New composers, and discovering them...

[bhodges]

Yes! and Kodaly's "Spinning room "( once available on Hungaroton) a short, very lovely and utterly gorgeous short opera.

Thanks for mentioning that--I've not heard of this one!

--Bruce

[pjme]

I suppose it could do with a new recording - but Ferencsik leads an impressive ( possibly very ripe..) performance.



It's very lyrical and very Hungarian....

Peter

[Harry]

  Harry you never cease to amaze me, how do you find these obscure composers anyway?  In the past I have been taking note of the CDs you buy and I can not find a lot of them on amazon, where do you go when you shop?  The most obscure composer I have in my collection is Bartok- hardly an obscure composer  !

  marvin

That's simple Marvin!
My source is JPC de.

[Harry]

This Haas CD is superb, it's main attraction being a completion of the symphony he left unfinished at his death (in Auschwitz). The piece is just beautiful, deeply moving, with profound roots in Jewish cantorial melody, but also with some scathing use of quotation. I'm not so sure Haas, Janacek's finest pupil, much recorded and well known as one of the four major 'Terezin composers', is that obscure, mind you.

My obscure composer du jour is an Italian neo-classicist of sorts, Franco Margola, who has a splendid lyrical sense. I have a couple of CDs, but this one might be an attractive place to start:

Yes, will investigate that further....thanks!

[Harry]

Here is another one for you to bite on. The samples made me sit up, but I know next to nothiong from this composer. So if you please, I would love to hear some input about him, or anyone that has actually music from him.
Anyone?
Bruce? maybe.....

[Dundonnell]

Here is another one for you to bite on. The samples made me sit up, but I know next to nothiong from this composer. So if you please, I would love to hear some input about him, or anyone that has actually music from him.
Anyone?
Bruce? maybe.....

http://listserv.uh.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0211d&L=mahler-list&T=0&P=3029

Is the weblink to a review of the CD from the American magazine Fanfare from September-October 2002. Apologies if you have accessed this already!

Bohnke was-apparently-a German composer born in Poland in 1888 and killed together with his Jewish wife in a car crash in 1928. The review of the Cd makes the music sound very promising! If you like Tiessen and Erdmann's music then Bohnke should appeal.

Never heard any myself but I am now tempted!

[bhodges]

Here is another one for you to bite on. The samples made me sit up, but I know next to nothiong from this composer. So if you please, I would love to hear some input about him, or anyone that has actually music from him.
Anyone?
Bruce? maybe.....

Alas, can't add to what Dundonnell posted.  But the comments are making me interested, too.  (I've never even heard his name mentioned.)

--Bruce

[Harry]

http://listserv.uh.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0211d&L=mahler-list&T=0&P=3029

Is the weblink to a review of the CD from the American magazine Fanfare from September-October 2002. Apologies if you have accessed this already!

Bohnke was-apparently-a German composer born in Poland in 1888 and killed together with his Jewish wife in a car crash in 1928. The review of the Cd makes the music sound very promising! If you like Tiessen and Erdmann's music then Bohnke should appeal.

Never heard any myself but I am now tempted!

Wow, thanks for the link, that is a good review.
Well I will play it as soon as possible.

[Dundonnell]

http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4986

Another review of the Bohnke CD! Sounds more interesting all the time!

There is also a CD of his Violin Concerto played by Kolja Lessing together with the Theme with Variations for large orchestra and the Symphonic Overture(Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra-Israel Yinon) on the Real Sound label but it is currently unavailable.

[Harry]

http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4986

Another review of the Bohnke CD! Sounds more interesting all the time!

There is also a CD of his Violin Concerto played by Kolja Lessing together with the Theme with Variations for large orchestra and the Symphonic Overture(Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra-Israel Yinon) on the Real Sound label but it is currently unavailable.

Will keep that in mind, thanks again Dundonnell, again a useful link and info.

[The new erato]

Seem to remember that Bohnke was a violist in the Busch Quartet.

[Harry]

Seem to remember that Bohnke was a violist in the Busch Quartet.

See, I have to find out more about this guy! but others do.
Let me look tomorrow in some of my encyclopedias.

[vandermolen]

Klami (from Finland) is a composer whose music I like. There is a good mid-price Chandos CD of orchestral works.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Klami-Orchestral-Works-Uuno/dp/B000LC4WV0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204204031&sr=1-2

[pjme]

Uuno Klami can be very exiting/interesting. Although I have only a few works ( the Naxos CD with orchestral works is OK) and the great Psalm for soprano, baritone,chorus & orch. on Ondine.

The year 1937 saw the completion of the grand inspired Psalmus, a "symphonic psalm" for choir, vocal soloists and orchestra, which is a close runner-up to the Kalevala-sarja for the title of Klami's most popular work. The text is a religious poem by 17th-century Finnish poet and philosopher Juhana Cajanus, the first major literary poem written in Finnish, Etkös ole, ihmisparka, aivan arka (Wretched man, are you not made sore afraid). Kodály's Psalmus hungaricus and perhaps Honegger's Le Roi David may have inspired Klami to take up the project. Klami employs a large orchestra to set the poem, a lament on the transitory nature of the universe, in a solid work lasting nearly an hour with much realistic detail and descriptive power.

Read more http://www.fmq.fi/articles/ar_2000_2_ht.html

[vandermolen]

Uuno Klami can be very exiting/interesting. Although I have only a few works ( the Naxos CD with orchestral works is OK) and the great Psalm for soprano, baritone,chorus & orch. on Ondine.

The year 1937 saw the completion of the grand inspired Psalmus, a "symphonic psalm" for choir, vocal soloists and orchestra, which is a close runner-up to the Kalevala-sarja for the title of Klami's most popular work. The text is a religious poem by 17th-century Finnish poet and philosopher Juhana Cajanus, the first major literary poem written in Finnish, Etkös ole, ihmisparka, aivan arka (Wretched man, are you not made sore afraid). Kodály's Psalmus hungaricus and perhaps Honegger's Le Roi David may have inspired Klami to take up the project. Klami employs a large orchestra to set the poem, a lament on the transitory nature of the universe, in a solid work lasting nearly an hour with much realistic detail and descriptive power.

Read more http://www.fmq.fi/articles/ar_2000_2_ht.html

Sounds very interesting. Thanks for the link.

[Christo]

Vitezlava Kaprilova, Dezider Kardos, Mieczyslav Karlowicz, Willem Kersters, Karen Kachaturian, Tikhon Khrenikov, Uuno Klami, Lev Knipper, Jonas Kokkonen, Charles Koechlin, Marc Kopytman, Toivo Kuula, E.W.Korngold, .....Pal Kadosa, Miloslav Kabelac, Viktor Kalabis, Gia Kancheli, Zoltan Kodaly, Ernst Krenek, Uros Krek, Hans Kox.....Wilhelm Kempf, Jan Koetsier, Dimitri Kabalevsky, Eugene Kapp, Herman D.Koppel...are all composers.

Definitely so. Never heard music by Kaprilova, Krek or Kados - but enjoyed most of the others, and especially so: Klami, Kokkonen, Koechlin, Kancheli, Kodály, Kabalevsky, Kapp and Koppel!

(Not to mention personal favourites like Cyrillus Kreek, Bronius Kutavičius or Alemdar Karamanov).

[Harry]

Definitely so. Never heard music by Kaprilova, Krek or Kados - but enjoyed most of the others, and especially so: Klami, Kokkonen, Koechlin, Kancheli, Kodály, Kabalevsky, Kapp and Koppel!

(Not to mention personal favourites like Cyrillus Kreek, Bronius Kutavičius or Alemdar Karamanov).

My head spins allready.
And I thought I had many unknown composers in my collection......

[vandermolen]

Another vote for Koppel especially his Symphony No 2 (DaCapo)

[techniquest]

If there are any 'K's worth looking up, then Korndorff should be near the top of anyones list! His Sempre Tutti (Hymn 1) is a masterpiece (IMHO).
For me, the Naxos label has done more to promote interest and accessibility in new composers / compositions over the last 10 years or so than any other branch of recorded music. It is such a shame that the Naxos rack is shrinking so rapidly in HMV and Virgin (or whatever they're called these days) record stores. One of my favourite Naxos discoveries has been Kilar (oooh - another 'K')!