Best discovery for 2018

[FBerwald]

My pick would be the early Violin Concerto by Stanford from the Dutton release and the Scholz Piano Concerto.

[UnsungMasterpieces]

From Nowowiejski, The King of the Winds and Quo vadis caught my ear the most.

[Tapiola]

Is it allowed to mention music from any era, or only adjusted to the forum rules?

[Mark Thomas]

Within our area of interest, please.

[hyperdanny]

Such a difficult choice..but if forced I'd say the Franz Krommer symphonies..the more I listen to them, the more I find them of astonishing quality one and all.
So refined and stirring and, in a way, "strange", like some sort of alternate -reality Beethovenian music that does not sound like Beethoven at all.
Plus a (very) honourable mention for an older release I did not know,the Richard Hol symphonies, an expert Mendelssohn-Schumann-Brahms concoction in Hollandaise sauce (I know, sounds undigestible, but they're not, quite the opposite).

PS I was very glad to read at the beginning of the thread a mention of Jef van Hoof, music of gentle but sophisticated and substantial appeal, a personal favourite.

[jimsemadeni]

Hans Pfitzer: Von deutscher Seele
Cohesive, beautiful choral sound, touches my soul.

[adriano]

Von deutscher Seele - a great masterwork: I hope you mean the magnificent 1966 DGG version with Fritz Wunderlich, Agnes Giebel, Hertha Töpper and Otto Wiener - conducted by Joseph Keilberth!

[Alan Howe]

...which you can't buy on CD any more.

[Alan Howe]

As far as Weingartner's Sextet, Op.33 is concerned, we're not dealing with a late work, but rather one that dates from between the 2nd and 3rd Symphonies, so we shouldn't be surprised at its attractiveness. Surprise should really be reserved for the lovely Octet, Op.73 which is pretty backward-looking in style for 1925 and equally appealing. Not a trace of Regerian chromatic indigestion here...

[M. Yaskovsky]

@Alan: if you are willing to pay the steep price, the Keilberth is available here https://www.amazon.com/Pfitzner-Von-deutscher-Seele-Schoeck/dp/B00004SLB2

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, but that's too expensive for me.

[mikehopf]

There's a new " Live" performance from Horst Stein and the Munich Philharmonic. It's available from Qobuz for c. 10 Euros or you can stream it for free if you are a subscriber.

The Keilberth version will set you back c. 20 Euros or you can.........

[mikehopf]

In addition to the Keilberth and Stein recordings of Von Deutscher Seele, you can add:

1. On the Andromeda label conducted by Heinz Mende with Wunderlich
2. On the Capriccio label conducted by Ingo Metzmacher
3. On the Preiser label conducted by Clemens Kraus

Try the soundbites out on all 5 recordings on Qobuz.

[Alan Howe]

I already have Sieghart on Arte Nova - thanks. I'd only consider adding the Keilberth.

[adriano]

... and there is (or was) also a live Orfeo CD with "Von deutscher Seele", coupled with Pfitzner's "Das dunkle Reich" conducted by Eugen Jochum. The pieces were performed 1952 and 1955.