Raff symphonies from Chandos

[mbhaub]

The Suisse Romande Orchestra is unrecognisable as the same band from previous decades.

That's probably true, but boy those old recordings on Decca with Ansermet are something special. The winds had such character unlike the homogenous sounds we hear today. You don't hear brass playing like that anymore. So what if some of the tuning was suspect? The music they recorded just sounded so right. The Debussy, Ravel, Prokofieff -- just superb. The Brahms symphony cycle has been a top-rated one for me for 40+ years. The Stravinsky recordings are great, too. Recently Brilliant released the Tchaikovsky ballets with Ansermet and a Pathetique included. Great stuff! Their 70's recording of Ma Vlast on RCA is sadly overlooked. Like all orchestras, it's changed over the decades, but they might be one of the few central European orchestras that have maintained a unique sound, and would be an ideal choice for Raff...and a few other neglected composers.

[semloh]

It would be hard to deny that the heyday of the Suisse Romande was under Ansermet, c. 1955-65, just in time to capitalize on stereo LPs and make the most of their strong string playing and crisply defined brass section. I have very few of their subsequent recordings, and they seemed to flounder a bit in the 80s and 90s....

[Alan Howe]

I personally never really enjoyed the SRO's playing, finding it often scrappy and out of tune in its heyday under Ansermet. These days it is no doubt less characterful, but unanimity and good tuning have certainly been established under Janowski's guiding hand. The band should be ideal for Raff as their string sound is still fairly slimline, so the composer's gorgeous scoring shouldn't get lost in any sort of sonic mush.

[semloh]

Hmm... well you may be right, Alan. Those 'Ace of Diamonds' LPs of the 60s were what I had in mind... maybe my memory is playing tricks but I don't recall them sounding out of tune. As far as Raff symphonies goes, I wonder what you make of the classic LPO/Herrmann recording of Lenore - my first encounter with Raff. Do you think it rates well compared to contemporary performances?

[Alan Howe]

Perhaps, with regard to the SRO, I should have said 'sour-toned' (I was thinking of the woodwind) - but others might have found the orchestra of that period 'characterful'. I certainly don't think it was a band notable for its precision in those days.

As for Herrmann's Lenore, it still sounds magnificent to me, although my betting is that modern performances may up the tempi a bit. It'll be interesting to see what Järvi (sometimes a bit of a speed merchant) makes of it.

[mbhaub]

Hmm... well you may be right, Alan. Those 'Ace of Diamonds' LPs of the 60s were what I had in mind... maybe my memory is playing tricks but I don't recall them sounding out of tune. As far as Raff symphonies goes, I wonder what you make of the classic LPO/Herrmann recording of Lenore - my first encounter with Raff. Do you think it rates well compared to contemporary performances?

Just my opinion, but the Herrmann is still, after 40 years and several other recordings, the one to beat. Maybe it's just that it was the one we all got to know first, but it still is thrilling and marvelously played by the orchestra.

[Mark Thomas]

As with so many of us I'm sure, even almost forty years after I first heard it, Herrmann's Lenore remains the benchmark against which I judge all other Raff's symphonic recordings. It remains my favourite reading of the Fifth.

[semloh]

Thank you for those opinions of the Herrmann Lenore... It was the first, and for many years only, Raff I had heard, so I treasure the LP, and it's safely digitized. I assume the version on the Nonesuch label is the same recording, issued primarily for the US market?

[Alan Howe]

I assume the version on the Nonesuch label is the same recording, issued primarily for the US market?

It's on Unicorn-Kanchana - it's the same recording.

[Mark Thomas]

A straw in the wind: tomorrow and on Thursday Neeme Järvi and L'orchestre de la Suisse Romande are playing Raff's Concert Overture op.123 in Geneva. Presumably it'll eventually feature as a filler.

I recently had an email from Chandos' Ralph Couzens: "As Neeme Järvi is concerned that he will not be around to complete a whole cycle of Raff Symphonies, he has decided to select a strong popular list of pieces for the first disc and see how it goes before committing to more. I know this is not what Raff enthusiasts wanted to hear, but Neeme is 75 next year and feels he has much to still record around the world before he retires. If he was to record all the Raff symphonies he would have to cancel some of his other important plans."

So, we had better make sure that the first disc turns out to be a big seller!

[Alan Howe]

Very interesting. It'll be worth keeping an eye on Chandos' recording plans...

[Paul Barasi]

Choice beyond mainstream is often severely limited. So it's good that Järvi - who can conduct very well - is helping to extend it. Without choice, the quality of orchestra/performance, interpretaton, tempo ... can get confused by the listener with the music itself and also a performing tradition may become harder to establish. Rather, deprecate the waste in churning out endless and frequently ubiquitous recordings of the most popular works that avoid risk and lack imagination by conductors.

[albion]

I'm not sure whether or not this has already been mentioned on the forum, but the first disc, due to be recorded in June, will feature Symphony No.2 and Shakespeare Overtures.

[Alan Howe]

I'm not sure whether or not this has already been mentioned on the forum, but the first disc, due to be recorded in June, will feature Symphony No.2 and Shakespeare Overtures.

Thanks for the heads-up, John. The news is on the Chandos Forum and was posted by Ralph Couzens himself. His precise words were:

<<Raff symphonies start recording this June. First disc will feature Symphony No. 2 and Shakespeare Tone Poems.>>

Fascinating that Symphony No.2 - perhaps Raff's least-known symphonic masterpiece - is the choice for the first disc. Encouraging too that more than a single disc is envisaged...

[JimL]

Fascinating that Symphony No.2 - perhaps Raff's least-known symphonic masterpiece - is the choice for the first disc. Encouraging too that more than a single disc is envisaged...

I should think that honor should go to No. 6.  Unless you don't think that one is a masterpiece.