Raff's Birthday

[raffite33]

As Beethoven's 250th birthday is coming up in 2020, lots of boxed sets are appearing in the listings of forthcoming releases.  I'm pretty sure I have all the Beethoven I'll ever need, but this got me to thinking.  2022 will see Raff's 200th birthday.

Any time I am in contact with record labels about anything else, I always try to slip in a good word for Raff's 5th, hoping to stir a little interest.  Now, I actually have an excuse.  Going forward, I'll be asking, "by the way, are you planning any new releases for the upcoming Raff Bicentennial?"   

Luckily, Cesar Franck seems to be the only other composer born that year likely to be competing for attention.

[MartinH]

Seeing as Franck is the least known of the great composers, I'd be surprised (pleasantly!) if there's any kind of revival or celebration of his music. No boxed sets for Cesar. Raff, even further down the food chain, won't get one either. But I do have three years to find some way to get something by Raff onto my annual Christmas concert. Alas, "Lenore" won't fit in too well.

[Mark Thomas]

There are plans, unconfirmed as yet, to produce at least one of Raff's operas in 2022 and his birthplace of Lachen in Switzerland will certainly be commemorating his bicentenary. That said, I'm not aware of any major recording plans to celebrate it. As an aside, another of the operas, Dame Kobold, will definitely be staged in Regensburg next autumn.