Topic: Gurn's Classical Corner

[Gurn Blanston]

I finally found this very nice disc (the edition that does not show properly but the "white one" might be easier to find) at a good price. 3 string quartets by the Jadin brothers, the precocious Hyacinthe who died of tuberculosis at 24 (1776-1800) and his older brother Louis-Emmanuel who lived into his mid-80s (1768-1853!). Both wrote quite a bit more chamber music, most of which remains unrecorded to my knowledge.

I hope to get the harmonia mundi disc with Schobert chamber music and another one with music by Padre Soler today or in monday's post...

I like that, Jo. I have some Jadin (mostly H, a little L-E), it is really enjoyable music.

[Jo498]

I have another disc with string trios by Hyacinthe (les adieux/NCA) and one with piano sonatas (Pennetier/harmonia mundi). All quite enjoyable and the composer often has a particular lyrical early/protoromantic strain that sets him apart as rather original, I think.

Now tonight I'll probably listen to Schobert with Banchini/Sgrizzi as I just got a nice package of CDs...

[Gurn Blanston]

I have another disc with string trios by Hyacinthe (les adieux/NCA) and one with piano sonatas (Pennetier/harmonia mundi). All quite enjoyable and the composer often has a particular lyrical early/protoromantic strain that sets him apart as rather original, I think.

Now tonight I'll probably listen to Schobert with Banchini/Sgrizzi as I just got a nice package of CDs...

Yes, I have both of those, and quite enjoy them. FWIW, I have the Schobert/Banchini disk too, a recent acquisition. You could well be pleased with it. Schobert was a pioneer of Classicism, the very young Mozart was influenced by him, even before he met J.C. Bach.

[Leo K.]

Ernst Wolf's (1735-1792) string quartets are a true gem from Haydn's generation. I just had to jump in and say it after enjoying this CPO disk this morning. Aces!




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[Gurn Blanston]

Ernst Wolf's (1735-1792) string quartets are a true gem from Haydn's generation. I just had to jump in and say it after enjoying this CPO disk this morning. Aces!


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Hi, Leo,

I never saw any other music by Wolf beyond this very neat little keyboard sonatas disk. He seems to have been a close follower of CPE Bach. I'll have to look into the string quartets, that is a pleasant surprise genre for me! 

[Leo K.]

Hi, Leo,

I never saw any other music by Wolf beyond this very neat little keyboard sonatas disk. He seems to have been a close follower of CPE Bach. I'll have to look into the string quartets, that is a pleasant surprise genre for me! 

Thanks Gurn! I haven't seen the sonatas by Wolf. I really feel you'll enjoy his string quartets, which are finely written with subtlety and structural nuances. Aces


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[SonicMan46]

Kozeluch, Leopold (1747-1818) has not been discussed in this thread for a while (search brought up posts for 2011-12) - I now have about a half dozen CDs of his works (2 Symphonies, Piano Concertos, Piano Sonatas, and several w/ wind pieces) - he wrote over 400 compositions (list HERE), and was a rival to Mozart in Vienna and quite popular as a composer and pianist, in addition to being a music publisher.

A few days ago, I received the disc below of Piano Concertos w/ Howard Shelley; also own the single CD of his Piano Sonatas w/ Kemp English on fortepiano - looking on Amazon, there are 10 volumes of these works w/ English (not sure if more exist or are projected?); now, Amazon also carries 2 volumes of these sonatas w/ Jenny Kim on fortepiano (Brilliant), likely an ongoing series?  SO, just curious if anyone has been 'exploring' the releases of Kozeluch's solo piano works?  Thanks for comments.  Dave

Leopold Koželuch, born Jan Antonín Koželuh, alternatively also Leopold Koželuh, Leopold Kotzeluch) (26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was a Czech composer and teacher of classical music. He was born in the town of Velvary, in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic). He moved to Prague to further his musical education, before moving in Vienna in 1778, where he was based for the remainder of his career. In Vienna he achieved renown as a composer, pianist and teacher, and from 1792 until his death in 1818 he held royal appointments as Kammer Kapellmeister (music director) and Hofmusik Compositor (composer). Koželuch's compositional output included sonatas and concertos for keyboard, the instrument in which he specialised, as well as chamber music, choral music and opera. (Source)

   

[Florestan]

It's not a recording that I'd like to recommend, but a doctoral dissertation. It is most interesting and it debunks in a thorough and exhaustively documented manner two myths:

1. that Salzburg in the 18th century, and especially during Mozart's time, was a cultural and intellectual backwater

and

2. that Mozart was a musical-genius-cum-intellectual-and-social-idiot who had no interest in, nor knowledge of, anything other than music and musicmaking.

It convincingly makes the case for Salzburg being actually one of the foci of the Austrian Catholic Enlightenment and for the Mozart family (including Nannerl) being actively interested and involved in the contemporary intellectual life as part of an extended circle of like-minded friends and acquaintances.

Highly recommended. I wonder if a similar study has been written regarding Haydn and the Eszterhazys. Gurn?

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/65897847/2016_T_pelmann_Viktor_Y_n_liang_0106937_ethesis_compressed_file.pdf

[Brian]

This new recording has a number of features of interest.



For one thing, it repeatedly mis-lists the composer's life span as 1775-1791. He in fact lived 40 more years, and these compositions date from the 1820s.

For another thing, the booklet contains an advertisement for a home goods store?!

But most importantly, it appears to be the first-ever disc solely devoted to Traugott Eberwein, a member of the Weimar school whose only other mention on GMG came when André found him on a compilation CD. The works on this disc are:

Overture for grand orchestra in C
Concertante for Wind Quintet in F, Op. 67
Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 84

The booklet notes speculate that this is the only surviving symphony.

Listening later this morning 

[The One]

After 15 years of listening to classical music, I've finally settled down to a favorite era. I have a lot of Baroque music that I truly enjoy, and even more Romantic Era music. I even have and listen to quite a lot of 20th century music (21st? Well, maybe a little bit). But the music that I enjoy most, and which constitutes by far the largest section of my collection, is Classical Era music.

My personal definition of the Classical Era is a rather broad one. It constitutes a period from roughly 1740 to roughly 1830.

Do you still have this opinion after 24 years? 

[Gurn Blanston]

Do you still have this opinion after 24 years? 

Probably even more now than then. The only Romantic I still listen to is Russian stuff and Dvorak. 20th century I have narrowed also, I like DSCH, Prokofiev, Bloch, some Bartok and Henning. Baroque, Italian and Austrian. And that's about it. Sad, I know.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Henning, of course, is 21^st-c. 

[Gurn Blanston]

Henning, of course, is 21^st-c. 

I prefer his juvenilia...  

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Hah!

[The One]

his juvenilia...

Come on! Early Henning.

[Gurn Blanston]

Come on! Early Henning.

I'm very fussy. This was Karl's Classic Era. Less prolixity and more atonal honking...

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

I'm very fussy. This was Karl's Classic Era. Less prolixity and more atonal honking...

My once and future honking.

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[kishnevi]

This new recording has a number of features of interest.



For one thing, it repeatedly mis-lists the composer's life span as 1775-1791. He in fact lived 40 more years, and these compositions date from the 1820s.

For another thing, the booklet contains an advertisement for a home goods store?!

But most importantly, it appears to be the first-ever disc solely devoted to Traugott Eberwein, a member of the Weimar school whose only other mention on GMG came when André found him on a compilation CD. The works on this disc are:

Overture for grand orchestra in C
Concertante for Wind Quintet in F, Op. 67
Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 84

The booklet notes speculate that this is the only surviving symphony.

Listening later this morning 

I saw that on Arkivmusic, which thinks three different composers are included.

There's a companion issue

The Amazon promo Editorial Review

The music on this recording with works from the period of Viennese Classicism was performed on modern instruments, using Beethovens instrumentation instructions from 1813. His works and also the works of Mozart and Haydn were sometimes more, sometimes less influenced by the Weimarer Klassik, which one connects to the writers like Goethe, Schiller or Herder. The Thuringian Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1962 by members of the Staatskapelle Weimar, is one of the worlds oldest chamber orchestras. It is located in historic Weimar, the city of poets and phillsophers, but also of great musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss. The ensemble peforms regularly at concert venues across Germany and in many European countries as well as in the Far East and Mexico. The orchestras repertoire ranges from the 18th to the 21st century, with a focus on composers from Weimar and its surroundings. Their extensive discography includes over 250 recordings for radio broadcast, and illustrates the ensembles stylistic confidence and its consistently high levels of musicianship.

[The One]

The most famous harpist of the end of 18th century was Madame Krumpholtz (Krumpholc), wife of another well-known harpist-inventor-composer, and Dussek's Op 11 harp and piano duo was dedicated to her.

[Gurn Blanston]

The most famous harpist of the end of 18th century was Madame Krumpholtz (Krumpholc), wife of another well-known harpist-inventor-composer, and Dussek's Op 11 harp and piano duo was dedicated to her.

She played at several of Haydn's first round of London concerts. Her husband was also a famous harpist, and he had been employed for a while at Esterházy in the 1770's. I have a couple of recordings of Krumpholz concertos. QUite nice if you are a pedal harp fan.