Schubert 'Death and the Maiden' orchestrated by Vass

[Alan Howe]

Sounds terrific to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcgPNcqK7eo

Here's the CD - website in Hungarian:
https://webaruhaz.rozsavolgyi.hu/hu/kotta/death-and-the-maiden-symphony-orchestra-version-cd

Unfortunately it's impossible to follow the 'help' advice to put in an order. I have emailed them...

[4candles]

Does this translated website help?

4c

[Alan Howe]

No - but thanks for trying.

[Mark Thomas]

There's also at least one other orchestration, by Andy Stein, available on Naxos and played by the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by JoAnn Falletta. "At least" because I'm fairly sure I already have two, maybe three, recordings of different orchestrations but I can't check at present as I'm away from home.

[semloh]

...maybe you have the arrangement by Mahler, Mark! 

[terry martyn]

I have the excellent Mahler, on LP!!

[Alan Howe]

I have the Naxos/Falletta recording, but had never come across the Vass arrangement.

[CelesteCadenza]

Patricia Kopatchinskaja has made an arrangement for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra which was recorded in concert and released on Alpha-Classics:
https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/schubert-death-and-maiden
The concert had music by others interspersed within the Schubert and that is reflected in the CD release but  that can easily be reprogrammed on most CD players and on your computer if you find that concept distasteful.

Some, if not all, of the Schubert is on Youtube; the first movement is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPlWstUaHAE&t=8s

[Alan Howe]

The Alpha release features an arrangement for strings only, however. Speaking personally, I'm looking for a convincing version for full orchestra - hence the Vass.

[Alan Howe]

Well, through a combination of helpful advice from the Hungarian retailer and Google Translate (!), I've managed to order the CD.

Please don't ask me to explain the process, though, because I can't remember it!

Info about the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra here:
https://www.pfz.hu/en/zenekar

[eschiss1]

That orchestra's name is familiar- I think we may have discussed another of their discs, with a serenade and a symphony. (A search reveals they've (or the Pannon Chamber Orchestra- related?...) recorded Volkmann's serenades- not what I meant, but good!- oh, Pannon is the _label_ that Beliczay's symphony was recorded on. My bad.)

[Alan Howe]

To me they sound like a pretty fine band. The performance of the Schubert is extremely convincing - and exciting.

[Alan Howe]

I'm asking myself why this orchestration sounds so much more convincing that the Brahms/Holloway piece recently released. Perhaps it's got something to do with the performance: the Schubert sounds very 'live', whereas the Brahms doesn't - in fact the July issue of Gramophone magazine attributes this to the 'rehearse-record' process involved.

[eschiss1]

Not having heard the Schubert orchestration, I couldn't possibly say, though my problems with the Brahms/Holloway had to do with choices of instruments; Brahms was a better orchestrator than he is given credit for (consider, though it's a later work, the second movement of his first symphony, Breitkopf 1926-7 score: bars 38 (one before B) - 48 (first flute, bassoon and horn also enter), and how those bars would sound with different instruments than the first oboe and clarinet (up to 48) above the string accompaniment. I maintain that those are just the right instruments for that moment, whereas in the piano quintet arrangement as I heard it, I didn't much get that feeling of the content leading to the [instrumentation].)

[Alan Howe]

Do give the Schubert a listen, Eric. The YouTube link's in my first post.