New CD of Korngold's Sextet etc.

[brendangcarroll]

Yet another new CD of Korngold's chamber works is announced.

Date of release is yet to be confirmed, but this is a very attractive programme with some fine musicians from Berlin, and that will include Korngold's gorgeous String Sextet!

https://challengerecords.com/products/15082

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately that link doesn't work. Try this:
https://www.challengerecords.com/products/150825562628
Excerpts here:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8004455--korngold-works-for-violin-piano-string-sextet-op-10

[brendangcarroll]

Thank you Alan. Sorry the link failed - one of the mysteries of the Internet, which I will never fathom!

[Alan Howe]

No problem - and no mystery, Brendan. You just failed to copy the entire url!

[Alan Howe]

I really do think that Korngold's music is moving beyond the unsung category. Presto now lists sixteen recordings of the Sextet. Gorgeous - yes! But unnecessary, surely. This is overkill, methinks.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/search?search_query=korngold%20string%20sextet

May I now suggest that only recordings of rarely recorded Korngold be notified here?

[ewk]

May I suggest instead of banning CD announcements of works that have several pre-existing recordings altogether, joining them into a collecting thread like "some 2021 unsung concerts"? I see the point why some would not be interested an announcement recording  of a work that is relatively rarely heard in concert, but that has several recordings (which is true for many semi-unsungs, I think). Nonetheless, I enjoy following certain composers' way out of obscurity, as I have commented before elsewhere.

Those of us who belong to the first category could simply skip this thread. And maybe here and there, a discussion starts that is worth its own thread – I remember Die tote Stadt from Munich being discussed intensely despite the piece re-entering repertoire these days (or even having re-entered already). I think this might apply to more composers than only Korngold (e.g.: Glière 3d symphony with approx. 8 recordings), and I think this board's members would be wise enough not to post the next recording of, say, the Brahms Sextets.

What do you think of this?

[Alan Howe]

It's already been suggested by another UC member that Korngold may be passing from 'unsung' to 'sung'. That's the issue to bear in mind here, I think.

I don't think it's unreasonable to propose that members take into consideration the number of recordings of a piece that already exist before posting about yet another recording. A new version of Korngold's Sextet is hardly news - the number available is way beyond 'several', after all - whereas a new recording of one of his operas certainly would be (because the vast majority of us can't attend a public performance). 

[semloh]

Korngold - Unsung Composer? No.
Korngold's Sextet - Unsung Music? No.

[John Boyer]

Korngold - Unsung Composer? No.
Korngold's Sextet - Unsung Music? No.

Since this is coming from an administrator, are we to take it that Korngold is now off limits?

[Mark Thomas]

No, I don't believe so but some of his works are now so frequently recorded that they no longer qualify as "unsung", at least amongst buyers of recorded music, if not live audiences. As Alan mentioned earlier, the operas are examples of works which would still be fine because of their relative rarity, just as would the rare or unrecorded works of, say, Dvorak or Tchaikovsky. That's my take at any rate.

[Alan Howe]

Exactly. Let's keep to rarely recorded repertoire. No need to post about about yet another version of something of which there are already multiple versions available.

[John Boyer]

Exactly. Let's keep to rarely recorded repertoire. No need to post about about yet another version of something of which there are already multiple versions available.

Very well.  Is this a universal rule?  That is, does it apply to the Gliere 3rd Symphony, Rubinstein 4th Concerto, and Raff 5th Symphony, for example, each of which have multiple recordings?  That would be fairer than making it specific to Korngold.  To avoid uncertainty, perhaps there could be a standard limit that applied to all music discussed here, say only works which have fewer than n recordings currently available according to Presto (which can function as our Schwann catalog).

[Alan Howe]

It's difficult to rule exactly, but sixteen versions of K's String Sextet is surely a lot! Raff 5 has only five currently available, so rather than making a hard and fast rule, let's just try to exercise a bit of common sense.