Symphony wish list.

[Syrelius]

Alnaes: 2 symphonies.

Of course! How could I forget Alnaes? After hearing his wonderful piano concerto on Hyperion I'm even more eager than before to hear the symphonies.

A few other names:
Paul Juon
Paul Ladmirault
Jenö Hubay
Zygmund Stojowski
Theodore Dubois
Georgy Catoire
Sergei Vasilenko

[JimL]

Hi all

Many thanks for the gentle funny/unfunny reminder of the loss of Svendsen's 3rd symphony. A pity - but was the story related to domestic problems, or was it concocted to to cover Svendsen's descent into substance abuse?

I feel constrained to point out, Peter, that both can be simultaneously true.  He may have gotten his symphony torched for stepping out, but I'll bet he never attempted another one because he was too drunk at that point.

[FBerwald]

This isn't exactly a wish list addition but a mention -  The French composer Alberic Magnard. There has been 2 very good recordings of his 4 symphonies - A sort of rustic french Mahler without the opressive fixation on death and pessimism. I enjoy it a lot. Was wondering there must be list of French Symphonies waiting for a hearing !?! 

[Syrelius]

This isn't exactly a wish list addition but a mention -  The French composer Alberic Magnard. There has been 2 very good recordings of his 4 symphonies - A sort of rustic french Mahler without the opressive fixation on death and pessimism. I enjoy it a lot. Was wondering there must be list of French Symphonies waiting for a hearing !?!

Hello FBerwald,

have you listened to the symphonies of Guy Ropartz (available on Timpani)? In my opinion not quite as good as Magnard's 3rd and 4th, but if you like Magnard there is reason to believe that you might like Ropartz as well.

[John H White]

I forgot to mention all the surviving symphonies of Cipriani Potter. I think there are around 10 of them.

[Peter1953]

How about the symphonies of Potter's pupil William Sterndale Bennett? His symphony in G minor, op. 43, is recorded (I have it on the Lyrita label), but he composed five of which four survived. His op. 43 is a symphony in four movements, in the style of his friend Mendelssohn, and thus very pleasant to listen to. How about his other symphonies? Any member ever heard one of these? Are they recorded?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Where are they? Do you know the whereabouts of the scores and/or parts?

[John H White]

Gareth, most of the Sterndale Bennett manuscripts are in the hands of his great great great grandson(hope I've got the right number of greats) Barry Sterndale Bennett who I believe moved from Hampshire to London a few years back after his gardening expert wife died. I gather, from what his late wife told me when we went to visit her garden once, that he is always glad to let people come and study these scores. No doubt you could look him up in the telephone directory.

[John H White]

Peter, as far as I know, only one of Sterndale Bennett's youthful symphonies has been recorded and that was issued on the now defunct Unicorn Kanchana lable coupled with his 4th Piano Concerto.

[Peter1953]

Gareth, Sterndale Bennett's Symphony in G minor is released in 2005 on the Classico label and coupled with Potter's Symphony #7 in F major. I have Bennett's G minor Symphony on the Lyrita label, released in 2007, a disc which is filled with four Overtures (The May Queen, The Wood Nymphs, The Naiades and Parisina). Just surf to mdt.co.uk and you will find these discs offered.

All very pleasant music. I think William Sterndale Bennett deserves an own thread, because he wrote more lovely music to be explored. I'm very fond of the 3 volumes of Piano Works on Marco Polo. In fact, Marco Polo as a label deserves a thread for daring to release all those beautiful unsung non-commercial music over the past years... 

[Steve B]

Marco Polo; there's an idea for a thread, Peter; though I suspect opinion would be divided!

Steve

[John H White]

My biggest shock with Marco Polo came when the deleted all 3 of the symphonies had issued of Franz Lachner in 2003, his bi-centenary year!

[black]

Hello everybody,
It is has been some time since the last entry in this thread but as I have joined this forum yesterday this is all pretty new to me. I'd like to add some composers:
Waldemar von Bausznern (8 symphonies!)
Hugo Kaun
Max Trapp (7 symphonies!)
Heinz Tiessen
Fritz Brun (9 symphonies!)
Karl Bleyle
Paul Buettner
Ewald Straesser
Robert Volkmann
Robert Fuchs

Of all these composers I have a recording, mostly from a (poor) radio broadcast. While they may not be really great symphonists their compositions are often interesting and sometimes appealing.

[TerraEpon]

Volkmann's symphonies are on CPO: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=12678&name_role1=1&bcorder=1&comp_id=35069

[edurban]

Something a little closer to home (my home in New York, that is)...

George Frederick Bristow's choral symphony "Niagara" (like the Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise: 3 symphonic movements capped by a sort of cantata.)

Henry Hadley's Symphony no. 5 of 1935, the "Connecticut"

Charles Wakefield Cadman's 1939 "Pennsylvania Symphony"