Auber Overtures

[albion]

The absence of recordings of the overtures to many of the forty-odd operas of Daniel François Esprit Auber (1782 – 1871) represents a singular gap in the catalogue. Long ago I had the EMI LP with Sylvain Cambreling conducting the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra in the overtures to Le Domino noir (1837), La muette de Portici (1828), Les Diamants de la couronne (1841), Fra Diavolo (1830), Marco Spada (1852) and La part du diable (1843). Despite the frequently poor standard of playing and recording the overtures themselves were treasurable. These performances have never been re-issued, even as downloads.

A valuable Sterling disc fills in some gaps, with Jenny Bell (1855), L'Enfant Prodigue (1850), La Sirène (1844), Le Dieu et la bayadère (1830) and Le Premier Jour de bonheur (1868), whilst there have been a couple of recordings of the overture to Le cheval de bronze (1835), but not much attention has been paid to any of the others. This is a real pity as Auber is unfailingly tuneful and has a vivacity which often prefigures Offenbach.

Any other fans out there? 

[Gooseguy]

Hi -

There are a couple available as downloads form Amazon.com

The first of these are from an old Mercury recording of Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony.
In addition to several von Suppe overtures, that recorrding also includes Auber's  Masianello, Fra Diavalo and Le Cheval du Bronze Overtures
http://www.amazon.com/Suppe-Overtures-Light-Cavalry-Auber/dp/B0000057LK

There is also a Denon recording featuring the Nurnberg Symphony Orchestra which includes Fra Diavalo, The Black Domino, The Dumb Girl of  Portici and The Sirene.
http://www.amazon.com/Auber-Diavolo-Domino-Portici-Overtures/dp/B002EDQKC8/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1309978346&sr=301-2

I can't speak to the quality if the Denon, but the Parya performances have been well regarded for years.

Hope this helps - if only a little!

Eric

[TerraEpon]

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?site_id=CTRV&album_id=56502
This utterly fantastic two disc set conducted by Bonynge has three overtures - Marco Sprada, Lestocq, and La Neige. Lots of other rare works too.

Crown Diamonds is on this Paray one:
http://www.amazon.com/French-Opera-Highlights-Carmen-Mignon/dp/B0000057KW/

[Mark Thomas]

The operas themselves are an even more worthwhile listen! BTW, aren't Masaniello and La Muette de Portici (The Dumb Girl of Portici) the same opera? So presumably the overtures are the same too?

[albion]

Good to see some friends of Auber out there! Yes, Masaniello and La Muette de Portici are the same opera, which has one of the composer's more expansive overtures.

I've got the Bonynge set, but had completely forgotten that it had the three Auber overtures on it - thanks for the reminder. I hadn't come across the Denon recording before, and the extracts sound well-played.

[alberto]

Between the Auber overtures from great conductors migrated to CD there are Le Domino Noir and Fra Diavolo by Ansemet  (I have as LP) (Decca) and, again, Le Domino Noir by Wolff (Testament: I got it). I don't know if a LP recording by Wolff with four other overtures  was ever transferred to CD.
Fra Diavolo (Nicolai Gedda, Monte Carlo Orch., M.Soustrot, EMI) was for me real fun, when I had time of listening it.

[JimL]

I seem to recall hearing a rondo for cello and orchestra by Auber on the radio some years back.  Didn't he compose a few cello concertos which he never orchestrated?

[eschiss1]

hrm. looking it up, date of composition seems to be unknown but believed to be later in life, but the A minor cello and piano-or-orchestra rondo by Auber is believed to be an authentic work. "Classical music: the listener's companion" does claim further that Auber wrote 4 concertos for a cello friend, yes.  The same book claims that the rondo recorded on Koch by Ostertag is the finale of one of those concertos, orchestrated by the composer, but "downgraded to a mere rondo" without explanation etc. ... while the concerto is recorded in full on another label. Curiouser and curiouser.

[albion]

Grove Online gives the following list of instrumental works -

Sonata, C, pf, 1794/5
String Quartet, C, 1799
String Quartet, 1800, lost
Trio, D, pf, vn, vc, op.1 (Paris, c1806)
Piano Quartet, e, c1808
Fugue on a theme from Cherubini's Faniska, c1808
Violin Concerto, D, 1808, ed. S. Beck (New York, 1938)
Cello Concerto, no.1, a, c1809
Cello Concerto, no.2, D, solo part only, c1809
Cello Concerto, no.3, B♭, c1809
Cello Concerto, no.4, lost, mentioned by Fétis
Cello Concerto, no.5, D, c1809 [two mvts only]
Air varié, vc, orch/pf, c1807, lost, mentioned by Fétis
8 pieces, 2 vc, 1808
Air de danse, for Gluck's Iphigénie, 1811, lost
Overture
Overture
Variations on a theme by Handel, 1817: 1 Variations, 2 Variations, 3 Dans le style de Handel, 4 Allegro maestoso, 5 Andante con moto
Pieces for orch/pf, c1834–62

and recommends referral to H. Schneider's Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichnis sämtlicher Werke von D.F.E. Auber (Hildesheim, 1994) for a fuller catalogue.

Returning to the overtures, if you're not averse to vintage sound, there are some vivacious performances by the Boston Pops under the indefatigable Arthur Fiedler (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Auber-D--F-Overtures-Boston-Fiedler/dp/B0059KMY9G/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&qid=1309988576&sr=8-33).

[alberto]

I have got the Cello Concerto n.1 (but orchestrated by D.Gamley) - J.Silberstein cello, Suisse Romande, Bonynge; the Third movement "Vivace" is rather short (Decca LP SXL 6547. 1972 release).
The "Rondò" on the Koch Schwann CD 311039 (Osterstag, RSO Berlin, R.Paternostro) is a substantial piece lasting 13' 08" (and sounds unlikely to be the Finale of a concerto: it is cast as a short orchestral prelude plus an operatic scene for cello ).The boklet says, in practice nothing, about this Rondò Nor says the orchestral scoring is not by Auber.
Time allowing, I will listen the Concerto on Lp (it was resting on the shelf).
Both recordings contain the Massenet Fantasy and The Popper Concerto op.24.