Is Reger's VC now a repertoire piece?

[Alan Howe]

As I said before - and apologies for repeating myself - the problem with the Pfitzner as a VC is the omission of the soloist from the slow movement. It just makes the piece seem very strange, especially as Pfitzner did actually call it a violin concerto!

[eschiss1]

Well, old-fashioned conception maybe... - though if one wants to think of it instead as a Concertante, or symphony, or piece, or something, for violin with orchestra or somesuch, and that makes more sense of it...

[minacciosa]

It is unusual, but it doesn't bother me since the material fits seamlessly within the concerto's architecture. It may be merely a matter of acquaintance; think of how we routinely tolerate extended introductions in concerti that can last several minutes until the soloist enters. Pfitzner just decided to put his in the middle! I'll say it again: it's a great piece. Get any recording, but if you have Saschko Gawriloff's or Edith Peinemann's you've already got the best. (Sorry for getting off topic.)

[eschiss1]

I don't just "tolerate" the extended introductions but accept them as integral parts of those movements' structures (there are some very good explanations in a few different places about that... Thorpe-Davie comes to mind...) - as Beethoven and Brahms understood just as well as Mozart and his contemporaries too - but I agree - off-topic. Sorry!

[Alan Howe]

I'll give the Pfitzner another listen. Meanwhile, back to the Reger...

[eschiss1]

As to Reger's music in American concert halls, I looked and found some pleasant surprises this coming season- the clarinet quintet in Los Angeles on January 8th (am on the other coast (not usually literally), but was nice to see that - admittedly relatively popular, though on the other other other hand I don't know it as well - work scheduled.) Others too I think, will re-check... (oh, and the quintet Nov.5 2012 in San Diego, too )

Also, a Reger string trio from the Albers Trio, in Boston (or at Harvard, in Cambridge ? - Harvard Musical Association --Wait Room -Boston, Massachusetts ) on March 21 2013.
No hint of the concertos (violin, piano, olden style, etc.) in the USA in 2012/13 that I can see, but wasn't expecting to... erm- *double-checks*

Ah. I was mistaken. A chamber orchestra in Colorado Springs will be playing an excerpt (the Hermit movement) from the Böcklin Pictures (described as a local premiere.) Good, I say.

[minacciosa]

Masur did Reger during his tenure at NY Phil. I played in the violin section of the Boston SO when BSO did a series of concerts with Peter Serkin playing Reger's PC. We took it on a short tour. It was fantastic every time. PS played it more slowly (daringly so) than anyone I'd heard. I've heard the solo cello and viola suites in concert many times.

[eschiss1]

... belated apology for referring to Metzmacher's "horribly cut" performance of the prolog (which isn't even the main topic here); I seem not to have noticed that the cut he takes is (I think... if I understand what it says in a review in MusicWeb international; I'll check my copy of the full score in a few days...) actually indicated by the composer. ... I'm a bit surprised, since the cut eliminates almost the whole sonata-form recap except for the (imho lovely) last section/coda and maybe the opening of the recap too (need to recheck), unusual thing to cut even though Reger's recaps tend to be unusually exact (for reasons I can guess at!)... well...

erm.

[chill319]

Referring to the thread title: Certainly not in the American midwest. Nothing akin to the reception of the luscious Korngold concerto over the past two decades. In the interest of all unsung composers, I would encourage conductors and string players who want to please the concert-going public to try the two Dohnanyi violin concertos. And play them to the hilt.

[eschiss1]

seconded. I haven't heard them live yet (though I think my father heard the first live once, years ago. Admittedly, I don't catch that many concerts!...)

[Gauk]

I rather disagree that "hummability" is a requisite for something to become a repertoire piece, since there are plenty of unhummable modern works that have established themselves. The big problem is that most concert-goers have not heard of Reger, or if they have, it is as a difficult and academic figure.

[eschiss1]

or for that matter, Romantic or earlier works without really definable "tunes" as such but which are still very strong, established classics, too.