Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949)

[albion]

Arriving home late last night somewhat the worse for wear following a boozy meal out, I succumbed to Presto's tempting CPO offer and ordered the five-disc boxed-set of Pfitzner (http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/CPO/9992492).

Drunken shortly-to-be-regretted impulse or prudent purchase? 

[FBerwald]

Depends. The only problem i find is that Pfitzner has "no individual voice" or "is a mixture of so many influences" that I find myself at sea when I listen to him. His Piano concerto has a brilliant beginning but (at least for me) then it sort of rambles here and there. His cello concertos are better. Nevertheless its a pleasant experience (depending upon my mood!!!!).

By the way One word of caution: Do not read the booklet on an empty stomach!!! The author lets his mind (and brain) wander and instead of an informative text regarding the compositions, what you do get is a small novella of psycho-babble about the composer which is very confusing.   

[albion]

Depends. The only problem i find is that Pfitzner has "no individual voice" or "is a mixture of so many influences" that I find myself at sea when I listen to him. His Piano concerto has a brilliant beginning but (at least for me) then it sort of rambles here and there. His cello concertos are better. Nevertheless its a pleasant experience (depending upon my mood!!!!).

By the way One word of caution: Do not read the booklet on an empty stomach!!! The author lets his mind (and brain) wander and instead of an informative text regarding the compositions, what you do get is a small novella of psycho-babble about the composer which is very confusing.   

Thanks for this - the booklet-annotations of several CPO releases in my possession are verbose to put it mildly, but I'm looking forward to giving the recordings a try! 

[Delicious Manager]

A nice collection of Pfitzner. I am sure your alcohol-induced purchase will yield great rewards.

It's a dangerous pastime, making purchases when not quite 100% sober. There was once a truly magnificent secondhand CD shop in central London which basked in the name Cheapo Cheapo Records (any fellow Brits remember it - in Rupert Street in the shadow of the Raymond Revue Bar?). I once made the mistake of going in there with a friend (it's always worse with a friend!) after a few beers in Soho (Cheapo Cheapo stayed open late - I'm sure to catch-out silly people like me). I went a little crazy and bought FAR more CDs than I should or could really afford. I still have all of them, so i must have considered them good purchases in the cold light of day.

[Amphissa]

I've often thought that Pfitzner was probably a better pedagog than composer. He spawned a long list of distinguished conductors, including Munch, Klemperer, Rangstrom, Marek and Jacoby.

I first heard music by him while traveling, driving a long boring stretch of interstate highway. His piano concerto was being played on the radio, and I liked it well enough to track down a box of the orchestral works. I agree that his cello concertos are better than most other orchestral pieces. His opera Palestrina and some of his songs are better, I think, than any of his orchestral works.

I don't listen to his music very often, but I'm glad to have the box and do pull out a CD occasionally.

[Alan Howe]

The box is well worth having, although I don't think there's masterpiece in it.

[John H White]

Thanks, gentlemen, for saving me money. I too was tempted by that offer and was going to ask the Forum whether his music was worth getting, bearing in mind my limited finances as an old age pensioner. Now I know the answer and can devote my resources to someone I already enjoy, such as Ferdinand Ries.

[eschiss1]

Inclined to put in a dissenting view if your reaction is quite -that- - especially since this contributor does tend toward regarding the violin concerto and at least one of the cello concertos as probably a masterpiece - (though the other Pfitzner works that especially seem that way to me- by the strictest standard- that I've heard so far are chamber works; only one of them would show up in that particular album, a symphony that's an arrangement for orchestra of a string quartet, and I'm not sure I've heard that particular one of the string quartets yet, though it looks very interesting and tempting in score).
Eric

[Alan Howe]

There's an awful lot of indigestible Pfitzner to wade through in the cpo box, though...

[albion]

The box is well worth having, although I don't think there's masterpiece in it.

There's an awful lot of indigestible Pfitzner to wade through in the cpo box, though...

Luckily, masterpieces (which is a label that I'm increasingly reluctant to use and one which has never influenced my listening) are in the eye of the beholder and I'm blessed with a strong stomach! The composer who could pen Palestrina is surely not all bad. 

Anyway, until the Pfitzner arrives I'm contenting myself with another recent impulse buy - the four-disc set of Stenhammar on Bis, which is wonderful! 

[Pengelli]

The things you do when drunk. I remember buying a huge chest level 1920's HMV gramophone I had been admiring in a window. A bit like the one Elgar can be seen standing next to,but without straight legs! I've still got it and it weighs a ton & has an early & rather clever auto start/stop mechanism. It's a beauty & very high tech!!!!
(Ahem! I'm afraid this is rather off topic!)
Having just bought cpo's release Humperdinck's 'Dornroschen' opera from Presto,after reading a not too enthusiastic review by Andrew Clements,(The Grauniad), I wonder if anyone has an opinion on Pfitzner' 'Christmas Fairy Tale opera', 'Das Christelfein'?
I have often wondered about that cpo box.......

[mbhaub]

Pfitzner may not have been a great composer of the highest rank, but in that CPO series is one disk that I totally enjoy, and listen to regularly: the two symphonies op 44 and 46. They're delightful, tuneful, enjoyable little works. And his choral work, Das dunkle Reich has given me a lot of pleasure over the years.

[eschiss1]

Pfitzner may not have been a great composer of the highest rank, but in that CPO series is one disk that I totally enjoy, and listen to regularly: the two symphonies op 44 and 46. They're delightful, tuneful, enjoyable little works. And his choral work, Das dunkle Reich has given me a lot of pleasure over the years.

I think one of those two is the string quartet arrangement I spoke of (the string quartet in C-sharp minor, turned into a symphony- ah, no, my mistake, that's op.36a...); the other's his symphony in C (and that I have heard and enjoy - at the risk of seeming to damn with faint praise, which I don't mean to, some really well-turned and memorable phrases there...) (then there's op.46 "Kleine Sinfonie in G" which I haven't heard yet )
Eric

[albion]

Pfitzner clearly doesn't always get such a good press (I must admit that some, but definitely not all, of the works in the CPO box of orchestral music have left me somewhat non-plussed).

However, the recent CPO disc of orchestral songs



is a revelation - this was clearly Pfitzner's metier: fabulous word-painting, superb and imaginative orchestration and melody! 

[Alan Howe]

I agree, the latest cpo Pfitzner CD is an absolutely first-rate release. Wonderfully sung and played too.