Introduce yourself here.....

[Mark Thomas]

Still, rise above it, eh?

[ReDoLe]

Dear all,
my name is René, I'm 46, living in Leipzig and have been working in the music retail business for many years. For nearly 12 years I was owner of a record store specializing in classical music but unfortunately had to close the store (for obvious reasons ...) three years ago.
I'm following this forum since the times of Raff.org and got lots of useful and interesting information about (mostly) unfairly neglected composers. Many thanks to all involved, it's good to see that I'm not alone in appreciating music of all kinds outshined by the "great Masters".
My first encounter with classical music was in school and soon I sat listening to the radio as often as possible. I grew up in Hamburg and in the 80s the NDR had a decent classical channel with complete works being broadcast nearly all day long. When I began reading books on music I wondered why composers I liked immediately (e.g. Spohr or Hummel) were considered to be of secondary importance and others I didn't get into got longish reviews and praises. So I tried to keep my ears open and over the years I encountered wonderful music of all ages, sung or unsung. I mainly focus on 19th and early 20th century music from europe and abroad (symphonies and concertos for all kinds of instruments) but in the last years my admiration for baroque and more recent (tonal) music grew steadily. Since I'm singing in various choirs for some years, choral music is another great interest.
After a long time of reading only, I now decided to sign in, hoping I can add some information and suggestions, too.
Best wishes
René

[Alan Howe]

Welcome to UC, René.

[Wieland]

Hi
I just registered and thought it might by useful for you to know who did.
I am 62 and work in the academic world as a professor. From early on, music played an important part in my life, first it was rock music, later I developed a taste for classical music after discovering Mahlers Resurrection symphony. My taste is broad from Bach to Haydn to contemporary music. I understand that only my special  interest in music of the romantic era is of interest here in this forum. About 35 years ago I came across the Lenore symphony of Joachim Raff on the famous vinyl LP conducted by Bernard Hermann and was wondering why that piece was less popular than many other symphonies that I thought were not half as good. That started my interest in unsung composers. My favourite genres are symphonies, violin concertos and especially string quartets. By browsing through your site I got the impression that string quartets are underrepresented here. So I might be able to add something to this topic if there is interest.
I am living in Stuttgart/Germany, I am not able to read music but besides collecting records and CDs I regularly visit classical music performances, e.g. a concert of Argerich/Maisky tonight.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, and welcome to UC!

[semloh]

Yes, welcome to UC, Professor!

It's quite amazing what impact that LP of Raff's Lenore had, especially in encouraging listeners to look beyond the familiar composers.

[Ebubu]

Hello to all,
Discovered this great forum by chance, while googling "Die Königin von Saba", about the about-to-be-issued recording on CPO.

I'm a 53 year old music lover presently living in Lyon, even though most of my professional activities now make me spend most of my time in Paris, and most of my "vacation activities" take me all over Europe and Asia.
I've started the piano as an amateur at age 7, and been playing off and on (rather more off than on, actually), and always fan on exploring "unsung" repertoire, wishing everyday that programmers and decision-makers in the music bizness would take more "risks"...
My professional activities have always been related to music, but mostly on the administrative / management side.  After 4 years spent in Eugene, Oregon, USA, completing a Master's in Performing Arts management, I got involved there with the Oregon Bach Festival, the Eugene Opera (chorus), and various on campus music and theater activities.  I sang in several choirs as an amateur singer, both in Eugene and in Paris, then spent 13 years as Chorus Manager at the Lyon Opera.  I'm now a free-lance ("intermittent") stage manager / stage hand, desperetaly trying to align contracts, and getting busy mostly at the Paris Opera, now, and in other local houses.
My interests are quite varied, around opera and lyrical repertoire (from operetta to musical), piano repertoire (including things I'll never dream on even trying to play), and choral repertoire.  I've been exploring the unsung French repertoire, and still much, much, much remains to be discovered, especially in the lyric repertoire.
Through a network of crazy friends like me (and you), I can put my hands on a lot of rare recordings of French music (French radio archives) which, for the most part, have never been issued on any medium.  So if you have any wishes on that field, feel free to ask, and I will tell you if that has even been recorded or not, and if I can put my hands on the desired recording.
Looking forward to discover new things with you, and to share as well what I can.
Eric

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric. You are very welcome here!!

[NickFuller]

Hello!

I'm a freelance writer in my early 30s, and, like most people of my age, obsessed with obscure 19th century opera.

I've written for Australia's Limelight magazine, and about French opera (Massenet, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Reyer and, most recently, Herold) for MusicWeb International.

And I see that this is a den of Brett/Holmes fans.  Capital!

Nick

[mikehopf]

Hi Nick

Is that Augusta, Sherlock or our fellow Aussie Semloh?

Who is Brett?

[semloh]

I suspect Nick is referring to Jeremy Brett and his exquisite portrayal of my famous grandfather, Sherlock Holmes, in the TV series.   
But I'm not sure why.
Nick?

[NickFuller]

Elementary, my dear semloh!  (And honoured to meet a scion of the house of Holmes.  Holmes, sweet Holmes.)

The first couple of pages of this thread (a tangled skein?) wander into a discussion about Holmes and Brett.

[semloh]

Ah - not quite a three pipe problem, after all!