Volker Tosta on Raff's Piano Suites

[John Boyer]

[Alan Howe]

Thanks very much for this, John. Hope you don't mind - I've changed the thread title to make clear what Volker Tosta is talking about here.

[John Boyer]

Thank you, that does help to make it clearer.  Perhaps, if time permits, you could give us a summary of Volker's comments? 

[Alan Howe]

He starts off by giving us a brief account of Raff's life and compositions, making clear that he stands stylistically somewhere between the conservative and progressive camps. After this he talks about what makes the Piano Suites so unusual, but I'll have to listen to the second half again.

[Alan Howe]

I don't have the time to transcribe what Tosta says - he's basically saying that Raff used baroque forms but that the music itself is fully romantic. Incidentally, the occasion is the recording of Suite No.3 by South Korean pianist Hyelim Kim.

[John Boyer]

Thank you for the summary!

[Alan Howe]

Here's the link to the 3rd Suite recording:
https://stille-liebe.de/rafflieder.html