Rheinberger's Rectory

Started by jlaurson, November 14, 2011, 05:46:34 AM

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jlaurson

No Rheinberger thread so far? What neglect. Let's start one right now.

Quote from: Antoine Marchand on November 11, 2011, 03:16:44 AM
:o :o :o

Being on the same level of one of the greatest composers of chamber music of history, it's not a bad thing for a quite unknown composer.

No, not at all a bad thing!  :)

It's a great compliment, in fact. And I'm not a Brahms-hater.

The little Rheinberger Digest

Some of Rheinberger's sacred music and choral works (though not all!) have a Christmasy-sweet  character that can be super-charming with overtones of cloying.
(Short acapella works like the Missa brevis op.83, and op.117 "in honorem sanctissimae Trinitatis" are very neat; I loved them even as a choir boy singing them in the cathedral on Sunday-duty. One of the few available recordings even uses my choir -- not with my contribution, though. :-))

The solo-organ music ... well, if you really like organ music, I suppose it's worth while. But there's a lot of it.

Odd-ones-out like Christoforus [horrible recording, but the only one so far] or the Florentine Symphony ) are quite marvelous.

The chamber music, however, is unequivocally first rate.

As Harry pointed out, there's a lot of Piano Music... enough to fill 10 CDs. It was recorded for Thorofon, also, and Carus brought it out as a box. There are beautiful things among it, and really valuable pieces to my ears (I haven't heard all of it yet), but I really wish there was a good two-disc "best of" Rheinberger Piano Works. All ten discs, unlike with the six to eight discs of chamber music, seem a bit of overkill, especially for Rheinberger-newcomers.

Since pipe organs are hard to accommodate in a living room (though not impossible, granted), the sonatas for violin and organ, the "6 Pieces", and the Suite for cello, violin, and organ are not in the chamber music box. They are, however, stupendous music... with much of the 'proper' chamber music some of Rheinberger's best... though with a neo-baroque touch stronger here than elsewhere. There are lots of recordings available; with Christopher Herrick (Helios), Zygmunt Strzep (Arte Nova),  Joachim Diedrichs (Cantate), Marie Ziener (Naxos) et al.

et al. My favorites are, by some measure, Andreas Juffinger (Capriccio, re-issued, at last, in Europe) and Ulrik Spang-Hanssen (Classico). The two organ concertos really go right along with those pieces and are also, in my opinion (though obviously not for organ-dislikers) "Must-Have Rheinberger". Again I love Juffinger with the RSO Berlin and H.Haenchen (Capriccio). That was briefly available as a (budget SACD) and can probably still be gotten at a decent price. (Certainly still available thus in Germany.)

The Concertos on Naxos are with Paul Skevington (Naxos) but in the recording, I find, lose a good deal of their swerve. You don't want perfunctory Rheinberger. MDG) has a recording which throws in the 3 Pieces for Organ & Cello. Yumm-yumm. (w/Stefan Johannes Bleicher)

If you prefer your Rheinberger [piano concerto] lightly tossed over a portion of home-made Sgambati, go right ahead!


Some Basic Rheinberger













J.G. Rheinberger,
Six Pieces for Organ & Violin,
Suite for Organ, Violin, & Cello
Juffinger / Sebestyen / Ostertag
Capriccio


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Organ Concertos
Juffinger / Haenchen / DRSO Berlin
Capriccio


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Nonet, Sextet
Consortium Classicum
MDG


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Sacred and Secular a capella Music
Ratzinger / Domspatzen
Ars Musici


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
The Star of Bethlehem
various
Capriccio


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Sacred Choral Works
Phoenix Bach Choir / Charles Bruffy
Chandos SACD


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Organ Concertos, 3 Pieces for Organ & Cello,
Musikkoll. Winterthur, Bleicher / Boyd et al.
MDG


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Complete* Chamber Works
various artists
6 CDs, Thorofon


German Link
French Link
UK Link

J.G. Rheinberger,
Complete Piano Works
Jürg Hanselmann
Carus (formerly Thorofon) [10CDs]


German Link
French Link
UK Link

springrite

Not really familiar with this composer at all, which is unusual for me.

What is so rectal about his music?
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

jlaurson

#2
Quote from: springrite on November 14, 2011, 05:52:24 AM
Not really familiar with this composer at all, which is unusual for me.

What *are* you suggesting?

That you are warmly familiar with J.Marx, E.Zeisl, F.Mittler, L.Thuille,  R.Wetz, R.Stephan, W.Braunfels, N.Reznicek, J.B.Gänsbacher, J.Netzer, J.Rufinatscha, W.B.Molique, A.F.Tietz and that it is therefore surprising that you wouldn't heard of Rheinberger or at least not heard any of his music? Yes, that would be unusual.  You have heard of his pupils though:  E.Humperdinck, E.Wolf-Ferrari, W.Furtwängler among them.

QuoteWhat is so rectal about his music?

Excuse me ? ? ?

springrite

Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

jlaurson

Quote from: springrite on November 14, 2011, 06:13:01 AM
Sorry, bad joke...

pun on "Digest / digestion"? Bit of a stretch, but being quite keen on the pun-as-art-form myself, I make allowances.  ;)

P.S. Oh, no... pun on rectory. Well, not quite as droll, then.  ::)

The new erato

Well I had some associations in the same directum (sorry; direction).

His piano music on Carus (at least the two firsts discs I've heard) has convinced me he has quite some things going for him.

mc ukrneal

Quote from: jlaurson on November 14, 2011, 05:46:34 AM
If you prefer your Rheinberger [piano concerto] lightly tossed over a portion of home-made Sgambati, go right ahead!

Highly recommend the Rheinberger with a side of Sgambati as well. :)

There is a also a disc of his orchestral works. This twofer (and it's pretty good, though I would start with the concerto):

Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Lethevich

I'll begin on the piano music box soon (I'm finally getting around to my "to rip" pile). I am not well-versed with the composer's choral or orchestral work, but I am also a fan of the chamber music box. Neglected composers often follow one of two paths:

Standard: comparable but pale shadows of the greats
Interesting: writing in a different (perhaps more localised) manner, and somewhat harder to compare on purely technical levels as they tend to be seen as lacking a certain intellectual 'rigour' to their work

On the strength of his chamber music alone, Rheinberger finds himself in a third category - a composer who wrote in a familiar style, using recognisable forms which can actually stand toe to toe with the established greats - but for some reason they are overlooked. I would place Medtner in this group as well; 'why aren't more people listening to this'-type composers.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

mc ukrneal

Since nearly every other disc was posted, I figured we should show the Concerto disc too. Besides, I expect a horde of posters once people are reminded of Rheinberger!  8)
[asin]B000005WWM[/asin]
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

mc ukrneal

There are a couple others I have been considering, but am not familiar with...

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Be kind to your fellow posters!!

SonicMan46

Left the post below in the 'Listening Thread' earlier today - would like to bring this more dedicated and neglected one TTT - before obtaining this 6-CD box, I had just a single CD of this composer's works, i.e. the Nonet/Sextet on MDG.  I listened to the first 3 discs (String/Piano Quintets, String Quartets, & several Piano Trios) - just first rate Romantic chamber works , well performed, and in excellent sound, and a bargain offering @ the moment from JPC.

Attached are several entries from Fanfare dating from when these performances were first released, for those interested.  :)

But plan to review some of Jens' recommendations, and already put the choral & the organ concertos CDs on my wishlist - hope others will 'chime in' w/ their comments & suggestions - Dave

Quote from: SonicMan46 on December 26, 2012, 08:40:14 AM
Day after Christmas, my package from JPC arrived w/ a LOT of items - the largest one up first:

Rheinberger, Josef (1839-1901) - Chamber Music w/ Sonare Quartett et al - 6 CD box on sale there (my cost about $36!).  Just starting out w/ the first disc, i.e. String & Piano Quintets - this is going to be a wonderful set, especially for those who enjoy late Romantic chamber music - attached are some Fanfare reviews dating just after the release of these performances - :)



SonicMan46

Just left a post in the 'listening thread' which might be of interest to Rheinberger fans!   :D

Quote
Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 04, 2013, 01:20:04 PM
I have a Carus disc (below), but will still be interested to hear what you think of the choral disc. The Organ Concerto looks very cool, and I am inclined to get that one unless you say it's a dud.

Hi Neal - the choral disc is spectacular (based on probably 5 listens at least) - I cannot top Scott Morrison's laudatory review on Amazon HERE, and completely agree w/ the comments; in fact, I probably will look at some of the other Charles Bruffy recordings this weekend and put in an order - highly recommended to A cappella music lovers!   :D

The organ CD has received some mixed reviews, i.e. a rather dismissive one from MusicWeb HERE & an excellent one by Jerry Dubins in 2011 (attached); I agree w/ the latter; I believe that the first reviewer mentioned wanted a more bombastic organ performance and a much larger orchestra, but these are more like chamber works w/ a much smaller ensemble and the organ blended in like just another solo instrument - the music is lyrical w/ the organ seamlessly in the mixture of instruments - I like the recording and if you find the comments of Dubins to your taste, then also a recommendation.  Dave :)

Quote from: SonicMan46 on January 04, 2013, 12:36:24 PM
 

Scion7

I'm going to suggest our church organist look through his music and see if there's something she'd like to tackle some Sunday morning.

Solid chamber musician, too.  Nothing setting the world on fire, exactly, but finely crafted.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

SonicMan46

Josef TTT! after 5 years in limbo!  :laugh:

Yet another 'lower tier' 19th century Romantic composer forgotten and ignored - thread started by Jens a while back - he's already posted a bunch of album pics - so I'm just re-evaluating my collection which is now the boxes below of Piano Works & Chamber Music, a total of 16 discs (10 + 6, respectively) - a review of each collection attached for those interested.  He seems to be best remembered for his sacred and choral works, plus his numerous and varied organ compositions - I had a disc each of his organ concertos and some sacred choral works but must have culled each out a while back?  So, if there are the RARE Rheinberger fans in the forum - what are favs for these genres of his oeuvre?  Dave :)

QuoteRheinberger was a prolific composer. His religious works include twelve Masses, a Requiem and a Stabat Mater. His other works include several operas, symphonies, chamber music, and choral works. Today Rheinberger is remembered above all for his elaborate and challenging organ compositions; these include two concertos, 20 sonatas in 20 different keys (of a projected set of 24 sonatas in all the keys),[5] 22 trios, and 36 solo pieces. His organ sonatas were once declared to be: "undoubtedly the most valuable addition to organ music since the time of Mendelssohn. They are characterized by a happy blending of the modern Romantic spirit with masterly counterpoint and dignified organ style." (Source)

 

SonicMan46

Well, I decided to re-listen to my 2 boxes of Rheinberger's Chamber Works & Piano Pieces, both shown previously - but decided to explore some of his 'Organ Compositions' as described in the re-post below from the listening thread - as stated both received excellent reviews which are attached.  Dave :)

Quote1+ Andrei - finishing up the chamber box this afternoon, and glad that you enjoy Rheinberger too! - also own the slightly larger box of his Piano Works, which I'll spin tomorrow.  Not being much of an 'organ' listener (mainly Bach JS and a few others from the Baroque), I was curious since he was probably the premier composer for the instrument in the last half of the 19th century; so, I ordered the Concerto disc below, a cheap used copy from the Amazon MP, and made a playlist on Spotify of the Organ Sonatas (an astounding 20 on 6 CDs in the set shown below - for some weekend listening) - for those who may be interested, excellent reviews are attached.  Dave :)

 

SonicMan46

Rheinberger's Organ Works - since my previous post here quoted below, I've been listening to some of his organ compositions - the Organ Sonatas w/ Roger Sayer consists of 20 pieces on 6 discs, so heard all from a Spotify playlist, and not a planned purchase for me (but may be for organ aficionados?); however, I did obtain the single disc of the Organ Concertos & Trio as a used copy from the Amazon MP - now, not being much of an 'organ guy' I would definitely listen to this again and will keep - Albert Schweitzer, the famed theologian, organist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician after performing the second organ concerto, wrote the composer a personal note about how he enjoyed playing the work. Reviews are attached for those interested.  Dave :)

Quote1+ Andrei - finishing up the chamber box this afternoon, and glad that you enjoy Rheinberger too! - also own the slightly larger box of his Piano Works, which I'll spin tomorrow.  Not being much of an 'organ' listener (mainly Bach JS and a few others from the Baroque), I was curious since he was probably the premier composer for the instrument in the last half of the 19th century; so, I ordered the Concerto disc below, a cheap used copy from the Amazon MP, and made a playlist on Spotify of the Organ Sonatas (an astounding 20 on 6 CDs in the set shown below - for some weekend listening) - for those who may be interested, excellent reviews are attached.  Dave :)

 

vers la flamme

Curious about this composer. I liked what I heard of the organ music so I ordered volume 1 of Wolfgang Rübsam's traversal on Naxos.

SonicMan46

Quote from: vers la flamme on June 23, 2021, 02:35:53 PM
Curious about this composer. I liked what I heard of the organ music so I ordered volume 1 of Wolfgang Rübsam's traversal on Naxos.

Great!  Please post a comment - Jens started this thread 10 years ago and has not even gotten to a 2nd page -  ???

For myself, I really enjoyed re-listening to his 'Piano box' and the 'Organ Concertos' - hope others will provide some input.  Dave :)