...is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 next Tuesday (22/3) in Afternoon on 3 performed by what looks suspiciously like a Hyperion line-up, i.e. the BBC Scottish SO under Lukasz Borowicz, with soloist Bartlomiej (Bartek) Niziol...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartek_Niziol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartek_Niziol)
Other pieces included in the programme could constitute couplings for a CD: Stojowski's Romance, Op.20 and Wieniawski's Fantaisie brillante on themes from Gounod's Faust.
Although we have a recording of Stojowski's VC (on Acte Préalable), it is a pretty woeful student effort. This would make handsome amends for that poor recording.
Yes, it would appear so:
http://www.lukaszborowicz.com/2,news (http://www.lukaszborowicz.com/2,news)
I'm guessing it will be (at least) July this year before it appears on Hyperion, given that their June releases are already known.
Thanks. Here's the salient entry:
June 2015
GLASGOW - recording sessions for Hyperion Records. Works by Zygmunt Stojowski and Henryk Wieniawski were performed by: Bartek Nizioł - Violin, BBCSSO, Łukasz Borowicz - Conductor.
If this is going to be issued in their RVC series, it might be a straw in the wind that they have decided to go down the successful path of the RPC series and give us more unusual repertoire, which would be a very welcome development.
I enthusiastically second that.
Let's hope that the Lassen VC features somewhere in their plans, then.
Did any of you listen to the BBC broadcast? A funny mishap occurred to the poor radio host. She announced the violin concerto by "Stokowski" and declared that he was known to her primarily as an arranger of other men's music. Someone must have told her during the broadcast because she apologised afterwards.
I completely forgot about it. Any opinions on the performance?
The ignorance of BBC RADIO 3 announcers these days is limitless.
www.clicmusique.com/stojowski-wieniawski-oeuvres-pour-violon-orchestre-niziol-borowicz-p-97156.html?osCsid=5e935d33baa0623d2dd6fdb9a25bd73e
(http://www.clicmusique.com/stojowski-wieniawski-oeuvres-pour-violon-orchestre-niziol-borowicz-p-97156.html?osCsid=5e935d33baa0623d2dd6fdb9a25bd73e)
Saw this on clicmusique - August release.
Yes, Hyperion's website confirms this:
The Romantic Violin Concerto also welcomes another addition to its ranks—volume 20—with a thrilling, all-Polish album of the Stojowski Violin Concerto & Wieniawski Fantaisie brillante. Both are brilliant (sic!) despatched by Hyperion newcomer Bartłomiej Nizioł; the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra accompanies with Łukasz Borowicz making a welcome return as conductor.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/ym.asp?ym=2016_08 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/ym.asp?ym=2016_08)
The sound-clip is very promising. Unlike the Arte-Nova recording where the initial violin entry nearly killed all my interest; this clip enthralls. A must buy that will give justice to the Stojovski Violin concerto... although at 54 minutes the CD is on the short side. Wasn't there a meatier unsung work that could have been coupled as the Wieniawski Fantaisie brillante has had pretty decent outings before [orchestral and piano versions]?
Arte Nova? Or Acte Préalable?
The only previously available recording (Wajrak, Acte Préalable) was a disappointingly stodgy affair - I do hope that this interpretation infuses the work with some life. It should be a good piece.
My mistake.... it's Acte Préalable. I think both his piano concertos are absolutely exquisite [especially the 1st concerto] and I was eagerly looking forward to the violin concerto only to be disappointed when the Wajrak version came out; I sincerely hope this recording does this piece justice!
Me too. The AP is a travesty.
I'll get myself a rap over the knuckles from a moderator given that the issue isn't relevant to the thread, but it does occur to me that Acte Prealable, despite a good number of gems in its catalogue, also produces a disproportionate number of duds. The Stojowski Vn Concerto is one case in point - like others I found this disc so very disappointing.
Another case is the disc of Hans Huber's 2nd and 7th Vn Sonatas (Op. 42 and 119 composed in 1879 and 1903). From what I've read Huber's nine violin sonatas form an important part of his corpus, and since I was very impressed by the symphonies I was eager to get to know these sonatas - especially since both are 'big' works of 25-30 minutes duration. I never like to offer negative remarks about recorded performances of unsung repertory, but I found this disc rather hopeless. One gets the sense that both performers are struggling to do some justice to the two works but that how to perform them well simply eludes them. One sometimes finds considerable rewards in a 'good amateur' performance, but not here for, despite trying, the mind just simply packs up and you wriggle around in your chair with exasperation. I doubt if that is Huber's fault. And given the effort of trying (hard) to get to grips with the music I'm hopeful that it isn't my fault either. These are the kind of performances that, as it were, do the opposite of favours to the music. And that's a great pity since it surely reduces the chance of hearing Huber's violin sonatas in concert or future recordings of them becoming available.
Acte Prealable is also notorious for issuing discs of remarkably short playing times. I never play that tiresome game of proclaiming 'I've paid full price for the disc and therefore I want up to 80 minutes of music on it'. Nonetheless it is not unreasonable to begrudge a disc where only approximately half the possible playing time is taken up by works recorded on it. I'm thinking here of the Acte Prealable disc of the Rozycki violin concerto. In my view that it is wonderful work. However in this performance it has a duration of 24 minutes, and the whole disc is then bumped up to a total of a mere 48 minutes by adding some pretty negligible trifles. That kind of programming doesn't provide any incentive at all for anyone to buy the disc, and again the issue of the disc does Rozycki the opposite of any favour. Sales (I guess) must have been rather dismal....and then the company accountant pronounces that Rozycki is a figure in which the company shouldn't invest. Such a huge pity since the relatively small number of Rozycki recordings indicate, not a major figure, but certainly a rewarding and significant one.
I think you're right, Peter. I've also come to distrust AP discs and, unless I've heard of the artist(s) concerned or can audition the CD beforehand at, say, jpc, I won't be buying any more of them.
I was half way through replying when Alan pipped me to the post, so I'll just say "I agree, as well".
The Hyperion sound bite sounds really, really good.
Sound-clips of all the tracks are available on itunes. They all sound very good!
Off-topic a bit but, Gareth said The ignorance of BBC RADIO 3 announcers these days is limitless. It reminded me of a couple of errors I tape-recorded from Radio 3 about 35 years ago: in one case - quickly corrected - we had a work by Taylor-Coleridge instead of Coleridge-Taylor, and in another case Haydn was pronounced as Hay-dun. ::)
Agree wholeheartedly about the AP discs.
A good recording of the Stojowski VC is, of course, a welcome arrival.
I accept that perhaps some of Acte Prealable's releases have disappointed some here, with the Stojowski VC seeming to be the main culprit (I am also rather critical of the overall performance in volume one of the Pachulski piano works!), BUT I feel that we ought to be most grateful for what this most enterprising label has managed to achieve. We now have a most comprehensive coverage of unsung repertoire from Poland from the 19th century (as well as other periods for those interested), which we could only have dreamed of in the past. The recordings of chamber and instrumental music of Noskowski, Zelenski, Dobrzynski, Maliszewski and others are, IMHO, certainly far more than "just acceptable", and I have absolutely no hesitation in continuing to acquire further new releases of such repertoire!
My sincerest thanks must therefore go to Mr Jarnicki for his continued efforts on behalf of Polish unsungs, and I am more than happy to forgive the occasional release which doesn't "make the grade"!
Oh, I agree. However, the odd poor disc does make one rather hesitant to jump in without trying first...
Some lovely stuff to look forward to. Try the video here:
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Hyperion/CDA68102 (http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Hyperion/CDA68102)
Stojowski Violin Concerto & Romanze / Wieniawski - Fantaisie brillante sur des motifs de Faust is now available for preorder. Release date is July 29, 2016.
For details see: http://www.mdt.co.uk/stojowski-violin-concerto-bartlomiej-niziol-hyperion-romantic-violin-concerto-20.html (http://www.mdt.co.uk/stojowski-violin-concerto-bartlomiej-niziol-hyperion-romantic-violin-concerto-20.html)
This might sound terribly naïve, but who would ever order anything on pre-order, particularly without any sound fragments, without some sort of financial incentive? It's not as thought the thing will be sold out immediately. As far as I can see, the price is identical to other CDs.
Quote from: Ilja on Thursday 30 June 2016, 19:00
who would ever order anything on pre-order...........without some sort of financial incentive?
Well, when I do it, it's usually because (1) I'm 100% sure that I want it, and (2) it's a download that will then appear automatically in my digital collection at the moment of release, or a mail order which will then get to me at the earliest date possible. If I wait, I will likey not get it quite as soon, and I also might forget about it altogether for a while. It's quick, convenient, at least equally-priced (occasionally cheaper), and somewhat idiot-proof for those of us who have been known to experience a forgetful "senior moment" from time to time. :D
I have pre-ordered the Moszkowski RPC recording, so it will automatically download into my collection the first day of release (tomorrow!); I won't have to wait an additional week for delivery. I like that.
Now, in this particular Stojowski case, I haven't pre-ordered, only because I already have that "other" recording (yes, I've read the comments!), and just haven't yet decided. (Convince me! Thus getting the conversation back to Stojowski.... 8))
I usually pre-order if I'm sure I want the CD(s) involved. Audio samples are usually available somewhere - jpc is a good source.
Otherwise I just like an occasional leap in the dark...
There are good reasons to pre-order, I'm sure (even if don't do it), my point was that – unlike JPC – MDT offers neither audio samples nor a lower price. If I'm listening to samples on the Hyperion web site or on iTunes, I'm sure to order it there. Looked odd, that's all.
MDT's prices are permanently lower. So, for example at MDT this Stojowski CD is priced at £10.50; at jpc it's EUR15.99, down from EUR19.99. EUR15.99 equates to £12.53, so you can see that jpc's prices, even when cut, are still rather high. Answer (for us in the UK): listen to audio samples at jpc, but purchase from MDT!!
Quote from: Alan Howe on Friday 01 July 2016, 16:54
MDT's prices are permanently lower. .... jpc's prices, even when cut, are still rather high. Answer (for us in the UK)...... purchase from MDT!!
Yes, MDT is a wonderful resource for us in the USA too - their one-cd delivery charge is an exceedingly fair £1.25 as opposed to jpc's startling €13, which effectively doubles the price of their already-expensive cd's. All this also tends to advocate for downloads, for those who are so inclined, anyway - there is no delivery charge and no delivery wait-time, instant acquisition. Unfortunately downloads frequently can't be always found for a fair amount of recordings, especially for the sort of music discussed on in this forum.
The Stojowski is a most enjoyable piece, well worth recording - although I'd say it's rather a by-the-numbers piece of no great individuality. Whereas, say, the Lassen VC is a rather better piece in virtually every respect - memorability, individuality, romantic ardour, etc. Come on Hyperion...
JPC prices are constantly lower if you live in a country close to Germany. Once a month there's free shipping to neighbouring countries Belgium, Austria, Luxemburg and The Netherlands (me!). Comes to that the rather expensive exchange rates GBP > EURO; so I buy every release at JPC.
Rob Barnett gives this CD a very good review on Music Web International: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2016/Jul/Stojowski_VC_CDA68102.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2016/Jul/Stojowski_VC_CDA68102.htm)
However, he writes: "Stojowski's Violin Concerto has been recorded before by Agnieszka Marucha on Acte Préalable. It is differently coupled there. True, it is harnessed with the same Romance but on the Marucha disc you also get the Violin Sonata No. 2. That's on AP0221. The First Violin Sonata is on AP0112. There's little to choose between Marucha and Niziol and in any event the coupling is different." Has the man got cloth ears??? They are as different as chalk and cheese!
That's what I thought. Very odd...
Just finished hearing the Hyperion version of Stojowski VC - What a glorious concerto, the middle movement is arguable the most romantic pieces to come out of his pen except probably the 1st Piano Concerto.
The Wieniawski, although less memorable is splendidly played. Altogether a very rewarding listen and another success for RVC.