Composers' descendants

[adriano]

...and there is Joan Cominos, Louis Gruenberg's daughter, another very nice person and dear acquaintance of mine. Gruenberg was an excellent composer, such a pity he has still to belong to the "unsung" category.
With Pascale Honegger, Arthur Honegger's daughter, I am befriended since 1982; she lives in Switzerland.

[minacciosa]

I thought she was in Austin Texas. I'd like to meet Joan as I'm very interested in Gruenberg. I've always wanted to play his Violin Concerto (which may be the greatest American violin concert); it's on my music stand right now. I have had absolutely no luck in persuading orchestras to play it with me. The orchestra part is very, very difficult, and would require more than the single (or two at most) rehearsal(s) usually allotted to the soloist on a given program. That's why you hear endless Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Brahms - the orchestras barely have to rehearse to perform them adequately. That's an awful standard.

[adriano]

Joan lives in Martinez, California

[eschiss1]

Wasn't Gunther Schuller interested in Gruenberg enough to record some of his works a few decades ago? (And I see more recently, though not much more recently, Paul Freeman conducted a recording of one of his symphonies. Hrm. Though yes, I see the only recording(s) of his violin concerto are "historic" ones... though there's also this video of a rehearsal for a 2002 performance in Tokyo. I wonder if it's more or less difficult than certain other American concertos, but given the nature of this forum, will amend to "Romantic" concerto since the one that leaps to mind is _not_ Romantic...)

[minacciosa]

I can tell you authoritatively that it's the most difficult concerto, yes, more than Paganini, Ernst or anything else.

[adriano]

You are prefectly right, minacciosa 
Symphony No.2 recorded by Freeman - coupled with "The Enchanted Isle" is magnificent mkusic!
Schuller made a higly interesting CD in 1986 with The Collage New Music Ensemble.
I have some more rarities, which I could tranfer from a pricate LP in Joan's possession: "The Daniel Jazz" and "Five Variations on a popular Theme", both for chamber group. 
In 1972, Zola Shauslis recorded Gruenbberg's "Polychromatics" for piano for the New World label.
All of Gruenberg's music is diffult to play.
Incidentally, years ago I made an arrangement for wind ensmble of Gruenberg's short and witty baritone song cycle "Animals and Insects", which seems to be of no interest to anybody even in its original version...

[minacciosa]

Despite some initial success, Gruenberg has turned out to be one of the unluckiest composers. Hadrianus, do you know where are the performing material for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Symphonies? They are not at NYPL.

[Gareth Vaughan]

MS Scores and parts for Symphonies 3 & 4 are in the Fleisher Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Also quite a lot of his other orchestral music, including symphonies 1 & 2 and cello and piano concertos respectively.

[minacciosa]

Where is the 5th?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Good question. I don't know, I'm afraid.

[eschiss1]

At least a condensed score of no.5 (sym. 5, op.75) at N(ew)Y(ork)PL; they have a lot more by Gruenberg than that, in fact. 200-300 entries, depending on how many are duplications (see www.nypl.org .) (Answer courtesy, again, of Worldcat.org, not of any particular intelligence on my part) Including sketches to no.7 and 14 pages of sketches for no.8, it seems. Intriguing.

From NYPL card entry for no.5 condensed score (please do not add water)-
"On t.p. (crossed off): Written in 1944 ; reviewed 1962.
   Last movement, Be strong in the Lord, for men's chorus (TBarBarB) and orchestra."

[eschiss1]

Also, minacciosa - I'm confused. - no.4 is at NYPL (indeed, they have the holograph), according to their catalog, but it could be mistaken- catalogs often are; do their staff or your own researches say that they lack it? (http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10984930~S1) (I could be missing something here. I often am!)

[minacciosa]

I saw no entry at all for the 5th in their finding aid.

[eschiss1]

*attaches a notice to all (such) documents/databases/resources past, present and future, with rare exceptions as noted as implied by self-application: this document or resource shall not be understood to be comprehensive, and should be used in conjunction with other resources.*

(Then exhaustedly- that's a lotta resources- takes a nap)

[joachim]

But Mozart had two son, Karl and Franz Xaver. The first became official, but Franz Xaver was a prominent pianist and teacher, and has composed works, including chamber music, piano and melodies in a rather romantic style.