Dear all, I hope you don't mind me starting another topic on Bortkiewicz. We already discussed the release of the NMI disc with the 2nd and 3rd PC. In general every member who contributed to this thread is enthusiastic. In fact I am overwhelmed by these grandiose PC's, and that makes Bortkiewicz for me a real find. However, I only know his 3 PC's (by the way, my favourite is #2) and I'm now eager to learn more of his music.
Then I remember many years ago my discovery of Rachmaninoff. I had LPs of his PCs and an LP including his famous prelude in C sharp minor in an arrangement for orchestra with Mantovani as the conductor. I thought: I love this music so much, his other works must be attractive as well. And indeed.
Allow me to quote Wouter Kalkman in his booklet notes (by the way, Wouter Kalkman is also responsible for the beautiful and very informative website www.bortkiewicz.com (http://www.bortkiewicz.com)):
Bortkiewicz' style was very much based on Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, early Scriabin and Russian folklore. He was unaffected by the music trends of the 20th century. The outstanding individual quality of his compositions, the melodic richness and the mastery of form characterize all of his works. He wrote in a style very much his own that can be immediately recognised as "typically Bortkiewicz". As well as beautiful lyricism there is also frequently an atmosphere of deep nostalgia, a longing for past joys. The emotional effect of this, blended with his strong melodic gifts, makes his music attractive and appealing to many listeners.
This really triggers me. After reading these words, while listening to the 2nd PC, how can I protect myself? I like to order all his other discs immediately.
But before doing that, I like to read your opinions on Bortkiewicz' other works. The discs of pianist Klaas Trapman? Both symphonies on Hyperion? Others? Please advice.
Generally, I hold the symphonies in slightly lower esteem than the concertos (the piano was very much his medium, I think). However, both are fine examples of the early-20th-century Russian symphony, but I find the second a more mature and lasting work than the slightly rambunctious first. On the other hand, that one has the added benefit of probably containing the only commercial recording of the Tsarist Russian anthem.
The piano CDs are all fine and well worth the (modest) investment.
well ... a great and cheap recomendation .. especially if you like chamber music would be: Bortkiewicz: Complete Works for Violin and Piano.... the violin sonata and the suite for violin piano are exquisite. they show the nostalgic, lyrical, and creative side of Bortkiewicz.
Thanks Izdawiz, I've just ordered that CD (indeed very cheap, the package & postage almost doubles the price).
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I couldn't wait any longer, so I went to Hyperion's website and listened to all 43 extracts of the double disc of Piano Music played by Stephen Coombs, and all 8 extracts of both symphonies. How about the opening of the 3rd movement of the 2nd? Just heavenly beautiful.
This does it. I'm sure I'll find enough funds for a couple of new discs, but how am I going to tell my wife about my new passion? I'll tell her while refilling her glass with that nice burgundy. :D
Quote from: Peter1953 on Sunday 14 June 2009, 09:56
This does it. I'm sure I'll find enough funds for a couple of new discs, but how am I going to tell my wife about my new passion? I'll tell her while refilling her glass with that nice burgundy. :D
You might wait until that third refill! :D
Kevin
It happened. I couldn't resist the temptation any longer, so I ordered a few other CD's and went, with my wife, to the NMI in The Hague and bought the 3 double CD's of piano music, played by Klaas Trapman (EUR 7.50 per disc, and that is value for money).
Although I haven't listened to all the piano music yet (6 hours!), for what I've heard so far these are absolutely lovely pieces. The music is a nice mix of Chopin and Rachmaninov, and sometimes you hear Schumann as well, but in the end it must be typically the style of Bortkiewicz because the music stands on its own. A strong recommendation!
Did you experience the excitement to discover and explore a "whole" new composer and completely "fall in love" with his music? It happened to me twice this year, thanks to our Forum and I'm very grateful for that. Both "trouvailles" for me are Rufinatscha and Bortkiewicz. And who knows how many others will follow...
I've promised my wife a whole weekend of Bortkiewicz only, so let's hope I survive.
I'm growing extremely fond of the Left Hand Concerto. I'm still trying to decipher the thematic transformations in the 3rd Concerto. I find it hard to believe that all of the material is based on that opening motive.
The 2nd piano concerto (left hand) is a masterpiece and easily the best of the Wittgenstein commissions, in my opinion. At times it is difficult to believe that only one hand is on the piano keys - the writing is so skillful.
One should mention the two lush, romantic symphonies by Bortkiewicz, issued on a Hyperion CD. They both are memorable and eminently engaging. Perhaps not quite at the level of his piano concertos, but nevertheless worthwhile. Don't pass 'em by.
Still eagerly waiting for the Violin and Cello concerti! I just hope its not a long wait ::)
The producer Wouter Kalkman told me that plans are in preparation to record Bortkiewicz's beautiful violin and cello concerto within a few years. So it is most likely that the NMI will release both concertos, but we have to be patient for a while.
Well tell you one thing I'm going to do. Since I now have all 3 Borty PCs, I'm going to play them all in order over the next few days. :)
Anybody familiar with Bortkiewicz's symphonies in D major, op. 52, and E flat major, op. 55 (I know Ilja is)?
I remember a topic on beautiful slow movements in symphonies and concertos. Of course there are so many, but the 3rd movement, an andante sostenuto, of Bortkiewicz's 2nd belongs most certainly to the highlights. That is, if you like to listen to tragic, emotional, melancholic and serene melodies (not all the time, otherwise you might get depressed...).
It is hard to imagine that Bortkiewicz composed these symphonies in 1937-38. Some themes, like the mentioned andante in the 2nd, could have been written by Tchaikovsky. He certainly knew how to create tragic but beautiful music in his last 3 symphonies. The ghost of Tchaikovsky must have whispered some ideas in Bortkiewicz's ears during the process of creating his intense music.
That left-hand concerto has really gotten under my skin. It would be a grand thing to bring it to the attention of a pianist other than Stefan Doniga. I took the liberty of emailing Carl Petersson about it last week. Unfortunately he hasn't gotten back to me yet. Touring, no doubt.
P.S. Although I agree with febnyc that the concerto is a masterpiece, I'm not sure I can agree that it is the best of the Wittgenstein commissions. After all, there is so much unpublished stuff in his (Wittgenstein's) archive that has yet to see the light. Didn't he commission a concertante work from Camille Saint-Saens? I seem to recall reading about it in an article on Leon Fleisher some years back (when he had just gotten the mobility of his right hand back after some years of paralysis). Or was it just a left-hand arrangement of one of his two-hand concertos?
Jim wrote: Didn't he commission a concertante work from Camille Saint-Saens?
It would be a very late work if he did. The last work listed in the catalogues is the Fifth Piano Concerto of 1896, long before WWI in which Wittegenstein was wounded. A fascinating prospect, though.
If he commissioned anything, it was never written.
Saint-Saens DID write solo piano etudes for the left hand, but it's from 1912.
Perhaps I misconstrued what was said in the article, or the writer was in error. Either way, too bad he didn't compose a left-hand concerto for Wittgenstein. I'm sure it would have been GLORIOUS!
Back to both PC's 2 and 3. The 2nd is my favourite too, and it is unbelievable that the brilliant piano part is for the left hand only. It doesn't sound that way. However, the 3rd isn't that bad either, and I think the ominous opening is quite stirring. In fact the whole concert is enough sparkling to me.
Years ago I bought the Hyperion disc with the PC's of Arensky and Bortkiewicz. I bought the CD for the Arensky, but I never heard anything from Bortkiewicz. I wasn't so impressed by Arensky after all, and strangely enough I never touched that CD again until recently. Why did I wait for so long to listen to that 1st PC of Bortkiewicz again? It's surely a nice piece of music to listen to! For me definitely more interesting than the Arensky. What is your opinion?
All 3 piano concertos are quite interesting, but the more closely I listen to them, the more I realize that Bortkiewicz' strength was melody, not development. In all 3 concertos there is virtually no thematic development. In the first concerto's first movement, for example, where there would normally be a development section there seems to be more of a "central episode", which contains little in the way of typical developmental techniques (e.g. fragmentation, harmonic sequencing, contrapuntal juxtaposition, etc.) In the 2nd concerto, it seems like the first "movement" is a ternary form in which the central section is a "slow movement" and the return of the "A" section is extremely truncated. What little development there is acts as more as a lead-in to the slow movement. BTW, is that entire "B" section's tempo still "Allegretto"? I find that difficult to believe. Not that any of this works against these concertos; in fact I find them formally quite adroit, especially in the ways in which Borty eschews development while still filling out extensive formats. At least he didn't fall back on the old "exposition segueing into the slow movement followed by the finale" formal cliche, as so many other composers did. I'm wondering, though, for those of you familiar with his symphonies, if he has the requisite developmental skills, or if that is why you all seem to find the symphonies somewhat weaker than the piano concertos?
As for the Arensky, I'm quite fond of it. I particularly like the 5/4 finale. As in a lot of Russian concertos, the secondary material in the outer movements is more interesting than the primary material, but that doesn't weigh against it. I suggest repeated hearings.
This essentially goes to all of you, but is a response to JimL's last post...
One of my goals is to be able to interpret/analyze music the way you did above. I can follow the melody part, but as soon as the discussion goes to thematic development I am pretty much gone from any meaningful input. I have always wanted to know the "inner workings" of things and music is certainly no exception.
Someday.....
I agree with JimL about the lack of thematic development in Bortkiewicz writing. Its this precisely that makes his Symphonies less interesting than the concertos. That his strength is Melody can hardly be debated. His symphonies are full of them (the slow movement of the second is beautiful and the slow movement of the first sounds like pages from the 1st piano concerto!).
I have a disc with the violin concerto op. 22 (1923) coupled with the cello concerto op. 20 (1922). They are live registrations of a concert in Kiev in 2002 (probably to commemorate the fiftieth death anniversary of Bortkiewicz), and that's the only thing I know. No idea which orchestra is performing, and who both soloists are. Both the violist and the cellist are playing with full passion. However, the recording is flat and has a mechanical sound, without any tone colour, in short: very bad. But for the time being, never mind, because it gives a pretty good idea of these concertos, and believe me: both are truly masterpieces! Full of catchy melodies. And the thematic development? Definitely not poor to me. Also with these concertos Bortkiewicz has proven to be a great composer.
I have a slight preference for the violin concerto. The first movement is very impressive, and opens promptly with the first theme, after two minutes followed by a beautiful second theme, a tune which keeps going around in my head. But the emotional highlight is the slow movement. How serene. The third movement is quite the opposite: an enthusiastic, positive main theme, nicely developed and finishing in a grandiose coda.
The cello concerto has two movements. The opening is rather woeful. I wonder what Bortkiewicz was thinking of while writing this first theme. Strangely enough I must think of Elgar's cello concerto (1919). Did Bortkiewicz study that marvellous concerto? The second movement has quite a few surprising themes, including a Spanish dance.
We can only hope that these brilliant, unjustly forgotten concertos will once again be heard in the concert halls, and moreover, that we music lovers don't have to wait too long before the release of these first-rate concertos. It's something to look out for.
I've listened several times to the symphonies and to piano concertos 1, 2 and 3. I like the 2nd concerto. The rest .... well, they aren't bad, but just not something I'll return to much. For all their color and vibrance, the symphonies are (to me) lacking in grace. Something about them made me nervous. I kept turning down the volume.
But the 2nd piano concerto is a keeper. I would be curious to hear the violin and cello concertos.
As a result of reading all the postings on Bortkiewicz, I consequently ordered the 2 symphonies and PC 1. I was immediately taken with his music, which covers a wide range of emotions, and which goes without saying, I find especially appealing. Of the symphonies, I prefer no 1 marginally. The PC struck me as especially attractive and I particularly liked a number of passages of great beauty and delicacy in the romantic vein. I am so taken with this composer, I have since ordered PC 2 + 3 and eagerly await their arrival. Thank you everyone for introducing me to a wonderful composer.
Good to hear that the Forum is being of benefit, Dennis. I have been introduced to an enormous amount of music through the Forum - unfortunately for my credit card!
I'm with you Alan! It's certainly broadened my horizons a great deal. Plus, I know I can go to this forum for anyone I'm just not familar with and get some fantastic responses. It's getting harder to justify to my wife all the "deals" I'm coming across that I just need to have. ;D
I'm very pleased, Dennis, that you discovered Bortkiewicz. I wouldn't be surprised if you let us know that you're overwhelmed by his PC 2. You will love it. Mind you, I bought the Hyperion disc years ago only for the Arensky. But because I don't like the Arensky so much I haven't listen to that CD for years, not being aware of the beautiful Bortkiewicz 1...
His piano music is lovely too. I have the 3 double CDs by Klaas Trapman, 6 hours of beautiful piano music. Both piano sonatas, especially #1, are gems. I think his piano music is reminiscent of Rachmaninov, but less complex, so to speak.
We have to be patient for the release of the magnificent VC and the CC. I have a poor quality recording, but I can assure you that these concertos are amongst the most beautiful works Bortkiewicz has composed. Especially the VC is a masterpiece.
Hello Monafam. I read your last posting and smiled. I know that having joined this forum, I am going to discover many "unsung" composers and will, as a result, want to buy even more cds. My wife has stopped making any comment on my purchases! I intend shortly to start a new thread on Atterberg and it will be most interesting to read other members views on his work.
Hello Jim
Thanks for your comments. I know how much you like the PC 2. If indeed, it is even better than no 1, I am sure that I will really love it too! When I receive my copy from Holland, I will listen to it and then give you my impressions on the work. I hope to receive my copy by the end of the week. I note your comments on his piano music, especially with reference to Rachmaninov ( a composer I am very fond of) and am going to try and stream the audio of as many pieces as I can find. I have listened to the audio extracts of the VC just once and will hear it again. I don't recall where I read it but a review of the soloist was very positive but not so flattering for the orchestra (amateurish?). Does this ring a bell with you? Like yourself, I have a number of works by Arensky but was not greatly moved by them. Perhaps I need to listen again more carefully???
We Russian emigrants live more off our memories than in the present, Bortkiewicz once said. Well, you can hear that nostalgic mood in his lovely, intimate violin sonata in G minor. An example of music without words. I've just listened to this fine piece of chamber music again, it's almost like a meditation.
Hello Peter and all the members who have spoken so highly of Bortkiewicz. I finally received my copy of PC 2 + 3 yesterday. The wait was more than worthwhile. Thank you everyone for introducing me to a wonderful composer. I've only listened so far to PC 2 once and PC 3 twice and need to listen to them again . So far though, I confess I still marginally prefer PC1, for its many tender, lyrical passages in the romantic vein that I like so much. I have detected similar passages of great beauty in PC3, which instantly appeal to me. I think I have to re-listen to PC 2 several times though and perhaps then I will come to love it even more. What I have noticed in PC2 is that at times it doesn't feel as much like as a concerto, more like chamber music, with the number of passages where it's just the piano and the flute or cello or viola. It's sure to grow on me!I will certainly be keeping a look out for the VC and CC!
Hello Peter, Jim and everyone who has spoken so highly of Bortkiewicz, I have since played PC 2 + 3 several times. Surprise, surprise, I have since changed my mind and think that PC 2 is now clearly my favourite; from its anguished beginning to its joyous triumph of the close. As other members have remarqued, it's Bortkiewicz's gift of melody which does it for me. He is certainly a composer I will listen to often!
Good to read your enthusiastic words on Bortkiewicz, Dennis! If you like to explore his music further, I can also recommend his piano music. For me a true find is his 1st piano sonata in B Major, op. 9. A thrilling, very well-crafted piece of music. His 2nd in C Minor is hardly less stunning. I have both played by Klaas Trapman. The 1st is also available on Hyperion, performed by Stephen Coombs. Extracts can be heard at http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDD22054&f=bortkiewicz (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDD22054&f=bortkiewicz)
thanks Peter for the Hyperion link. Am going to listen to all the audio samples. I like all of his music and I must confess, I like both his symphonies almost as much as the PCs!
Jim wrote in the thread "Research on conflict-induced migration of composers" (Reply #10): How about Sergei Bortkiewicz? Didn't he have to leave Berlin because of WWI, only to settle in Vienna and suffer there through WWII?
Yes indeed! Bortkiewicz wrote in his autobiography in October 1936:
Only someone who has been torn forcibly from the soil of his homeland can know how painful this feeling can be sometimes. Perhaps this yearning for his homeland grips most strongly the creative artist, the author, the composer. He would like to go 'back to the mother', as Goethe says... to the source, to the native soil, in order to gather new forces, to refresh his fantasy, to live again...
Quoted from Malcolm Henbury-Ballan (2002) in his booklet notes for the CD with the two symphonies, the first (op. 52) subtitled From my Homeland.
Interesting to learn that the German text of Bortkiewicz's autobiography was translated by Bhagwan Nebhraj Thadani. This Thadani has done a lot to promote his idol Bortkiewicz. Just see www.geocities.com/bthad.geo (http://www.geocities.com/bthad.geo). According to Wouter Kalkman (www.bortkiewicz.com (http://www.bortkiewicz.com)) the music is recorded by computer and sounds rather mechanical and dull, in fact not a promotion for Bortkiewicz's great music. Nevertheless, it's interesting.
Thank you very much to Herrarte for uploading so much Bortkiewicz (the suites) in the downloads section. I've done an audit of which orchestral and operatic works have and have not (apparently) been recorded, as below. Can anyone add extra information? I'm particularly keen to hear the Russian Rhapsody. It seems that the "Philharmonia" Academic Symphony Orchestra of Chernigov, conducted by Mykola Sukach, has been particularly assiduous in recording his works. Does anyone have any leads there? (do they have a website?)
Symphony No.1 in D Major "From my Homeland", Op. 52 RECORDED
Symphony No.2 in E flat Major, Op. 55 RECORDED
Othello, Op. 19 RECORDED
Piano concerto No. 1, Op. 16 RECORDED
Cello concerto, Op. 20 RECORDED
Violin concerto, Op. 22 RECORDED
Piano concerto no. 2 for the left hand only, Op.28 RECORDED
Pianoconcerto no. 3 'per aspera ad astra', Op.32 RECORDED
Österreichische Suite for String Orchestra, Op. 51 RECORDED
Overture for Orchestra, Op. 53 RECORDED
Jugoslawische Suite for Orchestra, Op. 58 RECORDED
Arabische Nächte, Op. 37 RECORDED
"Des Frühlings und des Pans Erwachen, Op.44 NO INFORMATION
Russische Rhapsodie for piano and orchestra, Op.45 NO INFORMATION
Russische Tänze for Orchestra, Op. 18 NO INFORMATION
Träume, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 34 NO INFORMATION
Die Akrobaten (Opera), Op. 50 NO INFORMATION
"Hafis Songs" after Hans Bethge for singer and orchestra, Op.43 NO INFORMATION
Seven Songs for voice and orchestra (no Op.No.) NO INFORMATION
Olympic Scherzo for orchestra (no Op.No.) NO INFORMATION
Symphony No. 3 (unfinished; sketches only) NO INFORMATION
Two Songs, arranged for voice and string orchestra (no Op.No.) NO INFORMATION
Three Pieces for cello and orchestra, Op.25A NO INFORMATION
Heitere Suite for orchestra, Op. 57 NO INFORMATION
The Cello and Violin Concertos had been made available for download in this forum but it was before my time (and before the Downloads Section opened) and I cannot trace the links any longer.
Are they still around somewhere?
Hrm. They seem to be downloadable or playable at least directly from the orchestra's own site, see the link http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,165.30.html (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,165.30.html) and the site links given on the thread's last page, http://classic-online.ru/ru/production/21927 (http://classic-online.ru/ru/production/21927) (cello concerto) and http://classic-online.ru/ru/production/14121 (http://classic-online.ru/ru/production/14121) (violin concerto) (it helps to have a browser with a Translate button)
Ah, thanks; that's the website I mentioned myself sometime ago. They have some commercially available CDs ripped for download and it's not always easy to find out if a work is otherwise available or not. So I have not used this site until now. But the two Concertos are definitely 'free'? ;) :D
I don't know.
I should modify that.
In one sense they are decidedly not- the score (versus the recording, I mean) of the violin concerto, at least, I believe is copyright-free only in Canada because of first dates of publication, valid-to-my-knowledge and renewed copyright (there are apparently a few exceptions to the "PD-US = first pub 1922 or less rul... ah heck with ...), and Bortkiewicz's fortunately later-than-1940 date of death (I think the cello concerto is PD-US, though again not PD-EU).
(The effect this has on the copyright status of recordings is not clear to me- when I uploaded a recording of a late Vaughan Williams work to IMSLP that had been released into the Creative Commons by the conductor (VW 9), it was blocked by the admins in the US precisely because the score of the symphony was first published with valid and validly renewed copyright in the US after 1922 (though the recording had been released CC.) But that's IMSLP stuffs, I think.)
Searching for Bortkiewicz and looking for his cello concerto (recordings) on Worldcat does turn up the synthesized recording by Mr. Thadani in a Canadian library but I expect what's relevant here (I expect "of course" should be added here but I should not play the expert that I am not) is whether -this- recording that has been linked to, has been "published" in some relevant sense (and I don't know the exact definition of the relevant sense). But will see what little I can find out before my headache (partially caused by weather, partially by any discussion of copyright law, just because, well, apologies to my lawyer relatives but - well - it's law... or rather, legal code, which is to say, chaotic.)
Hrm, I didn't know his violin sonata had been recorded. I didn't even notice there was one in his list of works at IMSLP, possibly because most of the works around it (though not the violin concerto either though...) are underlined by now (and so have a page with -something- in it anyway...) *g*... Hrm. Opus 26, 1922, published by D. Rahter of Leipzig in 1924...
Well, I just streamed the Violin Concerto from classic-online.ru and it often makes sounds which I know from damaged or badly ripped CDs. Hrm... :-\
There's long applause at the end, so it's a recording of a concert at least, not a (commercial) studio production.
Is this the only recording? The distortions make it not very pleasant listening. :(
Or, perhaps anybody has this recording without the distortions? ;)
I would appreciate an upload very much! :D
I really like Bortkiewicz but until now I thought him a mere pianist-composer. But no, he can write very fine stuff without any piano spinning around! ;) ;D
Then there's his opera Acrobats, op.50...- I recall its being mentioned - trying to remember in what context.. didn't write a string quartet (I had him confused with Feliks Blumenfeld somehow... hrm. Wonder how that piece is.) but Bortkiewicz's composition list has some interesting stuff in it.
There was also an earlier piano concerto written circa 1902, which is no longer extant. It was around until the early 1920's so it might have been canibalised for the left hand concerto, who knows. There is also the Russian Rhapsody for piano and orchestra which I believe is soon to be recorded.
The symphonies which were at one time thought lost, were unearthed in a New York public library archive several years ago.
Quote from: giles.enders on Saturday 22 October 2011, 10:49
There was also an earlier piano concerto written circa 1902, which is no longer extant. It was around until the early 1920's so it might have been canibalised for the left hand concerto, who knows. There is also the Russian Rhapsody for piano and orchestra which I believe is soon to be recorded.
The symphonies which were at one time thought lost, were unearthed in a New York public library archive several years ago.
Giles - do you know who is planning to record the Russian Rhapsody and when? Is it Sukach and the Chernigov Philharmonic again? I have heard the piano recorded by Bhagwan Thadani with piano and synchronised orchestra and it sounds like a real crowdpleaser - fast-moving with lots of recognisable Russian themes (Solg of the Volga Boatment for example), so would love to hear a proper recording.
Herrarte kindly uploaded here The Yugoslav Suite, Op.58.
Does anyone know if this piece is divided into movements, and if so what the names of the movements are? (Maybe each section is named after a particular republic of Yugoslavia, or something...).
Confusingly, http://ingp0040.home.xs4all.nl/1554262.htm (http://ingp0040.home.xs4all.nl/1554262.htm) says that the score is missing- I don't know if the author means the manuscript score of the piano version only, or also that of the orchestral version, or even the published versions of both (presumably after the recording was made.)
from Christopher: "Herrarte kindly uploaded here The Yugoslav Suite, Op.58".
I don't seem to be able to find this upload, can anyone give me direction, Thanks, Arbuckle
Quote from: Arbuckle on Friday 13 January 2012, 14:55
from Christopher: "Herrarte kindly uploaded here The Yugoslav Suite, Op.58".
I don't seem to be able to find this upload, can anyone give me direction, Thanks, Arbuckle
It was posted here on this site at http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1196.msg20402.html#msg20402 (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1196.msg20402.html#msg20402) and the following link was provided for downloading: http://www.filesonic.com/file/2577744704/Bortkiewicz_Symphonic_Suites.rar (http://www.filesonic.com/file/2577744704/Bortkiewicz_Symphonic_Suites.rar)
FYI, That filesonic link is no longer active (they don't allow sharing anymore). Are those recordings the same as the ones available on the classic-online.ru page?
Can anyone update re: the recording of the Russian Rhapsody? Also, I've seen an "Olympic Scherzo for Orchestra" mentioned in a few select places. Anyone know anything about this?
I shall upload my copies of these files for you :)
In 2009 this thread strayed onto Saint-Saens and Wittgenstein. I have just trawled through The Thematic Catalogue of the complete works of Saint-Saens, by Sabina Tella Ratner, which coveres every note he ever wrote, published, unpublished complete or just fragments. There is no menion of anything for piano left hand or Wittgenstein comissioning anything.
Saint-Saens' opus 135 had the title, I thought, of 6 etudes pour la main gauche seule- but I have not seen the ms (no pun intended.) But I am surprised to hear that Saint-Saens composed nothing for left hand, considering.
Indeed Saint-Saens wrote a set of left hand etudes as Op. 135
Like I said, this was a comment, IIRC about Leon Fleisher (after he recuperated from his right-hand paralysis) exploring left-hand literature made by a local newspaper critic. And I thought it was a reference to concertante music. Did anybody ever make a left-hand arrangement of any of Saint-Saens' concertos?
Back to Bortkiewicz for a moment. This (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/mar00/thadani.htm) looks like an interesting, commercial but rather old (?) article from the Bhagwan, reviewed by Rob Barnett.
I too have the Bhagwan Thadani version and I am glad of it. However, wouldn't it be phenomenal to hear a true orchestra play this. It is a fun piece. If you hear of it being recorded please let me know as well!
There was a point at which there was a flurry of releases of Bortkiewicz's orchestral music, kindly uploaded here by member herrarte, always performed by the "Philharmonia" Academic Symphony Orchestra of Chernigov under Nikolai Sukach. Does anyone know if they, or anyone else, have made further recordings of this composer's works?
I have just found several Bortkiewicz items on YouTube and heard them for the first time. What a super special unsung composer! It seems that PC 3 finale ends with organ and bells, but I cannot be sure of the organ. Could anyone shed some light on this beautiful but unusual orchestration?
Welcome to Bortkiewicz Gerhard! - Yes, he's a particularly special Unsung!
A new CD - entitled "Scheherazade" - from the Austrian label Paladino (https://www.paladino.at/cds/scheherazade (http://www.paladino.at/cds/scheherazade))
also contains a transcription of 5 songs from Bortkiewicz' ballet "Arabian Nights" Op.37 for clarinet, violin, cello & piano,
impressively performed by the Zurich Ensemble.
(http://www.paladino.at/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/cds/pmr0036_scheherazade_frontcover.jpg)
The piece is also available as HD-video from Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/album/2324520/video/62666061 (http://vimeo.com/album/2324520/video/62666061)
(The most impressive item on this disc, however, is Khachaturjan's Clarinet Trio from 1932 :-)
I am a little surprised that on-one so far has followed up on the Zurich Ensemble CD Scheherazade. It caught my eye immediately! As some members of UC may know, I have a particular love of all exotic, oriental, Arabian inspired classical music and have built up quite a large collection of this sort of music over the years. I have always loved Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and have grown up listening to this work. Yes, it's an old workhorse but if you don't listen to it too often, you never tire of it. At least I don't! I bought this CD as much for R-K's Scheherazade as for the Bortkiewicz and Khachaturian works (both composers I am very fond of - see earlier posts in this thread). Needless to say, listening to this CD for the past two weeks, I have been very impressed, not just by the works on the CD but also by the playing of the Zurich Ensemble. I love the chamber music version of Scheherazade. The combination of clarinet, violin, cello and piano gives a refreshingly new flavour to the piece and indeed, seems to make the music more Middle Eastern sounding, especially the clarinet, which at times adds an almost klezmer effect to the music. It is also quite striking that at times the Zurich Ensemble achieves such a full, rich sound for just four musicians. At other times, the piano also adds a more intimate atmosphere to the music. For me, this version works very well indeed. (As an aside, if chamber versions of Scheherazade are of interest, I highly recommend the album 1001 Nights, Ferhan and Ferzan Onder, which contains a wonderfully evocative version : a Transcription for 4 hands!). The Bortkiewicz Five Melodies from "a thousand and one nights" is also a very enjoyable piece to listen to. Bortkiewicz was clearly influenced by R-K and I hear quite a few references to Scheherazade in this piece. The work is though a little light weight and Bortkiewicz does not in this instance equal the melodic and lyrical inventiveness of R-K. Nevertheless the work is still quite appealing. As mjkFendrich has stated, the Khachaturian piece is indeed impressive. I can see why it was chosen and why the CD title is Scheherazade! I find the work, cool, elegant, with at times an almost impressionistic take on Debussy, together with an almost at times jazzy take on R-K's Scheherazade! If you like R-K's Scheherazade, you will like all three works on this CD. I highly recommend this CD to those who like this sort of music!
Hi
Please can somebody help me. I have read somewhere, and I think it was on this forum, that Bortkiewicz's opera Akrobaten - though the score is at present lost - that there is a poor recording of the opera which was broadcast by one of the Austrian radio stations during Bortkiewicz's lifetime. I think someone has a copy of it. Can anyone enlighten me if this is so. I am dealing with radio broadcasts of Bortkiewicz's works during his lifetime and today. Knut Franke used to play his music in his programmes in Germany prior to 1972. What radio broadcasts are available today from German and Austrian radio? Also, it is interesting that the BBC Proms has never featured Bortkiewicz. He would also make a very interesting subject for Composer of the Week. I am going to suggest it. Many thanks if anyone can help. I know Malcolm Henbury-Ballan is on a mission to find that opera score!
Many Thanks
David
I was wondering [and hoping] since many a times, scores that have been deemed lost turn up [case Moszkowski's 1st Piano Concerto and both the Symphonies of Bortkiewicz], so what is the status of the following
Cello Sonata, Op. 36
Suite for Cello Solo, Op. 41
are they still out there somewhere or definitely destroyed and lost forever. I started thinking about these pieces after reading the "Godard's sonatas for solo violin--"baroque" music from the 19th century" and "Bortkiewicz 2017 Festival" threads recently.
I believe the Cello Sonata and Cello Suite still exist.............as do a number of his works that are still deemed missing like his opera 'Akrobaten'. But like any detective story there are often many blind alleys, and it takes a lot of time and patience to locate scores (took me over 5 years to find the symphonies as it was). I'm currently trying to locate the Olympic Scherzo / Overture and think I now know where a copy resides (fingers crossed). As libraries and archives digitalise their card indexes, it does help to increase the chances of finding these works - recently found some Wieniawski that had also been deemed missing - so you never know what tomorrow will bring !
Malcolm
Hi Malcolm,
regarding Bortkiewicz's First Symphony, it would seem that there was at least one other edition, since this performance on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7e0VPY2CgQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7e0VPY2CgQ))omits the God Save the Tsar from the coda (which as a result falls a bit flat). Can you tell me whether that was the case or they excised the quotation for some other (political?) reason?
It is interesting that the composer, in his original recording of the work, also 'missed off' the 'God Save the Tsar' ending in the coda......but not sure why Sukach does the same in the YouTube recording, beyond possible political sensibilities between Ukraine and Russia ? I know Ukraine have a complete copy of the symphony as I provided the score, but beyond that I have no idea why that tune was excluded. The definitive recording can be heard on the Hyperion label, conducted by Brabbins.
Malcolm
Malcolm, thanks for clearing that up. The Russians have had something of a tradition in excising references to the tsarist anthem (including in Tchaikovsky's Ouverture Solenelle 1812) but I wasn't aware the practice had been continued after the fall of the Soviet Union.
1) Russian cultural responsibles were always specialists in mutilating musical scores for political reasons. Another example, besides a few operatic ones, is the text of Tchaikovsky's "Moscow" Cantata...
2) The Brabbins CD of Bortkiewiczs Symphonies is absolutely magnificent!
3) The Khachaturian Trio is a real great piece!
4) Speaking about chamber music ensemble arrangements of orchestral works coming from Zurich, I am bold enough to say than my own arrangement of Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet has been performed already 8 times in different countries and by renowned artist - and even at the Cheltenham Festival. One version can be heard here:
http://www.adrianomusic.com/styled-10/styled-12/index.html
(sorry for this self-promotion :-)
Just came across this ... I wasn't aware that Bortkiewicz's Op. 25 was for Cello and Orchestra. Nevertheless its absolutely beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odTTWAIT5v0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odTTWAIT5v0)
A beautiful performance of a concerto that (shall I safely assume?) most of us like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAeOkO4TZlw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAeOkO4TZlw)
Yes, indeed. Bortkiewicz's cello concerto is a most beautiful work.