Raff's unpublished works

[Jamie]

It's always puzzled me that Raff chose not to publish masterpieces like the Italian and Thüringian suites, the 2nd cello concerto, his orchestration of the Bach Chaconne, and Die Sterne (not to mention the operas that "he wrote for his own enjoyment"). Certainly if he had done so, his fame and posthumous reputation would have increased. I realize that Raff was apparently a modest and unassuming man who even prohibited performances of his own works while he was director of the Hoch Conservatory, but it seems very odd that he was not willing to promote his own compositions. Does anyone have an insight as to why he would have allowed this to occur?

[Mark Thomas]

Given the dearth of sources Jamie, it's guesswork. Remember that Raff, unlike many of his equally prominent contemporaries like Brahms, Wagner and Dvorak, didn't have one publisher to whom he offered all his scores and who he could be sure, therefore, would publish anything he wrote. He was a lousy businessman and failed to build such a relationship. He seems to have sold his scores cheaply and seldom negotiated commission agreements, preferring a one-off sale. So, he could never be sure of publishing anything.

Secondly, some of his larger later works like Die Sterne and the four Shakespeare Preludes fell victim of his overwork as Director of the Hoch Conservatory - he just didn't have time before he died to get around to having them published.

Thirdly, despite his reputation as being too uncritical of his pieces, he did have doubts about some: the Italian Suite, the Eleventh Symphony (which is actually the Eighth in order of composition), the Second Cello Concerto (shunned by its proposed dedicatee Popper). He put them away for revision and simply died before he had chance to do that.

The Thüringian Suite was regarded very highly by him and others who read it, so highly that after its low key premiere he held it back for a more prestigious performance opportunity and, again, died before that happened.

As for the operas, despite the relative success of Dame Kobold, after the setbacks he had experienced with getting Samson (not) staged, the lack of new performances of König Alfred and complete absence of interest in Die Parole, by the time Raff wrote his last two operas he seems to have convinced himself that he would never again see one of his them staged. But, like so many composers in the later stages of their careers, he was drawn to vocal composition. Many of his later works (the two operas, the Welt Ende oratorio, Die Tageszeiten, Die Sterne the projected oratorio John the Baptist and the cantata The Sea) were vocal ones. So he was simply compelled to write Benedetto Marcello and Die Eifersüchtigen I imagine, even though they'd never be staged.

A couple of corrections if I may. Firstly the Bach Chaconne orchestration was published in 1874 and was one of his most frequently performed pieces. Secondly, I'm afraid that Raff was not "modest and self effacing". On first encounter he came across, by his own daughter's account, as a very clever but rather prickly, proud and self important man who loved a good argument just for the sake of it. Not only did he look like Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, in his bumptious self-regard  he behaved like him too. Those who got to know him better, his friends and pupils, found that this hid a warm and loyal personality which they rewarded with their own lifelong loyalty to his memory, but there's no denying that Raff was good at making and keeping enemies. He was also, though, a very principled educator, which is why he banned performances of his own work in the Conservatory, even though it was clearly against his own interests.

[Norbit]

the Second Cello Concerto (shunned by its proposed dedicatee Popper)

That's funny. I think Raff's concerto is better than any of Popper's that I have heard.

[JimL]

the Second Cello Concerto (shunned by its proposed dedicatee Popper)

That's funny. I think Raff's concerto is better than any of Popper's that I have heard.

Did any of those Popper concertos have annoyingly long cadenzas?  Because that's why Popper shunned the Raff.  Raff refused to put one in.

[Mark Thomas]

That's only speculation on my part, Jim. I've no firm evidence for it beyond Popper's penchant for long, showy cadenzas and the facts that he had fallen out with Volkmann over this very issue not long before and he had already approved the draft of the concerto score, minus a cadenza. It's a reasonable assumption, I think, but still only an assumption at best.

[Norbit]

That's interesting. The no. 2 and the "Haydn" concertos don't have any cadenzas. I recently discovered a recording of the first concerto with the cellist Jiri Hosek through youtube and I don't recall it have a cadenza either. I don't know about his third and fourth concertos. Perhaps he saw it unnecessary to add a cadenza because the writing for the concertos, although not so much in the "Haydn", is very showy.

Where did you read that story about Popper and Volkmann? I remember De'ak's biography of Popper said that he made a number of changes to the Volkmann concerto through his career but I don't remember it saying that Volkmann ever got angry over this or anything else. That's especially interesting since the Volkmann concerto already has a cadenza.

[Mark Thomas]

I can't remember now where I got the Popper/Volkmann story and can't check as I'm away from home just now. Bear with me for a few days, please.

[JimL]

That's especially interesting since the Volkmann concerto already has a cadenza.

Several, in fact.  The major points of articulation in the single movement are marked by brief cadenzas.