More obscure Moszkowski

[Jonathan]

Hi All,
Just noticed this on the MDT website:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/moszkowski-from-foreign-lands-san-francisco-ballet-orchestra-martin-west.html

Looks interesting...

[TerraEpon]

What a very nice looking disc, can't wait.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Interesting - yes. Appealing - I'm sure it will be. But this seems to me to be something of a missed opportunity.  According to the blurb at MDT, the conductor approached the record company "..with the hope that there were enough orchestral works by Moritz Moszkowski to record a cd-length program." Well we know there are enough for several CDs. Yet, despite the fact that the blurb mentions 3 orchestral suites (there are actually 4), this disk includes 'From Foreign Lands' which has been recorded before (as has Philip Scharwenka's orchestration of the Op. 12 Spanish Dances) and a number of small scale pieces, all no doubt most attractive, most of which are orchestrations of piano pieces by the composer (and two of these in orchestrations by musicians other than Moszkowski). If the conductor was so interested in performing orchestral works by the composer why not choose Joan of Arc, or any of the three other orchestral suites, scores and parts for which are all in Fleisher?  If he wanted to be more ambitious there is the Symphony, though this would involve preparing an edition with orchestral parts, so a lengthy and expensive undertaking. I am not being ungrateful, but you see my point.

[Martin Eastick]

I could not agree more with you Gareth, in fact you have beaten me to it with your post! Yes, I certainly look forward to this release, which I will obtain with due gratitude to those concerned. I must say however that the inclusion of the "trifles" here (arrangements of Gondoliera, Près de berceau & Habenera) unfortunately seem to perpetuate Moszkowski's unjust reputation as a composer of only "lighter" music and not to be taken too seriously. With the recent revelation of his Op3 Piano Concerto successfully projecting the image of a composer of much more substance, surely here was the ideal opportunity to introduce more ambitious orchestral fare. We could easily have also done without the Spanish Dances and From Foreign Parts, as Gareth says available elsewhere, thus freeing up enough space to have included perhaps Jeanne d'Arc Op19 or one of the first two orchestral suites (or even the third, Op79, although this has appeared before on LP). Finally, pleased as I am to have the Op56 Airs de Ballet, it would surely have been a good idea to have also included the overture to the same production, although this was published separately, and not part of "Op56".

[sdtom]

I must certainly take exception for what has been said about the new release. For me being a novice (I hope forever) this was an exciting new discovery for me. It is nicely recorded, as most RR recordings are and since this is all new material to me. The newer overtures seem to be a nice balance such as the Foreign Lands make for a very attractive 25+ minute piece. I understand this was performed by the San Francisco ballet. I will reviewing on my blog soon.
Tom

[sdtom]

https://sdtom.wordpress.com/2016/08/28/moszkowski-from-foreign-lands/

My review of the new RR release

[TerraEpon]

Ok so this is a very good CD --- but it has a major issue. The is no actual complete track listing anywhere. The three multi-movement pieces are only listed as single entries, and one has to look in the booklet for movement titles for From Foreign Lands and Don Juan (the Spanish Dances is just keys which aren't listed anywhere). What's more is the Don Juan ones are listed out of order (thank god for IMSLP).
What's even more -- the 3rd and 4th Spanish Dances are swapped for no apparent reason .
I even sent an email to Reference pointing out my disappointment and they sent a snarky reply that  "the producers, conductor Martin West and RR worked collaboratively to produce the supporting materials. You are the only person to find them wanting.".....of course I'm not, as the MusicWeb review goes into it as well (and possibly another review I came across).

But on the flip side, I was interested to learn that Scharwenka only orchestrated dances 2 and 5, the other three being done by someone named Valentin Frank (and yes, it's the 'standard' orchestration that's been recorded a few times before).

Also, as counter to the above, I really enjoy the 'trifles', but I'm a huge fan of 'lighter' music....

[M. Yaskovsky]

Not the only person to find this release unsupportive concerning track information. What arrogance from RR. I bought this CD too and happen to have the same comment en reviewed it on Amazon.uk The recording is soso too; way too much bass for my ears and sound system. A bit disappointing.

[eschiss1]

Apparently they've got something wrong.. from the dates, 1858-1929, they're very likely talking about

Franz Valentin "Frank" van der Stucken

who's obscure, but not unknown! I can see how they made the mistake, though... Valentin "Frank"...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Hmm. Sounds to me as if the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. A pity. Being trained to academic rigour, I just hate anything that is slapdash. I know that, on this forum at least, I am not alone.

[Mark Thomas]

Gareth, knowing you I can imagine the pain that even typing the word "slapdash" must have caused you!

[TerraEpon]

Apparently they've got something wrong.. from the dates, 1858-1929, they're very likely talking about

Franz Valentin "Frank" van der Stucken

who's obscure, but not unknown! I can see how they made the mistake, though... Valentin "Frank"...

Interesting; however, if you check the thematic catalog from 2010 (you can download it here - https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/handle/11303/2418 ) it ALSO lists "Valentin Frank". I'm going to GUESS that's where the error comes from.