Unsung Composers

The Music => Recordings & Broadcasts => Topic started by: giles.enders on Monday 13 June 2011, 11:23

Title: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: giles.enders on Monday 13 June 2011, 11:23
Although I was not enamoured by the Herz piano concertos, the music not the performance, I was looking forward to number 6 which has a choral hymn in it.  Has Hyperion decided not to record this?  They have also not recorded number 2.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: Gareth Vaughan on Monday 13 June 2011, 13:58
Hyperion has no plans to record Herz's PC No. 6 - Mike Spring says his impression from the 2-piano score (which includes the vocal parts) is that it is, especially the choral finale, extremely banal. But a major obstacle would seem to be the absence of a full score or set of orchestral parts. Herz, however, wrote some entertaining sets of variations for piano & orchestra and Mike is considering coupling these with PC No. 2 at some point in the future.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: giles.enders on Tuesday 14 June 2011, 13:38
As a bit of a completest, I am sorry about number 6.  I long for the day when Hyperion, or another company, gather all the unrecorded pieces for piano and orchestra by composers they have already recorded in their series and issue a CD or two.  They did it with the Liszt series, which I suspect like James Joyce's Ulysses no one has ever finished.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: Gareth Vaughan on Wednesday 15 June 2011, 12:51
I'll second that, Giles. And I'd really love to hear the Herz No. 6 - as also the PC (apparently lost) by Daniel Steibelt which had a choral finale - probably awful, but one's interest is piqued.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: giles.enders on Friday 17 June 2011, 10:43
Recently I suggested to a pianist who had recorded the John Field piano concertos that he might look at the Steibelt survivors, I think there are 5 out of the 8, and got a rather dusty answer!
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: Gareth Vaughan on Friday 17 June 2011, 18:52
I have looked at the "Orage" concerto by Steibelt, and I have to say it really isn't much good. There's a lot of flashy passage work that doesn't really say anything or go anywhere, harmonically or melodically. I haven't seen any of the others.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: Jonathan on Friday 17 June 2011, 19:17
I'm still hoping the Hyperion disc of his solo piano music might end up on Helios at some point.  I confess I've not heard any works by him except Earl Wild's recording of the variations on "Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola.
Title: Re: Henri Herz 1803-1888
Post by: eschiss1 on Friday 17 June 2011, 21:27
Philip Sear plays two works by him on his Youtube channel (go to PSearPianist (http://youtube.com/user/PSearPianist) and enter Herz in the search box at the top right. It's something... and he's rather good, and plays a lot of off-the-beaten-track piano music. As to Steibelt, I've skimmed a bit of the chamber music only (but only very very briefly) myself since BSB has some.