Europadisc have the entire Da Capo catalogue on special offer at £9.95 per CD until 28th of this month. As I have only a limited budget, could someone please suggest one or more recordings of really outstanding orchestral or chamber music of the Romantic period from Da Capo.
My favorites are the symphonies of J P E Hartmann, chamber music by Kuhlau and(though possibly too early as really late classical) choral music by Kunzen (& his opera Holger Danske). Some very good listening there! But maybe you already know these CDs?
John:
Gosh! There are so many interesting da Capo releases. Where to start?
Recommendation: The Symphonies of Asger Hamerik.
Second: Symphonies of Ludolf Nielsen.
Third: Chamber Music - Louis Glass, String Quartets 2&4
I'd invest in their Hamerik symphonic cycle. Impressively full-blooded romantic symphonies given very persuasive performances.
Apologies to febnyc, but regarding Ludolf Nielsen's symphonies, IMO the Da Capo recording of number 2 is not the best way to get to know this wonderful piece whilst the CPO recording is available. Number 3, however, gets my hearty recommendation, as does the remarkable Tower of Babel, written around the same time. Fabulous sonics, as is the norm with Da Capo.
With reference to the original post though I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, oftentimes Amazon marketplace sellers offer cds such as these a lot cheaper (even with postal charges added), both new and used also. Ebay though I have found can be overpriced. It pays to shop around.
I second the JPE Hartmann symphonies. There's also a great disc of his piano music, though I believe it's pretty long OOP.
As for Khulau, there's The Elf's Hill which is about as good as it gets for early Romantic period incidental music (which the recording was better though, but alas...). This one is also on Marco Polo (OOP of course)...
There's also a great chamber SACD of Nielsen (vol. 1, mostly wind instruments), who of course isn't unsung but these works don't get recorded much.
Also another disc of a composer who I can't quite remember at the moment, with a catchy little march. Heh.
The CD featuring JPE Hartmann Symphonies 1&2 is for me the best Dacapo disc I have. On the forum enough has been said about the qualities of these works, especially the 2nd, op. 48. A truly unjustified neglected gem of the highest quality. Very warmly recommended!
If you want some attractive, well-crafted piano music, I like to recommend JPE Hartmann once more. I suggest his 3 Piano Sonatas played by Nina Gade and / or the CD 'Piano Music', also with Nina Gade at the piano.
I've always been amazed by the relatively great number of excellent Danish composers. Someone like Ludvig Schytte (1848-1909) wrote a beautiful, elegant Piano Concerto, full of memorable themes (Danish Piano Concertos Vol 3). Also strongly recommended.
Is europadisc indeed that cheap? I should compare all prices with mdt.
______
Oops... The Series Danish Piano Concertos is not from Dacapo, but Danacord.
Many thanks, gentlemen, for all your kind replies. It would seem that the symphonies of Hamerik and Hartmann have the most votes so far. I trust that the music of J P Hartmann is a bit more accessible than that of K A Hartmann, which I find much too avant garde for my taste! I see they also have a very special offer on all 16 symphonies of Rued Langgard. Would they be a bit too "advanced" for my rather conservative taste? As for Ludolf Neilsen; I find his symphonies much too long winded and uninteresting for me-----not a patch on those of his better known namesake!
One advantage Europadisc has over various other discount CD outlets is they don't charge postage for orders over £30 and at present , for a limited period, they are offering no postage on all orders. :) By the way, I must apologise for leaving out the "d" in "recordings" in my original heading. :-[
Quote from: John H White on Saturday 09 October 2010, 10:34
Many thanks, gentlemen, for all your kind replies. It would seem that the symphonies of Hamerik and Hartmann have the most votes so far. I trust that the music of J P Hartmann is a bit more accessible than that of K A Hartmann, which I find much too avant garde for my taste!
J P E Hartmann's symphonies fall in the early romantic period in essence. Also there is (IIRC) a companion cd of his overtures which are similar even if some are later in date. Very interesting symphony writer, more original than Gade (to whom he was related - father-in-law[?]).
Many thanks, Khorovod, for that interesting new bit of information on J P E Hartmann. As I personally have a preference for the early Romantic period, it would seem that his music would suit me down to the ground.
JPE also wrote a fantastic ballet called The Valkyrie (it's on CPO, sadly OOP). I would put him more toward mid-romantic myself -- he was born in 1805 and lived to 1900 (as true a romantic as it gets, perhaps :P).
And the piano CD I mentioned above is the 'Piano Music' one, not the sonatas one.
Quote from: John H White on Saturday 09 October 2010, 10:34
I see they also have a very special offer on all 16 symphonies of Rued Langgard. Would they be a bit too "advanced" for my rather conservative taste?
Hello John,
Langgaard's development as a symphonist is rather odd. He starts out with a late romantic style (listen to the 1st symphony, for instance), then he is more and more drawn to expressionism (symphonies nos 4-6), but after that he returns to a more traditional romantic style where there are even echoes of Gade in some works. However, what is most typhical for Langgaard's music is a sort of over-the-top attitude that you either love or is annoyed by. I belong to the first group. :) If you are planning to buy the box with all the symphonies I would recommend that you try to find some sound samples first, in order to find out whether it is your cup of tea or not...
If you're into romantic symphonies, Hamerik is a safe bet: they're all very worthwhile, inspired and well-constructed works. Ludolf Nielsen I would consider a bit more risky; the Second Symphony ('Symphony of Joy') is great, but it's a bit downhill from there I think. For somewhat more idiosyncratic material, try the excellent cycle of Langgaard symphonies by Thomas Dausgaard (Langgaard has been discussed at length in this forum, you might want to try that first). For properly late romantic stuff there's also Paul von Klenau's or Peder Gram's music. Particularly the first is among my favorites.
Knowing your tastes, John, I'd stick with J P E Hartmann, whose symphonies (especially No.2) are as worthwhile as, say, Berwald, and Hamerik who is a mid-Romantic and also quite an original composer.
Try these excerpts from the Hartmann CD here...
http://www.dacapo-records.dk/en/recording-symphonies-1-2_1.aspx (http://www.dacapo-records.dk/en/recording-symphonies-1-2_1.aspx)
...and these from the Hamerik symphonies here...
http://www.dacapo-records.dk/en/recording-the-symphonies_2.aspx (http://www.dacapo-records.dk/en/recording-the-symphonies_2.aspx)
I'd just like to say that the JPE Hartmann symphonies are excellent - I got a copy of the disc for £2.99 from Naxos Direct as it was in their sale - and I just checked and it still is!
John,
Amazon in the UK is currently selling the Hartmann symphony cd via its marketplace sellers from 2.99 upwards. Naxos is the marketplace seller and reliable and with postage charge of 1.25 this is very cheap, much more than Europadisk. I have used Naxos Uk via Amazon myself with no problems.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00000467C/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1286705673&sr=1-1&condition=new (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00000467C/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1286705673&sr=1-1&condition=new)
Quote from: TerraEpon on Saturday 09 October 2010, 20:56
I would put him more toward mid-romantic myself -- he was born in 1805 and lived to 1900 (as true a romantic as it gets, perhaps :P).
And the piano CD I mentioned above is the 'Piano Music' one, not the sonatas one.
Yes he lived until 1900 but the symphonies date from the end of the early romantic period and are relative early works for him. There are no clear dividing lines to be sure but they are definitely not late romantic (think Strauss, Mahler etc) and most definitely earlier in style/language than mid romantic (think Raff, Brahms, Dvorak perhaps?). The music is the key not so much the composer's lifespan. I wish he had continued to write symphonies into the mid and late romantic periods.
Oh great minds think alike!
:D
Once again, many thanks, everyone, for all your help. I've now ordered the Hartmann symphonies at bargain price from Naxos Direct.
Thank you Jonathan for the excellent tip re- the £2.99 Hartmann disc from Naxos Direct. I received my copy yesterday and so far have only listened to symphony no 1, which I very much enjoyed.
cheers
Dennis
Glad you enjoyed it DennisS - must have a listen to my copy this weekend (I've been really busy lately and not much time to listen to things properly).
Having now listened to the Hartmann symphonies 2 or 3 times I'm afraid I must say I find them quite pleasant but rather tame compared to those of his contemporaries, such as Franz Lachner and his own son-in-law, Gade.
Hartmann is not to be compared to Lachner - they're very different symphonists. But Hartmann 2 is surely as good as any symphony by Gade - I would say superior in freshness, vitality and originality to all of Gade's except No.1. But that's only my opinion...
Oh I am sorry you were not so impressed with the Hartmann symphonies. I think I agree exactly with Alan Hwoe regarding the comparison to Gade, there is much more energy and individuality in the father-in-law than the son-in-law I would say. (But I do like Gade too)
Hello TerraEpon
Thanks to this thread, I bought Hartmann's symphonies nos 1 and 2 and already, I am very fond of his music. I was intrigued by your comments on his ballet music "die Valkyrien". I did some research on the internet. Amazon are selling the double cd for just under £40.00!!(rather expensive to say the least!) Unfortunately, I can not find any sound bites on the net but did find a couple of reviews. One review described the music as "boisterous". The other said that the music was fairly "pleasant" but lacked dramatic impact and did not fit well with the play's dramatic scenes. It also lacked some exotic colour, bearing in mind the play's later location (I think it referred to Byzantine???? but I may be wrong on that). I wonder if you could give me more of your views on the ballet music? Also, how does this music compare with his 2 symphonies? Any info would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
DennisS
Well, it's pre-Delibes mid-romantic ballet. There's a lot of great melodies, but I guess "lacking in exotic color" isn't a bad description -- but then, it really wasn't until Tchaikovsky that ballet did that anyway.
I like it anyway. Surprised there's no sound samples at all though (I found http://www.allmusic.com/album/hartmann-valkyrien-w84713 which seems to actually have more than just one sample if you let it run, though dunno how much)
Quote from: TerraEpon on Sunday 17 October 2010, 21:00
Well, it's pre-Delibes mid-romantic ballet. There's a lot of great melodies, but I guess "lacking in exotic color" isn't a bad description -- but then, it really wasn't until Tchaikovsky that ballet did that anyway.
I like it anyway. Surprised there's no sound samples at all though (I found http://www.allmusic.com/album/hartmann-valkyrien-w84713 which seems to actually have more than just one sample if you let it run, though dunno how much)
it has plenty?... go to http://www.allmusic.com/album/hartmann-valkyrien-w84713/tracks (http://www.allmusic.com/album/hartmann-valkyrien-w84713/tracks)
Eric
Thank you TerraEpon and Eric for the Allmusic website. There are soundbites there of every track of the double cd, which I listened to with great interest. I have bookmarked the site. Strange that Google do not show Allmusic when one enters Hartmann Valkyrien. Thanks again
Cheers
Dennis
What key is Hamerik's Symphony No. 7, op. 40 Choral-Symphony. I believe the Requiem on the same disc is in A Major.
Compare.
I also recommend the JPE Hartmann! Both the CD with the Symphonies and the one with overtures.
I just received two cds from Emil Hartmann today and haven't had a chance to hear them. I also recommend Weyse's Symphonies, full of energy, wonderful music from the 1795-1805 era!
Ok, having now heard Emil Hartmann's violin concerto, I also recommend him wholeheartedly!
Highly recommended is DaCapo's excellent disc of "Music Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales," with works by Finn Høffding, August Enna, C.E.F. Weyse, Poul Schierbeck, J.P.E. Hartmann, and Louis Glass.
I don't have the reservations about Ludolf Nielsen that others seem to have. He can be a bit prolix but he can certainly write good tunes and lush harmonies and sometimes that's enough when I'm not in the mood to concentrate too hard. However, the cpo disc of the second symphony IS better. I also endorse the comments about the Hamerik symphonies - no real duds there - and I love Langgaard too although he sometimes stretches the romantic remit of this forum rather far.... Symphony 11 "Ixion" is simply insane, quite apart from being about the shortest "symphony" I know - quote marks very intended!!