(http://www.polmic.pl/foto/TansmanAleksander.jpg)
Tansman is certainly not getting the love he deserves on GMG. Though I doubt whether this thread will change that. ;D
Born in Łódź, he spent a large part of his life in France. He even became French citizen, though he referred to himself as a Polish composer all his life.
Not only was he a composer but also one of Stravinsky's first biographers (1948).
He was a prolific composer but his output is a bit uneven.
I once posted one of his ballets in the Broadcast Corner (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,42.msg61438.html#msg61438) - it should be still available.
Well, I hope others will have more substantial comments to make. ::) Or maybe some recordings to recommend?
As you probably know, Chandos is recording all of Tansman's nine symphonies with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Oleg Caetani(so of Igor Markevitch). So far they have released nos. 4-9 although I have only heard Nos. 4-6 so far. Certainly Tansman does appear a serious and worthy composer following in the neo-classical vein of mid-period Stravinsky. I have found the music I have heard to date a little on the dry side but am not yet familiar enough to comment further.
(Incidentally, isn't it odd that Chandos should use an Australian orchestra from Melbourne to record Polish music and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra to record their series of the music of the Australian Malcolm Williamson! Who decides these things? Presumably in the case of the Tansman the interest of Caetani.)
Quote from: Dundonnell on August 29, 2007, 03:50:17 PM
(Incidentally, isn't it odd that Chandos should use an Australian orchestra from Melbourne to record Polish music and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra to record their series of the music of the Australian Malcolm Williamson! Who decides these things? Presumably in the case of the Tansman the interest of Caetani.)
;D
Admittedly the music is a bit dry, yes - I sometimes have this sensation of a restrained something, not quite sure what - as if it was ready to burst but ultimately the energy remains hidden beneath the surface... But I must say that with time I started to appreciate that quality (it's a bit vexing but at least uncommon ;)) and nowadays I don't even see (hear) it as clearly as I used to. ;D Or maybe the pieces I listen to now are the better ones (as I said, he's pretty uneven but probably as good as Stravinsky when at his best).
I guess I should mention some of my favorite recordings. There's a very good Fourth with Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski at the helm (an up-and-coming young conductor) on DUX 0542.
The real highlights of the disc are the other pieces though: the lovely, serene Variations sur un theme de Frescobaldi (1937), and the Quatre danses polonaises (1931) - positively bursting with vivacious energy (like the Allegro giocoso from the 4th)! There's also a nice Bach transcription added as filler - it's part of a two part cycle though... Can't really understand why they only gave half of it (the timing of the disc is under an hour!)... ???
This disc is also excellent: PRCD085-2 (Duczmal series, vol. 2, Tansman-Meyer-Panufnik-Kilar).
It has only one Tansman piece (the Triptique a cordes) but what a performance! And the rest of the CD is great too.
The newest release in the Agnieszka Duczmal (vol. 12) series is dedicated solely to Tansman, I haven't got it (yet) though.
Wasn't Tansmans String Quartets available at a time? Any idea if recordings of these are still available, and any views on them (I'm currently on a mission to expand my collection of string quartets)?
Quote from: erato on August 29, 2007, 10:48:29 PM
Wasn't Tansmans String Quartets available at a time? Any idea if recordings of these are still available, and any views on them (I'm currently on a mission to expand my collection of string quartets)?
What a coincidence! I was just skimming through Amazon yesterday, and they show the complete
Tansman string quartets are available.
http://www.amazon.com/Alexandre-Tansman-Complete-String-Quartet/dp/B0000000RJ/ref=sr_1_3/104-8532712-1747938?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188473714&sr=1-3
They also announce an October release date for the
Symphonies 7-9.
His complete SQs were recorded by the Silesian String Quartet (http://www.silesian-quartet.art.pl/):
1992 ETCETERA RECORDS B.V.AMSTERDAM (KTC 2017)
I've never seen the CD itself but I have one of the quartets recorded from the radio. Don't know if there are any other recordings??
Quote from: Cato on August 30, 2007, 03:36:22 AM
http://www.amazon.com/Alexandre-Tansman-Complete-String-Quartet/dp/B0000000RJ/ref=sr_1_3/104-8532712-1747938?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188473714&sr=1-3
That's the same set. ;D
I knew Cato would enter the building! :D
Quote from: karlhenning on August 30, 2007, 04:13:56 AM
I knew Cato would enter the building! :D
Aye, and thanks also to Maciek for explaining the CD with the "Orchestral Works" by Tansman. The Amazon listing for it has no details of what is on the CD! Frustrating!
What's amazing is how these two 4ths have similar covers:
[asin]B00004TDGW[/asin][asin]B000RGSVUS[/asin]
Here's a link to my radio Bric-a-brac recording:
Aleksander Tansman Bric-a-Brac. Ballet music
Sylwia Mierzejewska solo violin
Polish Radio Orchestra
Wojciech Michniewski
Quote from: Maciek on August 30, 2007, 10:34:07 AM
What's amazing is how these two 4ths have similar covers:
(http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ETMNQ07GL._AA240_.jpg) (http://www.amazon.com/Tansman-Bric-Brac-Symphony-No/dp/B00004TDGW/ref=sr_1_8/002-0628914-3893645?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188498528&sr=1-8)(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ga9J5w8aL._AA240_.jpg) (http://www.amazon.com/Tansman-Works-Orchestra-Alexandre/dp/B000RGSVUS/ref=sr_1_6/002-0628914-3893645?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188498528&sr=1-6)
I have the one on the left, and it's terrific. Thanks to
Lilas Pastia :D for introducing me to this remarkable composer, and to
Maciek for starting this thread. Am reading these comments on other recordings with great interest.
--Bruce
While perusing this site: http://www.musimem.com/tansman_eng.htm, I discovered that Tansman had written a Concerto for alto and orchestra. Does anyone know if it has been recorded? :-*
The only Tansman I know are his piano music, which I enjoy and listen to about once a year. (With the number of CDs I have, that is quite frequent!) I have never heard his orchestral or chamber music. I am willing to look out for them. He seems a composer worth exploring.
Bumping the thread for Harry's benefit. ;)
All the Tansman I have heard inclines me to hear more & more.
I've actually now got some of the CDs I mentioned earlier as "on my wishlist" (like the SQs set). But
this is turning out to be real problem:
Quote from: Maciek on August 29, 2007, 04:15:24 PM
The newest release in the Agnieszka Duczmal series is dedicated solely to Tansman, I haven't got it (yet) though.
Would you believe it if I told you I have already bought this one TWICE, and had to return it each time? :'( First time - the CD was faulty (had a blemish on the playable side). Second time - they actually sent me a different volume from the same series (and one I already had ::)) - and it turned out they couldn't exchange it for what I wanted, because they didn't have it! >:( I'm gathering courage to try one more time (the only problem: it's getting more and more difficult to find :-\). Talk about jinxed recordings... ;D
Still waiting for Chandos to issue Symphonies Nos. 1-3!
Quote from: Maciek on July 08, 2008, 06:01:48 AM
Bumping the thread for Harry's benefit. ;)
Thanks will read my way through it! ;D
(http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Catalogue/CatalogueImages/CHSA%205065.jpeg)
The SACD Volume 3 (http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details06.asp?CNumber=CHSA%205065) in the CHANDOS Tansman Symphonies series is out (since September 1st). 8) Accoring to their newsletter it will be available for download in October.
Thanks, Maciek!
--Bruce
The new CD has just finished playing on my machine :)
The 2nd Symphony has a lovely, if slighty cheesy slow movement while the 3rd is a real exercise in neo-baroque meets jazzy jollity :)
If you like the Martinu of the 20s and early 30s you will like the 3rd :)
Wow! You're quick! Thanks for the mini-review! :D
Which is the best symphony? I only have No 5 with Stele in Memory of Stravinsky etc on Marco Polo. I also find it a bit dry but feel that I need to know this composer a bit better.
I think Tansman wrote a concerto or some similar kind of solo piece for bassoon which is sometimes played in auditions and exams at music academies, at least that seems to be the only context in which I have heard his name.
Quote from: vandermolen on September 20, 2008, 10:38:48 PM
Which is the best symphony? I only have No 5 with Stele in Memory of Stravinsky etc on Marco Polo. I also find it a bit dry but feel that I need to know this composer a bit better.
Oh..I wish that I could be more helpful here. My difficulty is that I have found Tansman an ultimately rather unmemorable composer. Technically proficient, elegant, vigorous music heavily influenced by Stravinsky and, to an extent Ravel and Prokofiev. But at the end of the day little really lingers with me or entices me back to listen again :(
The advantage of the Chandos series is that you get Nos. 4-6 and Nos. 7-9 on two discs which does have the merit of allowing you to sample quite a bit of Tansman's symphonic style. If I recall correctly, Nos. 6 and 9 made most impression on me but I can't be absolutely sure of that ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 21, 2008, 08:45:44 AM
Oh..I wish that I could be more helpful here. My difficulty is that I have found Tansman an ultimately rather unmemorable composer. Technically proficient, elegant, vigorous music heavily influenced by Stravinsky and, to an extent Ravel and Prokofiev. But at the end of the day little really lingers with me or entices me back to listen again :(
The advantage of the Chandos series is that you get Nos. 4-6 and Nos. 7-9 on two discs which does have the merit of allowing you to sample quite a bit of Tansman's symphonic style. If I recall correctly, Nos. 6 and 9 made most impression on me but I can't be absolutely sure of that ;D
Thanks Colin. I think I'll stick with my Marco Polo CD ;D
Quote from: M forever on September 20, 2008, 11:33:20 PM
I think Tansman wrote a concerto or some similar kind of solo piece for bassoon which is sometimes played in auditions and exams at music academies, at least that seems to be the only context in which I have heard his name.
Well, the list of works that I linked to somewhere above seems to be gone and I have nowhere else to check. Maybe you mean his Sonatine for bassoon and piano? Available on this disc (http://merlin.pl/II-Festiwal-Aleksandra-Tansmana-W-Lodzi-1998_Blazej-Dowlasz-Jozsef-Gabor-Waldemar/browse/product/4,289031.html).
Oddly enough, I have another recording of this same piece where it is called "Suite for basson and piano"?? ;D I haven't go a clue as to which version is correct...
Does anybody know the (complete) Le tour de monde en miniature for piano? I'm impressed by the 3 pieces I've heard and wonder if the rest are just as captivating.
"2nd International Competition of Musical Personalities" ?? ?? ?
Quote from: Dax on December 13, 2008, 10:16:22 AM
Does anybody know the (complete) Le tour de monde en miniature for piano? I'm impressed by the 3 pieces I've heard and wonder if the rest are just as captivating.
Well, what I have is a recording of 15 pieces and I assume that's the complete set. They are all very short (the whole cycle is just over 21 minutes, at least as played by Waldemar Malicki). The
tour is generally very good, one of my favorite Tansman pieces. I should add that I don't know much of his piano music so can't really say how it compares to his other piano pieces. Among the ones I do know
Quatre danses polonaises are really great, another favorite - and they are also available in an excellent chamber orchestra version.
Quote from: karlhenning on December 13, 2008, 12:41:00 PM
"2nd International Competition of Musical Personalities" ?? ?? ?
Well, you know what they say - sometimes a little personality can go a long way...
Quote from: Maciek on January 04, 2009, 04:10:20 AM
Well, what I have is a recording of 15 pieces and I assume that's the complete set. They are all very short (the whole cycle is just over 21 minutes, at least as played by Waldemar Malicki). The tour is generally very good, one of my favorite Tansman pieces. I should add that I don't know much of his piano music so can't really say how it compares to his other piano pieces. Among the ones I do know Quatre danses polonaises are really great, another favorite - and they are also available in an excellent chamber orchestra version.
Thanks for that, Maciek. Malicki's recording (which I've been on the lookout for) is the complete set. The three I've heard (relating to the music of Java and Japan) seem extremely well written and observed - sounds as though the others are equally as interesting.
You're welcome. If the ones you've already heard are Java and Japan, then you're bound to enjoy the whole cycle - those are very representative (the "jazzy" American piece which comes first is a bit unlike all the others - mind you, it's great fun, just less representative of the whole set).
The choice of countries in the cycle is very interesting too: it's as un-Eurocentric as could be imagined, with only one European entrant (Naples!), and in a sense - this is not a "complete" tour at all. ;D
BTW, I'm not sure if Malicki's recording has been released on CD. I have it on cassette - and I wouldn't mind getting a CD version myself. ;D
Quote from: Maciek on January 08, 2009, 05:23:34 AM
BTW, I'm not sure if Malicki's recording has been released on CD.
It has.
http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Polish-Piano-Music-Paderewski/dp/B00000E2I7/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1231429467&sr=1-5
A bit pricey, that one.
Damn! How could I have missed that? I have never seen that cover before. Hm, secondhand copies of discs from that series are usually very cheap over here but very difficult to come by...
(Funny thing is - I have Rinko Kobayashi's Paderewski on cassette as well. The Fugue is quite cool but then I generally like fugues...)
Quote from: Maciek on September 21, 2008, 12:07:15 PM
Well, the list of works that I linked to somewhere above seems to be gone and I have nowhere else to check. Maybe you mean his Sonatine for bassoon and piano? Available on this disc (http://merlin.pl/II-Festiwal-Aleksandra-Tansmana-W-Lodzi-1998_Blazej-Dowlasz-Jozsef-Gabor-Waldemar/browse/product/4,289031.html).
Oddly enough, I have another recording of this same piece where it is called "Suite for basson and piano"?? ;D I haven't go a clue as to which version is correct...
On second thought: the movement titles are a dead give away. It's a "sonatine". :)
The plot thickens...
Movement titles notwithstanding, Tansman appears to have written both a Suite and a Sonatine for bassoon and piano. Both available on this "new" Acte Prealable release (it appears to have been released in 2007 but they still have it listed in their "new releases" section...):
AP0167 (http://www.acteprealable.com/albums/new_ap0167.html)
After obtaining to all three of the Chandos releases and listening to two I am decidedly underwhelmed. I would agree that the music is well crafted, but it just seems to go by without making much of an impression, sort of like ultra-polite neoclassical Stravinsky. I've already sold the two I've listened to, the question is whether I sell the third before or after I try to listen to it.
Quote from: nut-job on February 19, 2009, 07:26:53 AM
I've already sold the two I've listened to, the question is whether I sell the third before or after I try to listen to it.
Well, if you ever decide you want to just
give the disc away, just PM me. I'll be happy to help. ;D
Quote from: Maciek on February 19, 2009, 11:28:42 AM
Well, if you ever decide you want to just give the disc away, just PM me. I'll be happy to help. ;D
Fortunately for me (but not for you) these are relatively new releases and still fetch a decent prime on Amazon marketplace.
Well, if you ever change your mind, my offer stands - I'll be glad to help.
Just noticed that Chandos released a disc of Tansman's piano music back in June. Anyone heard it?
Thought I would resurrect this thread since it's last post was in 09. I listened to Tansman's Symphony No. 4 and have to say that the music did little for me. It was quite well-crafted, but craft alone doesn't make a composition click for me. There has to be much more, much, much more. His debt to Stravinsky is obvious, but, at the same time, Tansman isn't really coming up with anything unique either. He'll throw in a little jazz here or there, but Ravel, Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Gershwin did this much better. As another poster said, I think it was Colin (?), but they said the music was unmemorable and indeed it was. It doesn't have that extra bit of spice Prokofiev or Stravinsky has. Tansman obviously had a great musical ability, he was a virtuoso pianist, but musical ability doesn't always translate to being a great composer. You have to have a wild imagination and I think Tansman's music, or at least from this symphony, seemed to lack much of an original concept and a compositional voice.
Very well put :)
I've been exploring the music of Tansman recently, and have been very impressed with his works for clarinet (chamber music and concerti).
[asin]B000OQDRX2[/asin]
[asin]B004OZRPDM[/asin]
More recently I've listened to this disc.
[asin]B007HOEZKS[/asin]
The concertino for piano and orchestra is a wonderful piece, bursting with neoclassical energy, perhaps in the manner of works by Stravinsky for the same combination of instruments. I was also very impressed with two orchestral pieces which were written in recognition of the deaths of composers Tansman was close to, Milhaud and Stravinsky. These late pieces are in a freer style than the early works of Tansman, and strike me more as homages to the works of those composers than mourning pieces. Both are full of arresting sonorities and moods. This is an example of taking a chance on a disc, and having a pleasant surprise.
Next on the list is probably the string quartets, which I managed to acquire recently but never found time to listen to.
I'd love to know what his Masterpiece is. I was just checking him a few days ago.
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 11, 2011, 04:30:11 PM
Thought I would resurrect this thread since it's last post was in 09. I listened to Tansman's Symphony No. 4 and have to say that the music did little for me. It was quite well-crafted, but craft alone doesn't make a composition click for me. There has to be much more, much, much more. His debt to Stravinsky is obvious, but, at the same time, Tansman isn't really coming up with anything unique either. He'll throw in a little jazz here or there, but Ravel, Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Gershwin did this much better. As another poster said, I think it was Colin (?), but they said the music was unmemorable and indeed it was. It doesn't have that extra bit of spice Prokofiev or Stravinsky has. Tansman obviously had a great musical ability, he was a virtuoso pianist, but musical ability doesn't always translate to being a great composer. You have to have a wild imagination and I think Tansman's music, or at least from this symphony, seemed to lack much of an original concept and a compositional voice.
I have a few Tansman discs, including that symphony disc, and I agree completely. Curiously enough I could have substituted Tcherepnin
fils in the above paragraph and it would have covered my opinion on him as well.....
I could've sworn this Thread was up not too long ago?
Anyway, Tansman has been caught up in my post-Stravinsky trawling, along with LesSix and the rest of the Frenchies. I'm finding Tansman's wind work a little more anonymous than his cohorts...
I have:
Suite for ww trio
'Sorcerer...' ww/pf sextet
Nonet for ww/str
I did try the String Quartets at one point... eh... can anyone point me to the best one? I did NOT care for No.1 'Trypich'(?). One or two other tries with Tansman is about all I'm up for. Apparently, he was good chums with Igor in Hollywood, and his earlier music is much more indicative of his range as he became an acolyte musically after the 40s?
Quote from: snyprrr on October 16, 2017, 08:06:41 AMOne or two other tries with Tansman is about all I'm up for.
Did you consider any of the works I mentioned in my post above from 2012? I found a lot to enjoy in those works.
I really like Tansman's 4th and 5th symphonies, which have been recorded by Chandos. They have very inventive orchestration and more depth than I was expecting (based on some reviews that I had read). Anyone who enjoys, say, Roussel, Honegger, or Martinu will enjoy these works (though not to say that Tansman really "sounds like" these composers).
Listened to the 4th and 5th symphonies again. I think Tansman is at his best in the lighthearted parts of these works. The fugato finale of the 4th and the scherzo of the 5th were very engaging. In the slow movements I have the impression of music with a lot of texture but without a strong main idea which is being conveyed. In the same way that people will characterize Medner as "Rachmaninoff without tunes" Tansman gives the impression of neoclassical Stravinsky without tunes. I came across another recording of the 4th (Yinon on Koch) which I may listen to next.
I continue to feel that Tansman's best work is in his chamber music.
After listening to another performance of the 4th symphony, my impression is completely changed.
[asin]B00004TDGW[/asin]
This recording by Yinon on the Koch label seems almost like another piece of music. Whereas the Caetani recording of Chandos seemed to have a sonic palette consisting of different shades of grey, Yinon finds bright colour in this music. Particularly remarkable are the outer movements. The first movement slow introduction exhibits rich sonorities and harmonies that I did not appreciate in Olegs recording, and the finale in Yinon's recording just seems infinitely more colourful. Doing a little comparison, I think the issue with Oleg use of tempos that are to fast to let the music breath. Yinon's first movement is about 12 minutes, vs about 9 minutes for Caetani!
Last night was my Tansman catch-up... besides what I already have, these discs seemed to me to hold the most promise. Will go back through Thread later:
NAXOS Clarinet disc(s)
Vol.4 of the Chandos Cycle
CPO with 'Stele' and left-hand PC
So, basically, is this Tansman?"
1) 1920-1940
Developing his own brand of what sounds to me like Martinu+Malipiero
2) The 1940s
Apparently the influence of Stravinsky looms over this NeoClassical phase... all I know is I found these works, including the
Symphonies 5-8, not particularly to my liking
3) Later Music
I really enjoyed the 'Stele' and 'Elegie' from the '70s, he now reminds me of the Polish Colorists, maybe like Baird and Bacewz
This disc has some arresting music. It's Tansman in a more restrained mood. The Concerto for Orchestra did the least favourable impression on me, but the Six Etudes and Capriccio are wonderful, above all the latter. The slow movements of the two aforementioned works are imbued with a striking use of the orchestra to conjure up intriguing soundscapes and atmospheres.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.223757.jpg)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 18, 2023, 09:22:02 AMThis disc has some arresting music. It's Tansman in a more restrained mood. The Concerto for Orchestra did the least favourable impression on me, but the Six Etudes and Capriccio are wonderful, above all the latter. The slow movements of the two aforementioned works are imbued with a striking use of the orchestra to conjure up intriguing soundscapes and atmospheres.
(https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.223757.jpg)
I haven't heard the works on this CD, but can attest that some of Tansman's most interesting orchestral works are those in "non-traditional" forms. One of the most striking ones I've encountered is the late (1967-68)
Quatre mouvements pour orchestre, which, as you say, contains some really imaginative orchestration and rather unsettling "modernist" effects, all in all while remaining a relatively accessible work. It can be found on this Chandos CD, which also contains another Tansman favorite of mine, the jazzy/neoclassical Symphony no. 3
Symphonie concertante for piano, violin, viola, cello, and orchestra:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/71HrWXnumDS._SX425_.jpg)
Also, I'm sure I've previously professed my love for his colorful and jazzy ballet
Bric à Brac, finely recorded on CPO:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/A1kRlmqan1L._SX425_.jpg)