2024 Unsung Concerts

[Alan Howe]

Who are artists involved?

[Jonathan]

Sorry, it's the York Symphony Orchestra, soloist in the Sibelius is Will Clark.  Hope this helps.

[scarpia]

Raff's Autumn Symphony (the 10th) will be performed on a program that also features Louise Farrenc's 3rd Symphony, August 17th at Bard College.
https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/bmf24-p9/

Part of this year's Bard Music Festival devoted to Berlioz, August 9th - August 18th
https://fishercenter.bard.edu/whats-on/programs/bard-music-festival/

Nice! this weekend 4/6 and 4/7 at Bard the Conservatory Orchestra will play Egon Wellesz's early work The Dawn of Spring.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is touring Canada with the Price Symphony #4 April 17-19. And then in Ann Arbor on 4-20.

[scarpia]

Hummel's Fantasie for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 94 is being played by the Dartmouth Symphony on May 5. that's the same day that TON at Bard will play Joseph Joachim Variations for Violin and Orchestra, Eugène Ysaÿe Violin Concerto in D minor (U.S. Premiere) and the  Enescu Symphony No. 2.

I almost forgot 4-30 and 5-2 in Montreal the OSM is playing Emilie Mayer, Symphony no. 7 .

[Rainolf]

As editor of the piece it makes me proud to announce that the String Quartet No. 1 in G minor op. 8 by Joseph Haas will be performed for the first time on 4 June in the Bürgerhaus of Pullach, Bavaria. It will be played by the Diogenes-Quartett. Haas composed his op. 8 during his studies with Max Reger. Score and parts were published by Schott Music last year:

https://www.schott-music.com/de/streichquartett-noc609700.html

[Alan Howe]

Congratulations! What's the music like, please?

[eschiss1]

I see that it dates from 1905 (14 years earlier than his apparently slightly-better-known A major quartet Op.50). Haven't heard either, don't know if the Op.8 has been recorded- , though I see a video recording of the A major quartet and of piano pieces (Op.16) closer in time to the Op.8 quartet on YouTube - and here's an excerpt from his Op.6 bagatelles for piano.

[eschiss1]

I also don't see score or parts for free of Op.8 online (which is fair enough; IMSLP tries to block free download outside of regions where the music is in copyright- EU/UK, in this case, since he died in 1960, and the music was first published-- ooh, not until 2023? That explains A LOT...)--  but I do see them for sale, with the first page of each movement visible. (-If- - if - it was first performed long enough ago then the 2023 publication date matters less- except in the US where that doesn't matter! - though the date of death of course still extends copyright to 2030-odd in UK/EU nmw.) (A little like the US copyright state of a number of Pejacevic's works which were not published until the 2010s- for example. Edit: I was thinking tangentially of the latter's cello sonata which, however, was actually first published in 1977, so... but there's other music this applies to...)

[Rainolf]

Thank you, Alan! Haas's Quartet op. 8 is a worthy precursor of his later Quartet op. 50. It shows yet the typical style of the composer, with refined Regerian harmonies, but more playful and light-hearted in character, without Reger's heaviness.

The work remained unpublished and unperformed during the composer's lifetime, but he did never withdraw it. Te manuscript shows that it was first numbered as op. 9, later becoming op. 8. So Haas must have withdrawn another piece, but he kept the string quartet in his official opus list. 

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that summary. Very interesting.

[modthryth]

The Bard festival has been mentioned, just wanted to add that Reicha's op. 49 no. 1 string quartet in c minor will be featured on Saturday, August 10, as well as other rare pieces.

The Balourdet Quartet is a shockingly virtuosic young group; I'm so excited!

https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/bmf24-p2/

Program

1 pm • Preconcert Talk with Jonathan Kregor
1:30 pm • Performance: Jana McIntyre, soprano; Rebecca Ringle Kamarei, mezzo-soprano; Tyler Duncan, baritone; Noël Wan, harp; Michael Stephen Brown and Erika Switzer, piano; Balourdet Quartet; and others

Hector Berlioz (1803–69)

Le montagnard exilé (1822–23)

Songs

Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842)

Etude No. 2 (1804)

Anton Reicha (1770–1836)

String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 49, No. 1 (1803)

Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)

Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65 (1819)

Elias Parish Alvars (1808–49)

Introduction and Variations on Themes from Bellini's Norma, Op. 36 (n.d.)

Arias by Jean-François Le Sueur (1760–1837); Gaspare Spontini (1774–1851); Ambroise Thomas (1811–96)

[eschiss1]

As to the Parish-Alvars, my guess would be that it was written around the time of the opera's premiere, though just offhand I don't see a publication before 1852, after Alvars' death. Will look into it... ah, it was published by Addison & Hodson (see IMSLP) which was active in the mid-1840s (and not, so far as I know?, later??), so it was published before 1852, at least...

[eschiss1]

Hrm, according to Wikipedia, P-A wasn't published- at least not in Vienna?- until 1836, so there's that, too... not sure about England...

[eschiss1]

Anyone mentioned tomorrow's Leipzig concert with Reinecke's Hakon Jarl symphony? (Ruth Reinhardt conducting the Gewandhaus.)

[eschiss1]

This is not unsung -strictly speaking- but very unusual outside of a major metropolitan area (in the US), afaik, but if it's unacceptable, I have no problem with dropping it. Just wanted to note that the Binghamton Philharmonic (upstate/central NY state) is performing a Bruckner symphony (and no.6, yet!) on November 16th. (Fairly near me, this...)