Raff symphonies from Chandos

[FBerwald]

I look forward to the Järvi's Lenore. Not a single recording of this magnificent work comes anywhere near Herrmann's reading. Järvi might be the one to break that trend. Lets all hope, wait and see!

[Alan Howe]

I'm betting that Järvi will be quicker than Herrmann...

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Tomorrow, January 28, is the great day when this first Chandos disc is released. I reckon tonight I'll be setting up the camp bed behind the front door in anticipation....and pity the poor postman if he doesn't deliver it!

Less frivolously, I feel that this Chandos release marks a significant turning point in recordings of Raff. Yes, I'm immensely grateful to CPO, Tudor, Sterling, Grand Piano, Divox and a few others (and obviously to all who have recorded Raff on these labels). But maybe, for good or ill, they are all somewhat 'specialist' labels and slightly out of the public eye?

In contrast Chandos is a label with real 'clout'. Not for nothing do folk talk of 'the Chandos sound'. Chandos also give a considerable push to their products in prominent publicity. I notice the full page Chandos advertisement in current magazines which highlights the Raff disc out of the 6 new releases this month, and the text reads "....one of the most widely performed and influential musicians of his time..." (I don't think Mark could put it better, even though that "widely performed" is a little generous!)

Chandos is clearly making maximum effort, and I'm sure heralding the disc as 'Volume 1' will further increase its attractiveness. A top notch conductor to boot, and one deservedly known to the public.

Surely all this is going to elevate Raff to that prominent place in music that is so rightly his and which previously he has been unjustly denied! All enormously exciting....and I anticipate much restless tossing and turning on that camp bed tonight!

[Mark Thomas]

Fingers crossed, Peter, that all you say comes to pass - except maybe the tossing and turning!

[Mark Thomas]

At the risk of repeating what Peter has written, what a joy it was to open my copy of this month's Gramophone just now and see, on the inside front cover, Chandos' full page advertisement with the top third promoting a surround sound SACD of first rate Raff, played by Neeme Järvi and a top flight orchestra. All endorsed with "Record of the month".

Who'd have thought it?

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Never thought I'd ever read of a chap fluttering with joy at opening The Gramophone!

I discovered Raff about 10, maybe 15, years ago. I hadn't inhabited some kind of musical cloister, or had deliberately chosen not to listen to Raff.  No, it was because there was so little Raff to be heard in broadcasts or recordings. I don't know whether Raff was played more in Germany perhaps (I somehow doubt it), but most of us lived in a world quite devoid of Raff.

There has been a hugely welcome growth of interest in Raff in recent years, and I think this new Chandos disc marks the start of an age when people no longer ask 'Who?' when they hear the name 'Raff'.

What accounts for the change? That's obviously a complex question. But I think all would agree that you, Mark, have been a key principal player here. There has been a tremendous amount of work gone into the Raff website, and a constant advocacy of Raff. I'm also sure that behind the scenes and out of the public eye you've been tireless in promoting Raff. The two Raff books, in Alan's masterful and so wonderfully fluent English translations and edited by yourself, also play a prominent role in the emergence of interest in Raff.

It is tremendous that it is now beyond argument that Raff is a major 19th century composer. I hope I don't appear dreadfully sycophantic, but I am quite sure that without your dedication to the Raffian cause this latter recognition of Raff's rightful place in musical history would not have occurred quite in the way it has. And thus if you take joy in opening The Gramophone and beholding that inside front cover, then do also be conscious that a good many people now have the opportunity to also take great joy in listening to Raff's music as part of their musical lives.

[Mark Thomas]

Thank you, Peter, you are very kind. In truth, there has been a team of like-minded advocates, some of whom  like Avrohom Leichtling, Alan and Gareth are known to many at UC, whilst others like Volker Tosta, Res Marty and the late Alan Krueck are not. There is still a long way to go, but I do think that we have now at least got to the stage where amongst the younger generation of musicians, musicologists and CD buyers, and indeed most recording executives, Raff is no longer an unknown and is no longer automatically denigrated. Although there are signs in Germany in particular of a growing interest in programming his music at concerts, I have my doubts whether he'll break through into the mainstream concert scene in the foreseeable future. But then the repertoire there is shrinking so quickly, with composers who were once staples now rarely heard, that that may be an irrelevant target.

[Hilleries]

So... how's the recording? anyone get it yet? I'm interested in starting a Raff discography but I can't spend on multiple versions, so I'm very interested in how this new cycle will come out, if it's good (I like Järvi...) I'll buy it as it is released...

[Mark Thomas]

Some of the earlier posts in this thread from myself and others give reviews of this CD.

[Alan Howe]

So... how's the recording? anyone get it yet? I'm interested in starting a Raff discography but I can't spend on multiple versions, so I'm very interested in how this new cycle will come out, if it's good (I like Järvi...) I'll buy it as it is released...

You may wait for ever because a cycle hasn't been promised - only a series: the CDs appear to be being recorded at the rate of one a year. So, at the risk of repeating my own preferences from elsewhere, I'd get hold of Stadlmair in Nos.1, 4, 6, 7 and 8-11, plus d'Avalos in No.3 and Herrmann in No.5. Raff's symphonies are too good to wait a decade to get to know them.

[Mark Thomas]

Just revisiting the question of Järvi's "fast" tempo in the slow movement, I see that Raff's metronome marking is ¼ = 92, which is quite a moderate pace. I'm no expert in this field, but it seems to me that Järvi may be a lot nearer to Raff's intentions than Stadlmair and Schneider were.

[Mark Thomas]

A pair of "old school" reviews, with their lazy references to Mendelssohn. Bah!

The Guardian (which at least recognises the value of the Shakespeare Preludes).

The Irish Times.

[tc]

mendelssohn is hardly a symphonist, but Raff is.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Calm down, Mark! I saw the Guardian review this morning at breakfast time and it so annoyed me I almost threw the boiled egg across the kitchen. But then thought one of our eggs is far more precious than Andrew Clements. I don't have any problem with someone coming to the conclusion that they don't particularly like Raff. What does irritate me is when people who have a responsibility to review properly (in return, presumably, for some fee) trot out routine drivel and with little evidence that their judgments are the outcome of reasoned and informed consideration.

We can simply ignore Mr Clements (who is equally silly on contemporary music for that matter) since the Chandos release has had many far more positive reviews elsewhere.

[JimL]

Funny how each reviewer came to entirely opposite conclusions about the relative merits of the symphony and preludes.  A side-by-side comparison is most invaluable in terms of a close examination of critical objectivity.  Looks like a wash to me!