
  The Symphony n.1 in d minor (1900) and the Symphony n.2 in d minor (1912) by Francesco Paolo Neglia.
 

[eschiss1]

Do the latter symphonies survive in performable shape? Some of his works do (and indeed in versions by Renzo Bossi a couple of his works can be found at IMSLP... other works of his are listed at Worldcat ; sbn.it lists 220 things by him, maybe the symphonies in some form or other?... (I do see a piano quartet. That intrigues too. I'd like to find out more about him generally, having uploaded that brief work by him to IMSLP in the first place ) (In connection with Neglia: this, by a relative of his, I think.)

[alberto]

About Pizzetti I wanted to say "undeservedly neglected".
Neglia (1874-1932):
I am puzzled by his life; obscurity in native Sicily and generally in Italy, apparently success in Germany (circa 1900-1914) as composer, conductor, teacher and musical organizer, then return to Italy and again modest obscurity.
A "Largo espressivo op.40" for violin and organ (on a Tactus Cd) appears worthy. Some Neglia snippet is on the web in awful sound.

[eschiss1]

Well, there's two websites devoted to him - http://www.francescopaoloneglia.it/ and the one noted above.

Further on symphonies re 2015, I'd like to see Koechlin's 2nd finally get a commercial recording, having now heard 2 different non-commercial versions of it (I think they're in our old upload section somewheres.) Orledge talks about the work at interesting length too in one of his Koechlin books.  Even though most of the work is transcriptions from other (little-known) works of his own (but such well-done transcriptions- and I don't mean "respectful" - certainly not in the sense of "stodgy", unless the performance is...), he does it with flair, and the finale, new to the symphony, ties it all together...

The full score (if I understand- I think full score- maybe parts- hopefully not just reduction....) of Neglia's D minor symphony Op.30 ("56 P") of 1912, in an edition by Renzo Bossi (son, I believe, of a rather more famous Bossi...) was published in 1955 by Augusta of Torino/Turin?- ah, this is the Symphony 1 Op.10P below -      Biblioteca del Monumento nazionale di Praglia - Teolo has a copy of this as do several other Italian libraries, according to SBN (95 page score, the 2nd entry SBN has for it makes this part clear, ok, good. 95 page score (reduced?), 225 page full score? -- ah. Here we are...

" · Sinfonie, coro (3 voci), orchestra, n. 2, op. 30 (56 P), re min."

Full score (225pp) at     Biblioteca del Conservatorio statale di musica Nicolò Paganini - Genova - GE.

(The "56 P" refers to a cataloguing system sometimes used for Neglia's works.)

Ah, ok, I see I was confused. Both symphonies are in D minor. The score at Teolo is the symphony no.1 for organ and orchestra in D minor "Op. 10P", 124 pages, ©1955, edited by Bossi, possibly not published until posthumously. The symphony no.2, Op.30, also D minor, with 3 vocal parts, 225 pages (manuscript?) full score, 95 pages reduced score, is the other one, perhaps published in some form (reduced?) during his lifetime, not sure... According to SBN, about 8-10 or so Italian libraries have copies of each score in some form or other (the 95-page (reduced?) version of sym.2, the full 124pp score of sym. 1.)