Your Discovery of the Year

[eschiss1]

He was also one of Allan Pettersson's main teachers.

Looking over the list of items I added to my iTunes folder in the last year I see there are quite a few I haven't even gotten to yet (!!), and a few of the many that I have, that want considering for "discovery of the year" for me. Musically it really was a fantastically good year for new discoveries, I think.  (As with Fanfare's Want Lists I _want_ to mention the Honorable Mentions etc., but... maybe on my own site or somewhere...) 

Restricting myself to the material of this forum's time/stylistic frame (so removing from consideration one item which, though I've listened to it in parts and all the way through its great length several times, was composed in the middle of the 20th century and, too, is not really "Romantic" exactly) - and to works I've heard more than once (- one more very excellent, serious contender alas) - hrm... that may still leave me with a few- from which I choose the (synthesized version of) Franz Paul Lachner's 6th symphony.  Despite some oddnesses in intonation that may be from the score or may be from the sequencing (esp. in the first movement?), clear from the performance that this deserved all its contemporary praise and more, and deserves, I think, a real revival... strong, memorable, lovely stuff, carries me away. 

(Again, there were several other things I heard on this forum, on IMSLP or elsewhere that satisfied e.g. one of my first criteria - "could I play this for a non-fanatic fan without making special pleading, explanations or excuses, just as some good music to hear" and were very good music besides - but better competition and too many works to choose between than a thin field .)

[Ilja]

My personal discovery of the year must be Willem Andriessen's (Hendrik's brother; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_andriessen) D flat piano concerto from 1908. Wonderful, lush yet tender.

[Alan Howe]

Here's a link to a CD containing Willem Andriessen's PC:
http://oud.eptanederland.nl/publicaties/cd-andriessen.php

How might I order it, Ilja?

[Ilja]

Alan, I'm afraid you can't since they only take Dutch bank transfers and don't ship out of the country. However, I'm happy to order it for anyone interested and ship it to them. If I estimate conservatively, it should come to about under 12-13 GBP or around 20 USD including postage.

[Alan Howe]

I'll bear that in mind, Ilja - thanks. I've emailed them, so let's see what they say first...

[jerfilm]

For a listen, try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRkvPXQ3POU

A lovely romantic piece.   For some reason, reminds me a bit of Arthur DeGreef.

Jerry

[Peter1953]

Wow, Ilja, what a discovery! Especially the slow movement is utterly gorgeous. Thank you for bringing this concerto to our attention.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Just chucking in my tuppence worth. Willem's younger brother (by 5 years), Hendrik, is a pretty good composer too. Try a 2CD set of his orchestral works (including Symphonies 1-4) on Etcetera performed by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra with a number of different conductors. It was one of my 'best finds' from a couple of years ago.

Music runs in the family since Hendrik's son, Louis, is a prominent Dutch composer. (However my very prejudiced view is: don't go there! That which I've heard seems to me yet another contemporary cerebral racket without much musical interest - and I don't much care if someone tells me I'm wrong!)

How, Peter (the younger), are Willem and Hendrik regarded in your own country? Do their works appear in concerts?

[chill319]

I have come late to the Gernsheim symphonies, but they are certainly a major highlight of my 2012 listening. Gernsheim does sublimate his personal voice a bit in the last two symphonies, but they are extremely well written and big hearted. And for that matter, my favorite Dvorak symphony, no. 7, likewise pays homage to Brahms. Once again, the discerning listeners who frequent this forum have led me to a treasurable listening experience. Hooray for UC!

My conductor discovery of the year has to be Franz Konwitschny. His 1951 recording of Bruckner 2 has an elasticity, naturalness, and eloquence that makes me catch my breath. Also, Konwitschny uses the Haas edition, which eschews the inartistic cuts of the Novak (perpetuating Bruckner's sad albeit understandable attempts to trim his epic vision for the sake of performances).

[Peter1953]

How, Peter (the younger), are Willem and Hendrik regarded in your own country? Do their works appear in concerts?

Not that I'm aware of, Peter. However, sometimes works of both brothers Jurriaan (1925-96) and Louis (b. 1939) are broadcast. Father Hendrik (1892-1981) was rather experimental with composing and his work is broadcast very occasionally. However, it seems that Hendrik's brother Willem (1887-1964) is completely forgotten, despite his wonderful piano concerto. This is classical music of the very best of its kind, which I cannot say from the other Andriessen composers, although I've never heard music by the founding father, Nico Andriessen (1845-1913). Are you still with me...? 

[eschiss1]

A search ""hendrik andriessen" site:concertzender.nl/programmagids.php" on google picks up a few thousand hits (mostly commercial recordings, mostly CDs- some are rebroadcasts of earlier programs also picked up by the search, etc.) (including in 2008 a program of Hommage to Hendrik Andriessen.) Could be better, could be worse.

[thalbergmad]

I'll bear that in mind, Ilja - thanks. I've emailed them, so let's see what they say first...

I am reasonably certain that is the same place I ordered my CD from and they accepted paypal.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

Oh good. I've suggested Paypal...

[Derek Hughes]

I thought that I was an unsung composer addict, in that I'm interested in the likes of Marschner, Cornelius, and Spontini, but you people put me to shame. An additional limitation on my unsung composer credentials is that most of the composers I'm interested in are, somewhere or other, in the orbit of a very sung composer, namely Wagner. With these factors in mind, I nominate Lachner's Catharina Cornaro, the recording of which I discovered through this group. As is well known, Wagner entertained unjustified grievances against Lachner, and was particularly irritated when a performance of Catharina replaced a planned one of Rienzi. I was glad to have my curiosity about Lachner's work satisfied, and found it a serious and impressive work by a composer with an individual voice--distinctly superior to Donizetti's opera on the same subject.

[Mark Thomas]

Good choice Derek. I was at the recording and was impressed by the work, too. I'm not saying that Catharina is a better opera than Rienzi, but it is a good example of how wary we should be of accepting the prejudices of history without, if we can, testing them for ourselves. In music, as in everything else, history tends to be written by the victors.

Oh, and Happy Christmas, one and all!