I understand that the promised Chandos recording of Raff's Im Walde and Fourth Symphonies by L'orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Neeme Järvi will not now appear. The sessions for the third CD in the series were scheduled for October last year, but were cancelled. Järvi is no longer the principal conductor of the Geneva orchestra and it seems that the project is dead. What a shame, but at least we have two CDs of fine interpretations of some of Raff's finest orchestral music. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Not surprising. Chandos has a history of leaving incomplete series - Rufinatscha, Glazunov symphony cycle. I guess this mean's the curtains for the Atterberg series as well.
Yes. It's all VERY disappointing, particularly in view of the fact that Jarvi's performances were so marvellous. Chandos is not the label it used to be, I'm afraid.
Disappointing, yes - very. However, a complete cycle was never promised. Nor was a cycle of Rufinatscha symphonies - just one follow-up CD. So, let's be grateful for what we have and not regret what was never going to happen anyway (i.e. complete cycles). Sometimes expectations can be too high. After all, it isn't as if we haven't already got good recordings of the Raff or Rufinatscha (or Glazunov) symphonies.
True. But then I wasn't expecting complete Raff or Rufinatscha cycles - just what we were promised. I was especially looking forward to hearing what Jarvi did with 'Im Walde'. Heigh ho! We must, as you say, be grateful for what we have.
I agree that a complete cycle was never promised but even "follow-up CD" that you mentioned hasn't seen the light of day.
I feel let down because I was looking forward to an unsung symphony interpreted by a sung conductor. Järvi's version of Symphony No. 2 and 5 were nothing short of brilliant [IMHO] and I was really looking forward to his take on this leisurely stroll in the woods, especially the humongous Forest-Hunt last movement which I feel has never been executed to full capacity in any of it's outings.
As for "good enough" recordings of Raff - I agree - they were GOOD ENOUGH but that's all they are ... good enough - Except for Herrmann's Lenore! I was looking for a fresh new look at these neglected symphonies, which Järvi would have given us if not for the unfortunate circumstances. It's frustrating to see a promising project go down the drain when I see another Schubert or Schumann or Beethoven Symphony cast into a new mold as if we don't have enough of those already.
In the end I am grateful for the 2 discs, even if there aren't going to be any more. Thank you Mr. Järvi for taking a road less traveled!
Gareth hit the nail on the head when he said that Chandos isn't the label it once was. The number of CDs they release has declined, as has their adventurousness. That said, maybe the decision was forced upon them: we mustn't forget, as I mentioned in my earlier post, that Järvi left L'orchestre de a Suisse Romande in 2015 after his initial three year contract expired, and he's in his late 70s now. Either of those reasons could be why the third Raff recording was abandoned. I do know that up until this time last year Chandos fully intended to go ahead with it, because they commissioned new editions of both symphonies.
The Stadlmair recordings of Raff on Tudor are actually more than good. They're pretty well uniformly excellent. And we also have a superb Im Walde from d'Avalos...
How about a letter to Chandos? Anyone up for that?
BTW who said "good enough"? Certainly not me!
I haven't the d'Avalos Im walde. Can you explain why its superb?
Sorry Alan, I guess I misread. I wasn't implying that they were not good. Just that the rest of the set by Järvi would have been something!!!
D'Avalos' Im Walde is superbly played and recorded, for a start; it also has a certain 'rightness' about its choice of tempi. In other words, it's an excellent, central performance which avoids extremes, but which brings out the full stature of the work. Stadlmair's version is also excellent, in a slightly harder-edged way.
I did write to Chandos last night actually, and received the following rather dusty reply (I give the complete correspondence):
Dear Mr Vaughan
Thank you for your kind message and enquiry. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, no further recordings of Raff with Neeme Jarvi are currently envisaged.
Best regards
Dean Austin
Accountant
Chandos Records Limited
On 12/04/2016 20:54, Gareth Vaughan wrote:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have greatly enjoyed the disks of Raff's 2nd & 5th symphonies with the Suisse Romande Orchestra under Neeme Jarvi and was looking forward to hearing them perform the 3rd & 4th symphonies, recordings of which were promised. However, I understand that the recording sessions were cancelled. Does this mean that we shall have no more Raff from Jarvi and Chandos? If so, I am deeply disappointed. You will doubtless tell me that sales of the two earlier CDs did not justify further recordings of this repertoire and, if that is the case, I cannot argue with your decision. But it is nevertheless a bitter disappointment.
Yours sincerely,
Gareth Vaughan
somehow I'm not surprised :-X
If the circumstances genuinely were beyond their control, then it points to Järvi's hasty departure from Geneva after only three years as being the reason.
I suspect you are right, Mark. So maybe not really Chandos' fault. If Jarvi had a falling out with the orchestra, Chandos would be right to be discreet about it. I think we can read between the lines, however.
Wikipedia tells us that Järvi was only appointed to the OSR for a period of three years (2012-15):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suisse_Romande_Orchestra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suisse_Romande_Orchestra)
True, but it's also true of most conducting appointments I believe. Once a rapport has been established between conductor, players and management these initial three year contracts are usually extended or renewed for another three or five years. It's rare for someone of Järvi's stature to stay just for the initial contract period.
Also true, but Järvi is actually one of three music directors of the OSR who have lasted only three years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestre_de_la_Suisse_Romande (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestre_de_la_Suisse_Romande)
Anyway, who knows what went on? Maybe someone else will take up the cause in his stead...
Perhaps too he might- if it is an interest of his sufficiently- continue these works with a later orchestra eventually once settled in...
It strikes me as odd that the reply came from someone who gives their job title as accountant - then again, maybe it doesn't... :(
QuoteD'Avalos' Im Walde is superbly played and recorded, for a start; it also has a certain 'rightness' about its choice of tempi. In other words, it's an excellent, central performance which avoids extremes, but which brings out the full stature of the work.
Alan is spot-on here. The D'Avalos recording was the first Raff I ever heard, and I was completely smitten. It got me into the whole UC scene. If you are a Raffian (or a UC fan) and have not heard it, I urge you to do so. As Alan says, the engineering and virtuosity of the Philharmonia are both stunning. D'Avalos may not have set the world on fire but I enjoy his Martucci too.
I'm much more upset at the loss of the opportunity to hear Järvi in Raff 4. That's another fine work which rather sits in the shadow of 3 & 5 (which for me are the two greatest) but which is marvellous in its own right.
Yes, that's a very good point. The real loss is Raff 4 in Järvi's hands.
Also - Järvi's Atterberg recordings have surged ahead with the Gothenburg SO. Are we still so hung up about nationalism that Järvi can only do a Swedish composer in Gothenburg and a Swiss - German composer in Geneva? That smacks of "Elgar can only be performed by English orchestras and conductors - no-one else 'gets' the idiom". Which is nonsense as several recent excellent Elgar recordings show.....
I've found that this whole reasoning is bogus. Of course a Czech orchestra will play a solid (e.g.) Dvorak, not because of some esoteric ethnic quality but because they are part of a rich Dvorak performance tradition and have played his music hundreds if not thousands of times. Obviously, a Spanish performance is going to sound different because Dvorak is played far less often in Spain. The extremes will typically be much further apart when such a performance tradition is absent - it can lead to brilliant, "fresh" performances or (if, for instance, there is a lack of rehearsal time) very bad ones.
The internationalization of music has also led to far less distinctive 'idioms'. Virtually every professional orchestra nowadays is an international one, and the Mengelberg-Concertgebouw, Mravinsky-Leningrad or Neumann-Prague type of relationships are a thing of the past. There are still some national traditions, but even they are disappearing quickly. Just compare Russian brass playing from the 1980s to modern recordings.
As far as I'm concerned, Järvi can conduct Raff anywhere he likes, provided that the orchestra is up to the job. Oh, and by the way, while Raff was born in Switzerland, he was actually a citizen of the German state of Württemberg.
Quite so. I'd just like to hear Jarvi conduct more Raff.
I'd be hard pressed to be critical of Chandos. When I visually scan my CD racks, there's a whole lot of great Chandos discs that I've collected over the last couple of decades, lots of 'em repertoire Sony, DG or Decca probably wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Nothing would make me happier than a complete cycle of Raff Symphonies on SACD by the likes of Honeck, Vanska, Oramo or Paavo Jarvi on a label like BIS, Ondine or Linn. Maybe not likely, but BIS especially sometimes surprises me.
Anyway, a word of warning to any younger collectors planning on tracking down the D'Avalos Raff 3rd on ASV. It has been out of print for a good while. The first release, in 1993, was one of the many CDs pressed by PDO afflicted by "CD Rot" (aka "Bronzing"). It was repressed a couple of years later. I still get burned a couple of times a year, ordering used CDs on labels including ASV, Collins, Albany, Hyperion, etc. You might want to email any Amazon Marketplace or Ebay dealers before ordering. If it's gold or brown instead of silver, take a pass. Eventually, they start to put out what I'd describe as pulses of white noise along with the music.
The solution, of course, is to make a copy ASAP - provided that the CD is still playable.
My Raff 3 was afflicted by bronzing - along with several other ASV's, lots of Hyperions and also some Albany discs of George Lloyd. All the companies replaced them then - but that was before ASV were taken over (by Sanctuary, I think). All collectors who have a large library and who therefore play some discs rarely should check these labels in particular for problems. But there are other companies who used PDO as a pressing plant too.
Since the problem appears to be acid in the booklet paper reacting with the lacquer, it would be sensible to store PDO pressed discs apart from their booklets if they cannot be replaced and are still playable. Or, as suggested, burn them to CD-R and/or rip them to hard disc. However, I think any discs which are going to be problematic will have shown symptoms by now. I replaced mine around 10 years ago.
Mine exhibits no problems at all.