Julius Röntgen piano music, vol. 5 from Nimbus

[Sharkkb8]

Vol. 5 of piano music (this one for 2 pianos) of Julius Röntgen, although works by Reinecke & Brahms are included.  From Nimbus, soloist Mark Anderson, due out on Oct 2 from Amazon UK & USA, Presto.


Nimbus:  This recording offers the listener an interconnected view of romantic and post-romantic repertoire for two pianos, much of it unknown and even unpublished, until now. The best-known work here is Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn, op.56b, but there are other works included that deserve wider circulation and exposure. The two sets of variations by Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) are exquisite examples of 2-piano writing and exhibit attractive traits of the Leipzig School, at times providing strong echoes of Schumann and J.S. Bach, quite overtly in his Variations on a Sarabande by J.S. Bach. Likewise, the two sets of previously unpublished works by Julius Röntgen (1855-1932), whose early works are well-rooted in that same Leipzig School, reveal a mastery of composition in the 2-piano genre, an area in which he is currently unknown. Chamber music, concerti and even symphonies, alongside the growing popularity of his solo piano music, are well known genres for Röntgen. However, this recording presents Röntgen's debut as a composer in the 2-piano medium. In our opinion, his success is as astounding as the obscurity of these works is bewildering.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8806841--rontgen-piano-music-vol-5-music-for-2-pianos

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Julius-Röntgen-Piano-Music-Pianos/dp/B08DSS7ZHH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Röntgen%3A+Piano+Music+Vol.+5%2C+Music+for+2&qid=1600848959&s=music&sr=1-1

https://smile.amazon.com/Piano-Music-Anderson-Michelle-Mares/dp/B08DSS7ZHH/ref=sr_1_48?dchild=1&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1600848053&refinements=p_n_date%3A1249114011&rnid=1249111011&s=music&sr=1-48

[Alan Howe]

On a CD-R, no doubt...

[eschiss1]

at the risk of being grumbly, there's already a disk of some of his piano 4-hand music- they'd  need to convince someone that there's a -huge- difference between that and music for 2 pianos...

[eschiss1]

btw the "Franck" theme apparently isn't (modern score description.)

[Mark Thomas]

Unfortunately the modern score description (thanks for the link Eric) only says "which was not composed by Franck at all", but not by whom it was written. The inference is Röntgen himself, I suppose, but that isn't clear.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well, Mark, it does say it is a folksong, so presumably composed by the ubiquitous Anon.
Also, I noticed an egregious grammatical error in the blurb: "is comprised of". Oh dear! Sets my teeth on edge.

[Alan Howe]

"is comprised of"

Sets my teeth on edge too. It should be either 'is composed of' or 'comprises'.

Another brickbat from yours truly goes to a certain female Radio 5 presenter who is always saying 'with regards to' when the expression is either 'with regard to', 'as regards' or simply 'regarding'. It seems that the version with the added 's' is now 'non-standard usage'; at one time it used to be just plain 'grammatically wrong'! Standards are slipping...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Doubtless you have heard the cookery one: "now combine the ingredients together". I'd like to see someone try to combine them separately!

[Alan Howe]

Now try guessing how the Dutch actually pronounce 'Röntgen'...

[Alan Howe]

...answer here:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/dutch/r%C3%B6ntgen

[Rob H]

The "Chant de la Creuse" is the second of Franck's 18 Pièces brèves.

From the notes:
"The theme was introduced to Franck in 1888 by French art and music connoisseur Paul Poujard who hailed from the Creuse region of France"

[Sharkkb8]

...answer here:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/dutch/r%C3%B6ntgen

I've listened 3 times and I still can't pronounce it.      Obviously no Dutch genes in the family.

[Justin]

Human pronunciation here: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/File:Nl-röntgen.ogg

Seems it is pronounced like "Runtrun"

[semloh]

The guttural sound is difficult for a lot of English speakers. In health care and most academic contexts in the UK and Australia, a propos Wilhelm R. and x-rays, most people just say "Ronterjen" - wrong but easy-peezy! 

As far as the CD is concerned, I think we should just be pleased that Julius's piano music is not being ignored.