jpc have announced the December release of Klughardt's 3rd Symphony and Violin Concerto. Details here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/August-Klughardt-Symphonie-Nr-3-D-Dur-op-37/hnum/2096647 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/August-Klughardt-Symphonie-Nr-3-D-Dur-op-37/hnum/2096647)
Whoopdedoo! Can't speak for the quality of the Symphony (although I'm sure that it'll be as fine as most of Klughardt's work), but the Violin Concerto is a glorious piece and should be a must-buy.
has anyone recorded his 4th symphony, whose first 6 pages in score are at Wikipedia-de (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/4._Sinfonie_(Klughardt)) (click to view larger of course)?
Eric
Nope. None has ever been released to my knowledge.
I have his Auf der wanderschaft - Suite for Orchester and Cello Concerto (Sterling). If its anything like it !!!???.....I can hardly wait!!!!
The VC is a big piece (over 40 mins.) and of course, we haven't had any of the symphonies on CD yet, so I think we're in for a treat exceeding that afforded by the Sterling CD.
Excerpts are now available here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/August-Klughardt-Symphonie-Nr-3-D-Dur-op-37/hnum/2096647 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/August-Klughardt-Symphonie-Nr-3-D-Dur-op-37/hnum/2096647)
(VC - tracks 1-4; Sym3 - tracks 5-8)
The CD is shipping now. JPC emailed to say that mine is on it's way.
This really is a must-buy! The Violin Concerto, as has already been posted, is a major piece lasting 40 minutes. It is wonderfully lyrical and the first movement in particular has an understated grandeur which is most impressive. The piece is worth the price of the CD alone, but the Third Symphony proves to be another great and satisfying discovery. Just a couple of minutes shorter than the Concerto, it is a sunny, open-hearted work which is guaranteed to lift the spirits. The long opening movement breathes the same air as that of the Concerto with a stubbornly memorable, sinuously pliable first subject which you won't get out of your head. The slow movement isn't one of those bitter-sweet sad Raffian affairs but has a deliciously lyrically pastoral air without any hint of the bucolic. The two final movements are very upbeat, the third aptly described in the booklet as being "like a ballad telling ... of knights and heroes ... tournaments and courtly quests." The finale is all merrymaking and jollity and reminds me very much of Klughardt's Auf der Wanderschaft Suite. It is a slight let down after the other three movements, but not disastrously so, and overall I've been delighted to make this work's acquaintance. I do hope that cpo will being us the full cycle.
Mark is absolutely right: this is an absolute must-buy. You have the Violin Concerto which is on a symphonic scale and the 3rd Symphony which might be said to be serenade-like in character. The VC is potentially a repertoire-piece, being a large-scale, serious piece along the lines of the VCs by Beethoven, Brahms and Bruch (3). The symphony doesn't display the same level of ambition, but surely belongs in the foothills of the symphonic alps, as it were. Definitely worth an occasional hearing. The Dessau orchestra, by the way, sounds like another of those superb regional German bands of which there are so many. All in all, a triumph for cpo (again!)
I'm awaiting the arrival of that cpo disc with keen pleasure. And if those who have heard it are emitting an excited whoopdedoo, then I add my own for the earlier MDG disc of the String Quintet Op 62 and Piano Quintet Op 43 (which, true, has been mentioned before - but it needs to be heralded as a disc of two utterly lovely works).
Fingers crossed, Klughardt is beginning to emerge from his unsung status and will be seen as a first rate composer in the second rank of German composers in the last half of the 19th century. How good it is when a composer such as he becomes 'revealed' and we have a chance to listen to the works, rather than just read about them and add them to a wish-list.
Here is hoping that someone gives us the 2 (?) string quartets, the String Sextet, the Piano Trio, and the remaining five symphonies (though I note the 6th seems to be a reworking of the String Sextet?). There is also what looks like a major and formidable Cello Concerto. And - but I really push my luck - there are 4 or so operas. Gosh, given that Klughardt himself conducted the Ring, I wonder what they are like?
Peter
Does the Waldleben symphony of 1871 which he withdrew still exist somewhere? Symphony no. 5 op.71 (of the 5 acknowledged and numbered symphonies) is indeed an "adaptation" of the string sextet opus 58 of 7 years before, so far as I know. Some of the chamber music including both of the two string quartets are in PDF score online, I believe - http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No.1,_Op.42_%28Klughardt,_August%29 (http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No.1,_Op.42_%28Klughardt,_August%29) (published 1883, F major) ; http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No.2,_Op.61_%28Klughardt,_August%29 (http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No.2,_Op.61_%28Klughardt,_August%29) (D major, ca.1890) . (cello concerto here (http://imslp.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto,_Op.59_(Klughardt,_August)) - A minor, pub.1892 - in full score for inspection - _has_ it been recorded? yes, on Sterling.)
Quote from: petershott@btinternet.com on Thursday 23 December 2010, 20:02
...Klughardt is beginning to emerge from his unsung status and will be seen as a first rate composer in the second rank of German composers in the last half of the 19th century.
Spot-on, Peter. I understand that Sterling should be bringing out his 1st Symphony,
Lenore coupled with Gernsheim's late (and superb) symphonic poem
Zu einem Drama, so there's more to come...
This morning I listened again to this new cd and am very pleased that I purchased it. I think that Mark and Alan have already described the music extremely well, so I will merely say that I agree with their comments and indeed, I too think that this CD is a must buy. Like Mark and Alan, I think the VC is the standout work on the cd, although the symphony is a close second. Just a couple of comments on the symphony though. Much of the symphony is written in a light, airy, yet graceful and delicate manner and the music is all the more enjoyable for those reasons. The themes are both memorable and varied - delightful to listen to. I can though see why Mark talks of the symphony being let down just a little by the finale. In comparision with the three preceeding movements, the finale does seem a little lightweight, but only marginally so. That said, the symphony as a whole is quite charming and I know I will return to it often.
cheers
Dennis
The VC is certainly an outstanding piece - grand, lyrical and memorable. It should clearly be in the standard repertoire. Toskey rates it as easier to play than, say, the Brahms, so it shouldn't prove a tall order technically...
A few days ago a whole batch new CD's arrived. I've listened to Klughardt's VC three times, hoping to confirm Mark's and Alan's enthusiastic reviews. I cannot. To my ears it's not a neglected jewel and doesn't match the Reinecke, nor the Dietrich or Herzogenberg. Far from that. Also after three listenings I ask myself, what did I just hear? Yes, the strange and almost horrifying outburst of the tutti just before the end of the first movement (17:51). But for the rest? Do I recognize a Romantic VC, presenting memorable, moving tunes, which I love so much? No, I'm not getting moved by what I hear, although the concerto certainly has a lot of lyrical moments. I know it's my fault, not only because of your very positive reviews, but also because according to the booklet notes the VC was quite popular in Klughardt's days. I just don't recognize how special it is.
Klughardt's 3rd sounds rather nice, especially the 2nd movement, but doesn't get my applause either. Maybe the CD deserves my fourth listen?
The Klughardt VC is, I believe, a much more ambitious piece than the VCs you mention. Clearly, given its scale (Beethoven and Brahms seem to be the templates), Klughardt was trying to write something on a different level altogether. Of course, for an unsung composer, that is a much taller order: neverthless, for me it works. But I think I can understand why it wouldn't appeal in the same way as the Reinecke, Dietrich or Herzogenberg concertos...
And I may be entirely wrong about the piece!
Maybe the best thing to do, Peter, is not to "worry at it", but to forget all about it for a few weeks, then play it again and see if you get the same underwhelmed impression.
I've certainly had the experience you describe with other works, Peter. A piece which you've been looking forward to, fuelled by the enthusiastic recommendations of others (guilty as charged, I'm afraid), fails to grab you straight away and then disappointment sets in, reinforced by repeated failed attempts to see what others do and you don't. My practice now, to echo Gareth, is to put the CD away after just a couple of listens, which often (but not deliberately) turns out to be for several months, even years. Quite often, when I return to it, I do "get it". Sometimes, I must be honest, the initial impression is reinforced.
It's definitely not "your fault", though. It's a good job that we don't all like the same thing. I get very bored with Mozart and Bach. I'm very happy to believe that they're geniuses but I'm afraid they just don't push my buttons and I'm not going to try any more to "get" them. I can live with them as just aural wallpaper and maybe you can live without Klughardt.
I feel the Dietrich is a very important and sadly neglected piece; even more engaging than the Schumann concerto which only rewards on multiple hearing. I haven't heard the Klughardt yet but if Alan and Gareth recommend it this strongly (the comparison to Dietrich is the positive for me!), then I can't wait to order it.
I also agree with Mark. I was turned off by Brahms in the beginning (my 1st Brahms was unfortunately NOT the hungarian dances but something else that I don't remember now.) Anyway I returned to Brahms 10 years later with the 2nd piano concerto and suddenly we were best friends.
The practice of putting away a piece for some time and then getting back to is , hasn't been very successful for me. I am referring to the Reger Piano and Violin concerto (several times) and still don't get it (although by now I have almost memorised the concertos). Again ..it's a matter of taste. I know some people who hate Bach. Norman Lebrecht said that "Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours. Mozart has nothing to give to mind or spirit in the 21st century. Let him rest. Play the Leningrad Symphony. Listen to music that matters ...." shocking. ...but there you have it!!!!!!
I seem to recall hearing the samples when this thread was new. On the basis of those I just took the plunge and ordered this CD, since Presto had it on sale for 25% off!
Can someone who owns this CD tell me if the VC is recorded from a live performance or a studio recording?
This is a joint production between cpo and Deutschlandradio Kultur, but whether an audience was present is not revealed - I certainly can't tell from a cursory re-listen of the opening of the VC. However, I do know that the opening flourish by the soloist in the VC has been tidied up in comparison to the radio recording I acquired before the release of the CD. Whether that was a matter of patching or using a different performance again is unclear - although the recording dates given (March 25-27, 2009) suggest that there was a series of performances. My suspicion is that there was probably a (very quiet) audience present, but that is purely a guess. In any case, it's a very professional production and, of course, a lovely CD.
Thanks Alan. I have a radio broadcast recording by the same forces. It is very obviously a live performance. But since the CD may have been taken from the live performances, rather than a studio recording, I won't upload it.