Xaver Scharwenka from Naxos

[Mark Thomas]

Naxos have just released for download from classicsonline.com, and will release later on CD, a recording of Xaver Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No.4, together with the Mataswintha Overture and orchestrations of some of the Polish Dances and and the Andante Religioso from his Cello Sonata. The Overture (and maybe the Dance orchestrations) are CD premieres I think. It would be nice to think that, with Klaus Heymann's penchant for complete cycles, we'll get all four concertos eventually. The artists are new to me.

[Jonathan]

Hi Mark,
Yes, i noticed this and had a listen to the first 4 and a half minutes yesterday via the website.  I was struck by how different the performance was to Hough's Hyperion recording (which so far I prefer based on this short section). 
However, it is a very exciting sounding recording though so it's probably going on the wish list anyway!

[edurban]

Oo, the Mataswintha overture, what a marvelous piece!  I treasure my vocal score of the opera, and never tire of those big, Wagnerian ensembles.  Btw, Mataswintha is sometimes said to have had a performance at the Metropolitan Opera, but I can find no confirmation that it was the actual Metropolitan Opera company that performed it on that occasion.  Perhaps that fondly-remembered hall was hired for the NY premiere...

David

[Jamie]

Oo, the Mataswintha overture, what a marvelous piece!  I treasure my vocal score of the opera, and never tire of those big, Wagnerian ensembles.  Btw, Mataswintha is sometimes said to have had a performance at the Metropolitan Opera, but I can find no confirmation that it was the actual Metropolitan Opera company that performed it on that occasion.  Perhaps that fondly-remembered hall was hired for the NY premiere...

David

Where did you obtain a vocal score of Mataswintha? I was not able to locate a copy anywhere, including IMSLP. I just read the book on which it's based, A Struggle for Rome ("Ein Kampf um Rom") by Felix Dahn, so I'm quite curious to see what Scharwenka made of it. According to his autobiography ("Klänge aus meinem Leben: Erinnerungen eines Musikers"), it was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1897, but I wasn't able to find any confirmation of that.  I love his music and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century.

[edurban]

I think I got my score at a library sale ca. 1977, whether it was NYPL or my college I don't remember.  I would be surprised if NYPL didn't have a copy, maybe there is one at Library of Congress, too?

"...and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century..."  Do you mean greatest among unsungs, or greatest even when the competition includes Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc.?  The latter, I think, would be a tall order...

David

[JimL]

... I love his music and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century.

Afraid you can only count the first 3, Jamie.  PC 4 dates from 1908.

[Alan Howe]

Very picky, Jim. Factually, you are right; but spiritually PC4 is a 19thC concerto - and extremely conservative for its date.

[eschiss1]

Oo, the Mataswintha overture, what a marvelous piece!  I treasure my vocal score of the opera, and never tire of those big, Wagnerian ensembles.  Btw, Mataswintha is sometimes said to have had a performance at the Metropolitan Opera, but I can find no confirmation that it was the actual Metropolitan Opera company that performed it on that occasion.  Perhaps that fondly-remembered hall was hired for the NY premiere...

David

Where did you obtain a vocal score of Mataswintha? I was not able to locate a copy anywhere, including IMSLP. I just read the book on which it's based, A Struggle for Rome ("Ein Kampf um Rom") by Felix Dahn, so I'm quite curious to see what Scharwenka made of it. According to his autobiography ("Klänge aus meinem Leben: Erinnerungen eines Musikers"), it was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1897, but I wasn't able to find any confirmation of that.  I love his music and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century.

An episode from Mataswintha has been uploaded to Sibley, hopefully the vocal score will follow sometime...

[Jamie]

"...and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century..."  Do you mean greatest among unsungs, or greatest even when the competition includes Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc.?  The latter, I think, would be a tall order...

David

I meant exactly what I said--I'll take any of the Scharwenka piano concertos (and most of the unsung concertos such as Raff, Moszkowski, and Dohnanyi #1) over any of the "sung" concertos. It's high time to give the Scharwenkas and the other unsungs their deserved place in the sun and displace the hackneyed warhorses that we hear over and over and over again.

[Kriton]

"...and regard his four piano concertos as the greatest of the 19th century..."  Do you mean greatest among unsungs, or greatest even when the competition includes Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc.?  The latter, I think, would be a tall order...

David

I meant exactly what I said--I'll take any of the Scharwenka piano concertos (and most of the unsung concertos such as Raff, Moszkowski, and Dohnanyi #1) over any of the "sung" concertos. It's high time to give the Scharwenkas and the other unsungs their deserved place in the sun and displace the hackneyed warhorses that we hear over and over and over again.

Have you actually listened to some of these warhorses, or did you just hear them too often?

I do agree some of the unknown concertos are right up there with the sung repertoire. I also agree that they should be given a "place in the sun". But, please, next to Schumann and Brahms etc., not above them!

[Alan Howe]

There are two issues here: personal preference and the notion of an objective hierarchy of great PCs. One is entitled to take, as a matter of personal preference, any particular PC over any other. However, when it comes to making more objective judgments, one has to be very careful not to let personal preference overwhelm the need for critical distance, objectivity and fairness. Thus, for example, I personally find Röntgen's PC2 an absolutely wonderful piece and would take it over either of Liszt's PCs, or even the Schumann; however, I would hesitate to place it above them or even equal to them if asked to justify some sort of hierarchy of PCs.

[Alan Howe]

BTW the Mataswintha Overture is a very beautiful piece in a distinctly Wagnerian style (think, say, Lohengrin, with touches of Tristan). The CD will be well worth waiting for, particularly as it so sympathetically played and beautifully recorded in a warm acoustic.

[eschiss1]

and saying one would place any of the unsung concertos over any of the sung ones (placing some of the ones you mention that I've heard over Brahms' 1st or Mozart's 24th seems going quite a lot too far) makes me for one think that the main point and best plan (give or take, and asking for some extra things like historical context and etc)... is to bring the pieces out there so that people -can- hear them - and reach their own judgements - rather than declaring in advance that the unheard is unworthy, or on the other hand, that it's far more worthy than anything at all and whatsoever we've been hearing -- shortcuts both and intimidating but not thought, exactly.

[Gerhard Griesel]

Thus, for example, I personally find Röntgen's PC2 an absolutely wonderful piece and would take it over either of Liszt's PCs, or even the Schumann;

After that recommendation, I went looking for the Rontgen PC. Amazon hasn't got. Any idea where I can get a fair-priced CD?

[M. Henriksen]

I don't know if there already exists a recording of that concerto Gerhard, but according to another post on this forum, CPO will release Röntgen's Piano Concertos nos. 2 & 4 later this year or early 2011.
Maybe other members have more accurate information.


Morten