Kenneth Fuchs Orchestral works

[Alan Howe]

...from John Wilson on Chandos:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9501071--kenneth-fuchs-orchestral-works-vol-1?sc_src=email_997532&sc_lid=113928360&sc_uid=B0X1gzC7cg&sc_llid=86746&sc_customer=2d624ee5aa1409d39dc0dfd22d4a72ed&utm_source=emarsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=classical_newsletter_20230714

Sounds very attractive for such recent music. What do friends think?

[Justin]

It is a bit too minimalistic for me, at least from the samples. Arnold Bax comes to mind when I first hear it.

[jasthill]

Let me be the first nay-sayer to jump in on this. I've listened to the music - its pleasant enough, nothing to offend, sort of generic tonal moderism with minimal angst.  I'm curious though - how much of this will actually enter the repertory?  For example, our local symphony makes a big deal each year of the new commissions they either sponsor or play. I'd venture to say I've yet to hear a repeat performance of any in the intervening years. Seemly a one and done type of performance - maybe a traveling guest conductor will play the piece in their stops but that's it. Of course, so much unsung(s) awaiting exposure that I would rather hear.

[John Boyer]

I like Fuchs, but I find that most of his music is too modern for this board, although the music in this particular release is more conservative than the other things that I've heard.

[John Boyer]

Seemly a one and done type of performance - maybe a traveling guest conductor will play the piece in their stops but that's it. Of course, so much unsung(s) awaiting exposure that I would rather hear.

The unsungs we talk about here already had their "one and done" day in the sun 150 years ago -- sometimes "100 and done", but in the end it's the same: most art, even art celebrated by audiences and critics alike, is destined for oblivion.  Who on this board reads Maeterlinck or Pinero?

[Alan Howe]

I'll wager that a lot of listeners will enjoy this release.

[John Boyer]

I'll wager that a lot of listeners will enjoy this release.

Based on what I sampled, I'd agree.  Naxos has recorded quite a bit of his work. 

[Ilja]

But this is an anglophone board, and oblivion may work differently elsewhere. In France, for instance, Maeterlinck is still read (and performed).

[eschiss1]

and at least a few of his works are remembered in other countries (that are not France) because of various operas (Pelléas , Monna Vanna, Ariane), movies, tv adaptations... even song cycles (Zemlinsky's op.13), at that.
Edit: there are of course at least three operas Monna Vanna after Maeterlinck- Février's (1908), Abranyi's (pub.1906) and (I believe) Rakhmaninov's (1906-8, incomplete.)

[John Boyer]

and at least a few of his works are remembered in other countries (that are not France) because of various operas (Pelléas , Monna Vanna, Ariane), movies, tv adaptations... even song cycles (Zemlinsky's op.13), at that.
Edit: there are of course at least three operas Monna Vanna after Maeterlinck- Février's (1908), Abranyi's (pub.1906) and (I believe) Rakhmaninov's (1906-8, incomplete.)

These are mostly works written at the height of Maeterlinck's fame.  By that standard, Belasco is still "remembered" because of Puccini's operas.  When was the last time you read Belasco? 

Regardless of specific examples (we can also debate the staying power of Strindberg or Schiller outside of their home turf, but let's not miss the forest for the trees), my point is that most art, even art of recognized quality, is destined to fall by the wayside, so asking whether something is likely to enter the repertory or not has little to do with that work's value.  Fuchs stands or falls on his own merits.  Not being a repertory standard -- a status necessarily shared by everything discussed here -- is neither here nor there. 

[Alan Howe]

Fuchs stands or falls on his own merits.

Agreed. That's how we should be thinking about all the music we debate here.

[semloh]

I really enjoy Kenneth Fuchs's music; it's tuneful, mostly undemanding and good natured, and I don't care whether or not it 'stands the test of time'. I think the Naxos discs might prove very popular, and agree that it lies on the perimeter of UC's remit.