Rufinatscha article @ MusicWeb

[Alan Howe]

Welcome to UC, razorback. And thanks for the heads-up about the TL Xmas half-price offer. They've done this before, but it's good to know that they're doing it again.

[Richard Moss]

What excellent news.  Tks for the heads up! I too still have a few of their CDs I want to get and have had to wait until they are available 'discounted'.  For the benefit of the new members, although the web-site to purchase CDs is in German I've found in the past either UC members or Ms Eller (via e-mail) most helpful (as well as the purchases themselves - Rufinatscha et al) being exceptionally enjoyable).

Good hunting!

Best wishes

Richard

[FBerwald]

Are these CD's available as FLAC downloads anywhere?

[Alan Howe]

No, sorry.

[Santo Neuenwelt]

Hello Alan
You know, despite three different emails, and one in "Tiroler Deutsch" we never got any response from the gentleman you recommended we contact, nor from anyone else at the Tiroler Landesmuseum. We would very much like to reprint or make first time editions of Rufinatscha's chamber music but have had no luck getting anywhere.

Seeing as how you have had contact with the museum, perhaps you might ask on our behalf if there are any copies of his published chamber music or manuscripts of it. Naturally, we would be prepared to pay for scanned copies etc...

And Eric, with your expertise of libraries, do you know if any have copies of his published chamber music. Thanks in advance to both of you.

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately I no longer do any work for the TLM as I'm too busy with other projects, so I doubt very much if I could be of service. Maybe they're just not interested in having the scores reprinted.

One possible avenue might be to ask how you can get hold of scores for performing purposes. That might flush out their status and whereabouts...

[eschiss1]

Hrm. I see some of his piano works listed in a few library catalogs (ÖNB has a piano sonata and two lieder Opp.1&2, Duke University has the Op.6 Rondo, the Op.3 sonata is @ Württembergische Landesbibliothek, likewise the fantasy for piano and the marches op.4 dedicated to Liszt) but if any of his chamber music has been published (I'm not sure it has- perhaps it's all in manuscript @ Tirol still, not even in critical editions yet??... don't know?) I don't see it so far in any searches, but - well- more searching to do...

[Santo Neuenwelt]

Well, thanks guys. Thought it was worth a try. We have two CDs which were made of two piano quartets by the Geistig Trio of Munich and two string quartets by the Christian String Quartet. They were made way back in 2000 and 2001 but released, at least in the US, only in the past few years. Both are on private labels, one of the Tiroler Landesmuseum in Innsbruck, the other by Sparkasse, a big Austrian bank, but both copyrighted by the TL.

According to the jacket notes, the string quartets date from 1850 and 1870 and were recorded for the first time. There is a picture of the manuscript score of the second movement of his 1870 string quartet on the back page of the jacket notes. As a performing musician, I can tell you that it is unlikely that these players read off of a manuscript of the score. Most likely, they played off of parts made by a copyist, but maybe they were published somewhere. The Italian publisher Mechetti of Vienna published some of his works, but apparently no chamber music.

I guess the only way we are going to get copies of either the score or parts is either by visiting the museum or contacting the performers, a long shot, and asking if they could provide copies...

[Alan Howe]

Yes, that's the way to go (i.e. to the performers), I agree.

[eschiss1]

His main publishers seem to have  been- at least per HMB - Witzendorf and Gotthard, with some other works published by Diabelli (besides Pietro Mechetti). An overture (Op.12) (possibly??? the overture performed in full orchestral form on the Chandos CD?) was published in piano duet reduction by Schott in 1869. The last contempory publication I know of (barring misspellings that make quick searches difficult; I'm lazy) was a piano sonata published by Haslinger in 1880.

The Universitat Innsbruck has a copy of the piano sonata Op.3 (Permanent Link ) and offers to digitize it for about 14 ?? EU or so (given that it's 33 pages?).  (Don't know the policy of the other mentioned libraries wrt loaning or digitizing the various other published works.)

[Alan Howe]

You could also try contacting Dr Manfred Schneider who was in charge of the recordings of chamber music back in the day at the TLM. I have this email address, but I'm not sure whether it's still extant:
m.schneider@tiroler-landesmuseen.at

[Alan Howe]

...in fact this webpage suggests that the scores should be available, but in the form of newly-made digital copies:
http://www.musikland-tirol.at/html/html/musikedition/links.html

This was the form in which the score of Symphony No.6 (5) was made available to the BBC in Manchester in advance of the broadcast performance and subsequent recording by Chandos.

As well as Manfred Schneider's email address, this email address is given:
itmf.ms@musikland-tirol.at

[Alan Howe]

By the way, the String Quartet in G major (ca.1870) is an absolutely sublime and supremely moving work. One of the very greatest works in the genre from that period. Its mastery is quite stupefying. Unfortunately it seems that the CD is no longer available.

Every time I return to the composer I find myself convinced once again of his stature.

[hyperdanny]

Yesterday i posted my "Christmas sale" order to the Museum.
Very happy , now I have everything I need in their catalogue..especially considering that a couple weeks ago I was finally able to snatch the Netzer 2&3 on ebay (the museum does not list it anymore, it's unfindable anywhere, and Netzer has been a revelation to me) .
Finally, in this order I got the Museum's Rufinatscha 6...I don't know what's the consensus here, but I find it superior to the BBCPO/Noseda both in execution (so much more "fire") and recorded sound.

[Alan Howe]

...the Museum's Rufinatscha 6...I don't know what's the consensus here, but I find it superior to the BBCPO/Noseda both in execution (so much more "fire") and recorded sound.

It's just too slow, though. When Noseda came along I was relieved to hear the music played up to speed. Mind you, I'm probably biased because I was present at the recording.