Joan Manén violin concerto, from Naxos

[Sharkkb8]

Due out from Naxos next week, an album containing the very sung Lalo "Symphonie espangole", with a very unsung "Concierto espagñol" by one Joan Manén.  Links to jpc & Amazon below, although I don't see sound bites yet. 

Wikipedia isn't a great deal of help - a Spanish violinist & composer, from Barcelona.  While he died in 1971, Manén's concerto is dated 1898, with a "revision" in 1935.  A revision might well have been in order, since an 1898 composition date would mean the composer was then 15 years old...so maybe it was "revised" from a youthful work to a more mature one?  One of Manén's claims to fame is a dubious one - he apparently attempted to "complete" the 259 bars of violin concerto in C, WoO 5, left by Beethoven.  I'm going to continue to dig into Sr. Manén, but in the meantime, does this composer or his VC ring a bell with anyone?

Gregory

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/lalo-symphonie-espagnole/hnum/4481801

http://tinyurl.com/juwuj8h

[eschiss1]

Not so dubious; I'm sure he's not the only person who's tried to complete that Beethoven fragment.  Josef Hellmesberger (sr or jr)* wrote a completion too, I see. LBYL.

*If the Hellmesbergers aren't familiar, one of them edited many of Schubert's lieder, the other, I think, was a good friend of Brahms, in both cases among other things...

Anyhow, according to the search at HMB (database of scans of Hofmeisters Monatsberichte from 1829 to 1900), a Joan Manen - maybe the same, maybe someone else (father???) of the same name - had some 33 works published by 1900 (from Op.7 and 13 published in 1898, to Op.33 published in 1900.)

(See also this with Opp.3 & 32.
"au:"Manén, Joan"" @ worldcat.org turns up ca.150 "hits", including a string quartet published in 1922 and an earlier piano quartet "en Fa menor" pub. 1903...)

Re the string quartet: digitized by Sibley Library (US-only, Canada as of 2022, Europe 2042) - http://hdl.handle.net/1802/8271

[eschiss1]

So getting back to the violin concerto, perhaps composed in 1898, "Concerto espagnol No.1 Op.A-7/Op.18", published in 1923, revised in 1935, ...according to Worldcat... also a concerto grosso "Juventus" published 1913, a concerto da camera no.2 (pub. 1937)  (The only 2nd concerto of his listed by Worldcat anyway seems to be an adaptation of Paganini's 2nd concerto...)

Actually, this gives a Neitzel reduction of Manén's violin concerto, published rather earlier (1911). Still the 1898 version I'm sure, but earliest publication year is often worth knowing..

Fair amount of his stuff (eg guitar solo sonata, ...) on YouTube, I see, too.

Ah. And "concerto no.1" means what one thinks:

he wrote several (solo) concertos (besides the c. grosso & etc - maybe the da camera is the second?...) - here's a brief description of a manuscript copy of his 3rd concerto.

[Sharkkb8]

Not so dubious; I'm sure he's not the only person who's tried to complete that Beethoven fragment.  .... LBYL.

LYBL?  No, he's not the only person to attempt it (one August Wilhelmj as well), I never claimed he was.

But, I'll rescind "dubious".  Would "ambitious" be acceptable?

[eschiss1]

Ambitious, yes. But it's early, Bonn-era Beethoven, iirc, not 1820s Beethoven ... lovely though I find the music produced -throughout- LvB's life... (don't know LYBL. I apologize for the LBYL, though...)

Linked to (US-only) digitization of his 1922-published string quartet above, which may interest some, by the way. (Thanks U Rochester New York Sibley Library...)