Dutch Composers

[Lethevich]

Ah, a shame it's not a new recording, but, erato - don't be put off about it being a reissue - I was surprised at how decent that Olympia performance was - it sounded good even in mp3, and this reissue looks like a chance for me to "upgrade" it, if I can justify the expense.

[Klaze]

Oh, very nice, thanks for the tip. Too bad I just bought the Escher Chamber music disc at full price hehe. Still, some interesting stuff there, looks like I'll be getting a few new discs :]

I can definitely recommended that CD with chamber music by Escher, and also the one with the Concert for String Orchestra (and more importantly, the Musique pour l'Esprit en Deuil).

[Lethevich]

Que, kind of you to point this out but you are going to RUIN me

[Klaze]

For those interested; I see that they also carry the Van Gilse Symphonies 1 & 2 and Badings 2, 7 & 12 on CPO for 8 euros each.

This is becoming a nice order  :]

[Lethevich]

Several Röntgens too - he doesn't seem to be considered very good, but I really love his music.

[Klaze]

I have heard one or two pieces by Rontgen and thought they were a bit lame. But then again, I also thought that about Dopper and I did came to like his 7th symphony and Gothic chaconne.

What would you call Rontgen's 'greatest hits' if i may ask? Since there is quite some of his music available now, at least to (semi)-Dutch composer's standards.

[Lethevich]

I really enjoyed RCA's "Through the Bone" disc of chamber music. It's never quite as typical-sounding as it first appears - there are constant fleeting hints towards weirder soundworlds.

The CPO disc with his 3rd symphony is excellent - if I may quote a post from outside of this thread:

[asin]B000KC83FM[/asin]

Edit: heh, typical Röntgen. While overall this music is less valuble than his cello concertos, it is important and well-worth additional recordings.

This always happens when I listen to Röntgen's orchestral music: I tend to be grabbed by some interesting device, become increasingly dismayed at how thin the writing can sound, then come to terms with this and begin to love his sense of pep and fun. It's very lightweight sounding music, but it has a slightly military drill-style snap and crackle with an unfolding succession of tightly-reined dramatic waypoints. If the music was of a lesser quality, or performed less ideally, then it could sound horribly empty, but Röntgen produces music with a truly mid-Romantic charm - despite being a 20th century composer as far as his 24 symphonies are concerned.

The production CPO has done is marvelous, it really shows the music off as best as it could.

Edit2: Good lord the "filler" suite on this disc is even better. Wide-ranging in tone, from a genuinely dance-like scherzo to an elegiac yet upbeat closer, it's gorgeous.

Röntgen, like Reger, does suffer from writing too much, but everything I have heard from him I have enjoyed. Also like Reger, his style needs to be come to terms with before the music can be enjoyed. At first it seems rather thin and lightweight, but I feel a real commitment to good music in Röntgen's writing.

[Klaze]

Thanks for that!, just ordered the "Through the Bone" disc.
Also found this 2CD with viola sonatas, "Lyrische Gange" and some Brahms songs:

[asin]B000FILJZ2[/asin]

Only for a fiver, so that's worth the risk ;]

[dschfan]

Hi, downloaded must of Rontgen's Bitonal Symphony, the first appears to be deleted as the Orthel, Symphony No. 3  1.   Adagio  05:34, 2-4 are there. Can these be reloaded? thanx in advance.

[dschfan]

Still getting invalid or deleted files on Orthel's 3rd Symphony, 1st movement and Rontgen's Bitonal Symphony's first movement. Can someone restore these please? Would make me a very happy person. Thank you.

[Dundonnell]

Uploading as I write

Should be ready in a few minutes

I am uploading the entire Rontgen Bitonal Symphony since I have it in six separate files.

OK

Orthel Symphony No.3, First Movement:

http://www.mediafire.com/?43jbytdb42ozach

Rontgen Bitonal Symphony:

http://www.mediafire.com/?tltki3o7ogs6p7a
http://www.mediafire.com/?q97k7c75sawf6mu
http://www.mediafire.com/?c4ritf2ud0d4ns6
http://www.mediafire.com/?vm0cdb4q6ghytht
http://www.mediafire.com/?rfms7knlrvmzkbv
http://www.mediafire.com/?mx6nooe0hef8jjk

Hope this is ok

[dschfan]

Thank you, I'm a happy person. both played well.

[jowcol]

Uploading as I write



Orthel Symphony No.3, First Movement:

Easily one of my favorite 20th century symphonies.  The last movement is great, it has the really maniacal march, and then slips back into the gloom of the opening of the first.   

[Leo K.]

I ran into a series on Dutch music on Operashare recently, which I have been grabbing over the past few days. I haven't listened to much of it yet, but so far one obscurity has made an impression.

Daniël de Lange (1841-1918)

Symphony in C minor, Op.4 (c.1865)

I like this one a lot. It is quite one-dimensional and without much going on under the surface, but the themes are engaging and some even memorable. The way they are written seems to rely on quite simplistic repetition or "stock" note progressions, which sound very "gratifying", but come across as a little cheap (I wish that I could explain the technical side of this more usefully). If this isn't a problem, then the symphony as a whole is very enjoyable, with lots of grand rumblings and surprisingly engaging themes - plus the movements tend to keep up their pace without many drops in momentum (which from a great composer is to enhance the music, but weaker composers seem to resort to them when they cannot continue a theme's development, or meld two sections together naturally).

A good example of the plusses and minuses of this symphony is in the scherzo, which has a neat theme - pondorous, yet grand - but the composer doesn't seem to be able to do much with it, so at 0:50 is almost literally repeated briefly, but on higher notes, then peters out. But the music isn't crippled by this, and immediately after this there is a nice swirling tune to bridge the gap between the first theme and the development. While very romantic in sound, the symphony has a few classical leanings, such as the 8:20 min+ mark in the fourth movement, which sounds deliberately quite classical, probably to create a sense of occasion. I can't compare it to any other composer, it's not really like simplified Brahms (not that he took a cue from Brahms, due to its earlier date of writing). Once or twice the tone in the first movement comes a little close to Elgar's "Nimrod" from the Enigma Variations, and the freeness of the melody also has slight resemblence to (although being NOTHING as good as) Tchaikovsky, but the similarities to both are only passing.

Overall on an objective basis, it's neglected for good reason. It's quite simplistic and has no "greatness" to it, but I personally find it enjoyable, and it vindicates searching through these "lost" composers trying to find works of interest. Here is the scherzo for anybody interested. If somebody likes it I can upload the rest for them.

Ah! I'm glad I found this. I was just enjoying hearing this work this afternoon, and wondering if anyone mentioned it here. I have the performance that you have, and it's very good!

I agree with your review. I had a great time with this work and will definitely revist.

[Darwin]

I don't think anybody has yet mentioned this CD (Olympia OCD 507), which I bought dirt cheap ca. 2001. It contains interesting works by a selection of Dutch composers and makes a good introduction to the whole nation's music.

The outstanding piece is Diepenbrock's "Lydische Nacht", a gorgeous work which is, as far as I know, otherwise unrecorded except in a big (14 CD) box of micellaneous Concertgebouw recordings. It can be heard via Youtube if you can't track down the CD.

[pencils]

Jacob ter Veldhuis. Rainbow Concerto. 15 times this week, easily. Currently researching how to have his babies.

[kyjo]

Just wanted to resurrect this thread to point out what a great yet underrated composer Leon Orthel is (I included him in my list of the 30 most underrated composers). Try his Symphony no. 2 on YouTube:

Part 1: http://youtu.be/6P_rIAUuWR4
Part 2: http://youtu.be/CiisTVw0Gco

Misleadingly subtitled Sinfonia piccola, this dark wartime work has a sense of defiance that recalls Shostakovich. Not a note is wasted in this brief, striking work.

Orthel's Symphonies 3, 4 and 6 can also be found on YT. The Third, especially, is another powerful wartime work which is an outcry for humanity:

Part 1: http://youtu.be/ht95SsdhlbI
Part 2: http://youtu.be/aIozMgW49z4

[Klaze]

The complete works by Leo Smit have been rereleased by Etcetera some time ago. Nothing earth-shattering, but there are some fine works to be discovered if you're into Poulenc/Ravel (he spent a considerable amount of time in Paris) and the lighter side of Stravinsky. He died far too young, as he was deported to an extermination camp in '43. Had he not distributed his unpublished works to his pupils during his last days in Amsterdam, we might have never heard any of this music.

[asin]B00P9ZYMZ0[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

The complete works by Leo Smit have been rereleased by Etcetera some time ago. Nothing earth-shattering, but there are some fine works to be discovered if you're into Poulenc/Ravel (he spent a considerable amount of time in Paris) and the lighter side of Stravinsky. He died far too young, as he was deported to an extermination camp in '43. Had he not distributed his unpublished works to his pupils during his last days in Amsterdam, we might have never heard any of this music.

[asin]B00P9ZYMZ0[/asin]

I've been wondering when Etcetera were going to reissue this set. Just bought it! Thanks, Klaze.

[Robert]

I've been wondering when Etcetera were going to reissue this set. Just bought it! Thanks, Klaze.

John
Olympia released four volumes  "400 Years Of Dutch Music" plus the one mentioned above "Dutch Masters".  It might be difficult to find....

Robert