Gurn's Classical Corner

[Gurn Blanston]

I listened to the Clavichord disk, lost in a reverie over the organic tone of the instrument on this recording. I am totally in love with this box!

Yeah, I just relistened much of that box in the last week. When I first got it (3 years ago) I wasn't enamored of her approach, rather on the feminine side for my taste. But then I realized that the fault lay with me, not her. Romantic bully-boy virtuosos can't play them well unless they take a Quaalude first...

The Eberl Sonata set came in the mail on Thursday, and now I'm just starting to explore the first disk. The sound of the fortepiano is supreme in the sonics as presented here. Detail, closeness, and atmosphere are all here. The music is a joy. Eberl's sonatas are very engaging to say the least. There is always something interesting at every turn.  I'm listening to his Op.1, Op.12 and Op.15. I was expecting a Mozartian sound, especially in the early works, but that's not the case. The music is more romantic and emotional than I was expecting, almost like Schubert. This is good news! Man, I love this late classical/early romantic era.

That's good news then, since this is on MY list this month too. Thanks for the feedback on that.




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Now playing:
NYPO \ Bernstein \ Martina Arroyo \ Regina Sarfaty \ Nicholas di Virgilio \ Norman Scott - Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 4th mvmt pt 2 - Presto - Rezitativo - "O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!" - Allegro assai

[DavidW]

Which one is the clavichord disc? I haven't listened through that box in years and didn't even remember that.

[Leo K.]

Which one is the clavichord disc? I haven't listened through that box in years and didn't even remember that.

The Clavichord is on disk 4. Amazing stuff!

[Leo K.]

I'm quite fascinated by this disk. The Op.44 Quartets by Adalbert Gyrowitz (1763-1850). Haydnesque in mood, a mature voice, witty, thoughtful musical contrasts, and thoughtful structure are all here, and more. As always with these deep, epic, late classical quartets, the slow movements are a real highlight. The A Flat Major Quartet (No.3) is a fascinating key for such a high classical style work! It sounds brooding, and questioning in nature, with a brooding trio in the minuet too. Fascinating quartet!

Quoth the Wiki:

Adalbert Gyrowitz (1763-1850)



His father was the choirmaster in Budweis' cathedral, and Adalbert first studied with him. Adalbert then travelled to Prague, where he studied law but continued to learn music.

At around this time he was in the employment of Count Franz von Fünfkirchen in Brno, whose employees were all musicians. Here he started composing, among other things, symphonies, of which he was eventually to write over 60. In 1785 he moved to Vienna, where he met Mozart, who performed one of Jírovec's symphonies in the same year.[1] From 1786 to around 1793, he travelled throughout Europe. He spent some time in Paris, where he established that some symphonies that had been published as the work of Joseph Haydn were in fact his work.[2] He spent three years in Italy, meeting Goethe in Rome and studying with Nicola Sala in Naples. In 1791, he met Haydn, whom he idolized, in London. While in London, Johann Peter Salomon commissioned symphonies from Gyrowetz to be performed at his Hannover Square Room Concerts.

He was a prolific composer. His operas and singspiele numbered over 30. They include Semiramide (1791), Der Augenarzt (1811), and Robert, oder Die Prüfung.

[Leo K.]

I have a taped broadcast of Johann Naumann's opera, Cara och Alonso (in three acts), conducted by Rene Jacobs, and played by the Concerto Koln. I listened to this for the first time last night, and heard Act I and the beginning of Act II. This opera is lovely! The melodies are graceful and the orchestration simple and direct, with consistent tonality throughout. The orchestra plays splendidly with nuance and passion. I love the recitatives and how they drive they scenes. The arias are melodic and show a range of moods.

Unfortunately, I don't have a libretto or know the story, so I can't comment on Naumann's dramatic instincts. I haven't been able to find much information online, but I didn't have time to conduct research yesterday. What I did was simply sit back and take in the glorious sounds of 18th century opera. My mind envisioned various scenes and I imagined the premiere in Sweden, September of 1783, within a candle-lit theatre, surrounded by lords and ladies.  I imagine the after opera parties, the drawing room flirtatiousness and the heavy drink. A night at the opera is pretty grand stuff!

I am going to explore more 18th Century opera, and reach beyond Mozart. I have a three Cimerosa operas on disk (I enjoyed my first operatic outing with a Cimerosa opera a couple years ago) but I want to check out a Dittersdorf opera next, since I really like his oratorio "Giob".                   

Stay tuned, and perhaps I will write more about the Naumann opera as I finish hearing  the whole opera.

[RJR]

Leo & Gurn - I'd have to join in and state that the clarinet is probably my favorite wind instrument fronting in chamber works (and orchestral ones w/ a wind being up front as the solo instrument).  Obviously, Klöcker figures prominently in my collection (can't even guess 'how many' discs I own w/ him - would need to check my database).  But, I do not own the recording w/ Gossec (just have 1 CD his works - symphonies), but have all of the others, and most in the same performances!

And I must further support Gurn concerning that bassoon disc of Brunetti's compositions for that instrument - like the bassoon also and am looking for more output w/ this neglected wind!   

There was a cassette at the music library in Montreal in 80s titled Afternoon of a Dinosaur (L'après-midi d'un dinosaur). Lots of diverse tracks, featuring the bassoon. Great stuff. Including Gounod. Don't know if it was ever transferred to cd, though.

[Leo K.]

I was wondering, what recordings of Schubert's sonatas on the fortepiano to folks here enjoy?

[Gurn Blanston]

I was wondering, what recordings of Schubert's sonatas on the fortepiano to folks here enjoy?

Bilson, Badura-Skoda, Vermeulen (new and old sets). If they don't satisfy your needs for interpretive variety and amazing fortepiano sounds, then nothing will.

[SonicMan46]

 

I'm quite fascinated by this disk. The Op.44 Quartets by Adalbert Gyrowitz (1763-1850). Haydnesque in mood, a mature voice, witty, thoughtful musical contrasts, and thoughtful structure are all here, and more. As always with these deep, epic, late classical quartets, the slow movements are a real highlight. The A Flat Major Quartet (No.3) is a fascinating key for such a high classical style work! It sounds brooding, and questioning in nature, with a brooding trio in the minuet too. Fascinating quartet!

Leo - I have that Gyrowetz SQ disc but have not given it a spin in a while, nor have I explored some of his other works - a plethora listed in his Wiki article HERE - would be interested if others may know more of his works & recordings, such as the Audite CD added above? 

Regarding the Schubert piano works, I also have the Badura-Skoda performances on fortepiano (in addition to Uchida on a modern piano) - have yet to explore another FP collection of the sonatas - 

[Gurn Blanston]

Damn, I meant to get back and talk about ole Adalbert (gotta love the name, it's right there with Nepomuk!).

I have that string quartets disk also and I think they are fine works. I think the Salomon's do a good job selling them too. I also have his "Contemporaries of Mozart" symphonies disk.

[asin]B00003XB27[/asin]

He was a very competent composer, highly successful in his own time, and made the most of his inspiration. His inspiration wasn't at the highest level (I say this for the critics of non-Canonic composers),  but he didn't waste any of it.

[Leo K.]

Damn, I meant to get back and talk about ole Adalbert (gotta love the name, it's right there with Nepomuk!).

I have that string quartets disk also and I think they are fine works. I think the Salomon's do a good job selling them too. I also have his "Contemporaries of Mozart" symphonies disk.

[asin]B00003XB27[/asin]

He was a very competent composer, highly successful in his own time, and made the most of his inspiration. His inspiration wasn't at the highest level (I say this for the critics of non-Canonic composers),  but he didn't waste any of it.

Aaah, thanks for the heads up on this recording Gurn! I shall look into this one.


And thanks all for the comments on Fortepiano Schubert  There is more than I thought!

The only fortepiano Schubert I've heard is a Melvyn Tan disk with the D.960...I often wish I hadn't given this disk away! 

[Leo K.]

Life:

(quoted from http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/tricklir)

Jean-Balthasar Tricklir was born in Dijon, France in 1750 to a family of German descent. From his earliest years Tricklir demonstrated a youthful passion for music. Accordingly his parents directed his interests to serving the Church. Lessons on the violin and cello soon overtook his preparation for the priesthood. By age 15 his musical studies surpassed his ecclesiastical interests and he left Dijon to further refine his cello technique in Mannheim, Germany. It was there where he came to the attention of the powerful Electors Palatine of the Rhine. Tricklir continued to live in Mannheim until 1768 profiting from the experience of what observers portrayed as a musician's heaven.

During the 1770's Tricklir made three trips to Italy and performed at the Concert in Paris of May, 1776. It was Europe's leading concert series and provided an international platform for the presentation of new music by professional performers. Luigi Boccherini headlined the broad register of soloist cellists at the Concert Spirituel along with the brothers Jean-Pierre and Jean-Louis Duport. Jean-Baptiste Janson and Jean-Balthasar Tricklir appeared from the Elector Carl Therodore's Mannheim orchestra confirmng the elite status of Tricklir among the finest cellists of his day. In 1782 Tricklir was appointed chamber virtuoso to the Francophile electoral court in Mainz, Germany. The composer's value continued to rise when in March, 1783 he entered the service of the Saxon elector in Dresden, Germany, and he would remain there until his death in November 29, 1813.

Tricklir published a set of three cello concertos issued in Berlin and Amsterdam in 1782. Six sonatas for cello and basso continuo followed in the 1780's. Tricklir's thirteen surviving cello concertos, including one edited and published in 1787 as the composer's Fourth Concerto by Jean-Louis Duport, use the instrument's full range and project melodies that favor the rich sounds of the C string. The thirteenth and fifteenth supplements to the catalog of Leipzig publisher Breitkopf for years 1779-80 and 1782-84 list two of Tricklir's cello concertos along with cello works of Luigi Boccherini, Giuseppe Fiala, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel, Joseph Reicha and Johann Conrad Schlick. The listing speaks to Jean-Balthasar Tricklir's significance both as a cellist and composer and has been acknowledged; understanding of the French-born cellist's music remains constrained by the absence of modern editions of his cello and violin concertos. Tricklir delivered works of advanced craftsmanship and invention into the music market creating quality compositions for the cello.

Judged to be one of the greatest masters of the cello and a tasteful composer for his instrument by biographer Ernst Ludwig Gerber. Author Francois-Joseph Fetis described Tricklir as one of the finest cellists of the late 18th Century. Wilhelm Josef von Wasieliewski in his Das Violoncello und seine Geschichte written in 1889 notes that Tricklir was a highly appreciated artist. Tricklir was an important link between Anton Fils and Bernhard Heinrick Romberg. He was one of the first composers to publish cello music using bass, tenor and treble clefs at pitch in contrast to the prevailing use of moveable C clefs. Unlike other Austro-German cellists, Tricklir made extensive use of separate bowings in his compositions accenting them with light and shade.
Each of Tricklir's cello concertos begins with memorable patterns that leap out of the sonata first movements. The slow second movements allow subordinate themes to serve as a initiation for the solo cello's highlights which are routinely marked by the use of double stops and chordal flourishes. Folk music appears in the final movements as cheerful rondos complete the concertos finales. Specifically, in Cello Concerto No. 4 in D major, a Scottish melody adds verve.

Although Triclir falls short of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart genius for translating musical signals, he proves to be an accomplished melodist. Tricklir's rondos are among the finest creations for the instrument found in the repertoire of 18th Century composition. As a master of the first order, the music scene profits from the exposure of Tricklir's works to a wide listening audience.

AND



Here is a link to a book length thesis on this composer, for those obsessed like me, and would likely love to read more 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/40547675/Thesis-Joseph-Schmitt


THESE look very interesting to say the least. Perhaps folks on the corner have discussed these already? I haven't heard them yet, but they are recordings I've been meaning to listen to soon, and today may be the day I listen, as they are next in my pile 

[Leo K.]

I was able to sample both the disks mentioned in my last post above, and find both fascinating. Schimitt has an elegant way with melody and harmony, almost romantic in sound. The Tricklir Cello Concerto (no.4) reminds me of Dittersdorf; gallant, with simple melodies and predictable harmony. Yes, this is what I love about it, and I can't wait to hear more!

[Leo K.]

I was listening to Mozart's K.361 Serenade in Bb Major last night, the Phillipe Herreweghe account. Man, it had been so long since I listened to K.361 I couldn't remember the 1st movement music. This recording is a glorious interpretation, with excellent sonics. I'm preaching to the choir, but this work is such a grand conception, symphonic and operatic in nature, probably written in 1781 or so, yet no one will know unless further evidence turns up. The mysterious reason to the work's existence only adds to the attraction.
 
The other work I wonder about is Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik. Why was this written, and for what occasion? Are there missing movements, or did Mozart really intend for four movements? I think it was Maynard Solomon who suggested Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik was written to counter-contrast Mozart's Musical Joke, but who knows? I love this mysterious, perfect work. It's hard to imagine adding more movements to the perfect symmetry of the four movements we have.
 
Does anyone have favorite recordings of Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik? I really love a performance on a Smithsonian record set, dedicated to Mozart on period instruments, that was released in the later 80s. I do not have the recording information with me at the moment, but I can post it later. I do remember Jaap Schroeder was involved in some of the performances on this set.
 
 

[DavidW]

Leo, the recording that I was imprinted with and I rather like is Marriner, which I bought on tape!  It's been awhile.  More recently I like the string quartet version performed by the Hagen Quartet.  I recently bought Mackerras, can't wait to listen!

As for PI recordings I have not heard them, but I believe Manze has done it and I bet it can also be found in the big Hogwood set.  Does anyone have any preferred PI recordings?

[Gurn Blanston]

I was listening to Mozart's K.361 Serenade in Bb Major last night, the Phillipe Herreweghe account. Man, it had been so long since I listened to K.361 I couldn't remember the 1st movement music. This recording is a glorious interpretation, with excellent sonics. I'm preaching to the choir, but this work is such a grand conception, symphonic and operatic in nature, probably written in 1781 or so, yet no one will know unless further evidence turns up. The mysterious reason to the work's existence only adds to the attraction.

The other work I wonder about is Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik. Why was this written, and for what occasion? Are there missing movements, or did Mozart really intend for four movements? I think it was Maynard Solomon who suggested Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik was written to counter-contrast Mozart's Musical Joke, but who knows? I love this mysterious, perfect work. It's hard to imagine adding more movements to the perfect symmetry of the four movements we have.

Does anyone have favorite recordings of Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik? I really love a performance on a Smithsonian record set, dedicated to Mozart on period instruments, that was released in the later 80s. I do not have the recording information with me at the moment, but I can post it later. I do remember Jaap Schroeder was involved in some of the performances on this set.

I really like Herreweghe's account too. This is such a luxuriously wonderful work, I have actually never heard an accounting that I didn't like, although the timbre of period winds is the determining factor for me. 2 other PI versions that I have are the Amadeus Winds with Hogwood which is a Double Decca and fabulous:

[asin]B000024A0A[/asin]

I got this last autumn for a song. It was easily worth 2 or 3 songs....

Another that I have is just too hard to get, I was blessed with it by a friend (magazine and all!). That is the Wind Soloists of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Anthony Halstead. It was recorded especially for BBC Music Magazine and never released otherwise.  It is especially good too.

Now, the K 525 Serenade in G. Often reviled by ignorant bastards  because it is so frequently played as to become a cliché. Of course, that is because it is the perfect musical work, in all proportions and ways. I can't list all my versions of this, or even recommend one over another. However, I can tell you that Mozart, in his works list with incipits, recorded this as a "small night music" (Eine kleine Nachtmusic), which is to say, a short serenade, in 5 movements.

[asin]B000004CX9[/asin]

What is missing is a minuet & trio. In this version, Hogwood has used a minuet and trio that Mozart co-wrote with his pupil Thomas Attwood, and which is in Attwood's composition book partly in Mozart's handwriting and with annotations by him. So it is also an authentic work, and happens to be in the right key and all other specifications to fit right in. You can always not play it if you don't like it but it is an interesting experiment anyway, and a very nice disk to have too.




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Now playing:
Ronald Brautigam - Hob 16 47 Sonata #57 in F for Fortepiano 1st mvmt - Moderato

[Gurn Blanston]

Leo, the recording that I was imprinted with and I rather like is Marriner, which I bought on tape!  It's been awhile.  More recently I like the string quartet version performed by the Hagen Quartet.  I recently bought Mackerras, can't wait to listen!

As for PI recordings I have not heard them, but I believe Manze has done it and I bet it can also be found in the big Hogwood set.  Does anyone have any preferred PI recordings?

David,
Are you referring to EkN here? The Hagen's have done this? Damn! 

You are right, Manze has done it also. I have that one, and not surprisingly I like it.

[asin]B0000AQVM4[/asin]

This recording points out an interesting fact about this piece. Mozart wrote it out as a 1 to a part work for what is essentially a string quartet + double bass. It is very unusual to hear it this way. On modern instruments I have only the Talich Quartet on Calliope. On PI, only this one. Hard to say which is most authentic; I don't think Mozart cared, actually. Small orchestra or string quintet, either way it's a peach.





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Now playing:
Amadeus Winds - K 370a 361 Serenade in Bb for 13 Winds & Bass 5th mvmt -  Romance: Adagio - Allegretto

[Leo K.]

I really like Herreweghe's account too. This is such a luxuriously wonderful work, I have actually never heard an accounting that I didn't like, although the timbre of period winds is the determining factor for me. 2 other PI versions that I have are the Amadeus Winds with Hogwood which is a Double Decca and fabulous:

[asin]B000024A0A[/asin]

I got this last autumn for a song. It was easily worth 2 or 3 songs....

Another that I have is just too hard to get, I was blessed with it by a friend (magazine and all!). That is the Wind Soloists of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Anthony Halstead. It was recorded especially for BBC Music Magazine and never released otherwise.  It is especially good too.

Now, the K 525 Serenade in G. Often reviled by ignorant bastards  because it is so frequently played as to become a cliché. Of course, that is because it is the perfect musical work, in all proportions and ways. I can't list all my versions of this, or even recommend one over another. However, I can tell you that Mozart, in his works list with incipits, recorded this as a "small night music" (Eine kleine Nachtmusic), which is to say, a short serenade, in 5 movements.

[asin]B000004CX9[/asin]

What is missing is a minuet & trio. In this version, Hogwood has used a minuet and trio that Mozart co-wrote with his pupil Thomas Attwood, and which is in Attwood's composition book partly in Mozart's handwriting and with annotations by him. So it is also an authentic work, and happens to be in the right key and all other specifications to fit right in. You can always not play it if you don't like it but it is an interesting experiment anyway, and a very nice disk to have too.


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Now playing:
Ronald Brautigam - Hob 16 47 Sonata #57 in F for Fortepiano 1st mvmt - Moderato

Both of those Hogwood recordings look like essentials for the collection, and I'm going to at least get his K.525 in the near future, thanks for the heads up 

[Gurn Blanston]

Both of those Hogwood recordings look like essentials for the collection, and I'm going to at least get his K.525 in the near future, thanks for the heads up 

No problem. The price is right on both of them (one of my criteria for recommending) so they are at least worth consideration.



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Now playing:
Amadeus Winds - K 375 Serenade in Eb for Winds 1st mvmt -  Allegro maestoso

[DavidW]

Are they in the big Hogwood symphony/serenade box or do you have to pick it up individually?