Aloys Schmitt Piano Concertos on Hyperion

[eschiss1]

Schmitt's other work labeled op.14 was published around 1813; his op.35 was published in 1822, and it may be that a contemporary journal mentions op.34, I will have a look... I expect the program notes to the Hyperion Recording already have exact hours of composition, premiere, publication, and even engraving, mind, based on past experience...

[Alan Howe]

I had a quick look at a pdf of the notes that accompany the Hyperion recording and couldn't see any composition dates. Thanks for the extra information, Eric.

For context: Beethoven's PC5 ('Emperor') was written 1809 and premiered in 1811.

[eschiss1]

BTW Op.14 was published, or at any rate reviewed, in 1823 too (though it may have been published earlier): see this review in the May 14 1823 AMZ.

[semloh]

Having been absent from UC for a while, due to medical issues, I am now working through the backlog of 'unread posts' - starting here! Aloys Schmitt piano concertos - yet more Unsung music to explore - what an exciting prospect! As  the list posted by Giles indicates, he was vey productive, and I wonder how many of his other works survive.

[eschiss1]

A fair number, some of which are used in competition programs in new editions, according to Worldcat.

[Alan Howe]

Actually it's hard to see how Schmitt's PCs could have been regarded as 'old fashioned' at the time of their composition; I can understand how this would have become the case in subsequent decades, but it seems to me that they are very much 'of their time'. Of course, the romantic movement developed quickly in the years following their composition, but that's no reason for their current neglect. The only issue is whether they're any good...

[Ilja]

I've spent much of yesterday listening to Schmitt's concertos, and let's just say that if you like Hummel's concertos, you are going to like these. They're not particularly original, but well-crafted and "catchy" in the best sense of the word.

[Gareth Vaughan]

The comparison with Hummel is very apt, Ilja.

[Alan Howe]

Do you think they're less obviously virtuoso pieces, though?

[Ilja]

Perhaps I should rather have said "late Hummel", particularly the A flat and F concertos. Moreover, the slow movements seem to have a little more gravitas about them than Hummel's typically do. But overall, I find them quite similar.

I agree that these concertos seem to be in line with the mainstream of their time (early 1820s); but I can also see how they could come across as old-fashioned not that much later, when Mendelssohn, Burgmüller et al. started to gain notoriety. And the Rondeau Brilliant of 1839 even sounds as though it could pre-date either of the two concertos.

[Jonathan]

I've spent much of yesterday listening to Schmitt's concertos, and let's just say that if you like Hummel's concertos, you are going to like these. They're not particularly original, but well-crafted and "catchy" in the best sense of the word.

I agree!

[semloh]

The review in October's Gramophone says:

By 1830 his concert career was virtually over. After hearing him early the following year, the young Chopin noted that 'Schmitt, a pianist from Frankfurt, had a rough reception although he is over 40 and composes 80-year-old music'.
That quote, from Jeremy Nicholas's excellent booklet notes, implies that Schmitt's piano music was already deemed old-fashioned by 1830. Robert Schumann, in a review of the Rondeau brillant, seems to have agreed. Probably composed between 1815 and 1825, both these concertos owe an obvious debt to Mozart (above all his D minor Concerto, K466), Beethoven and, in their pianistic glitter, Hummel.

[Alan Howe]

and composes 80-year-old music

That's just plain silly, of course. I'm glad we can enjoy Schmitt's music today.

[Jonathan]

Well, having reviewed it for MusicWeb, I have to say that I enjoyed it!

[Alan Howe]

Do you suppose that when Schumann composed his PC (pub.1846) he would have regarded Chopin's PCs (1829-30) as 'old fashioned'?

There's nothing so unforgiving as the march of musical fashion. And nothing more important from our perspective than establishing whether the music's any good rather than how far behind the fashion of the day it trailed.