Walter Braunfels will be one of the next big 're-discoveries', much in the way M.Weinberg has been over the last 10 years.
His music is undeniable, once the ears get a taste.
Notes from the 2013 Salzburg Festival ( 5 )
Walter Braunfels • Jeanne D'Arc
The Would-Be Future of Opera at Stake
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPkrK-57VLU/UfFuIMEi-QI/AAAAAAAAGt8/hWkrJhEEoRs/s1600/notesfromthesalzburgfestival2013.jpg)
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2013/08/notes-from-2013-salzburg-festival-5.html (http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2013/08/notes-from-2013-salzburg-festival-5.html)
Not posts besides Jens here?!?!? :o Well, let me add that every work I've heard from Braunfels (so far) has been absolutely first-rate. I only own the two recordings of orchestral works on Dutton, but I did manage to snag the CPO recording (w/ Dennis Russell Davies conducting) for a great price. Anyway, this composer should be better known as it's melodic, dramatic, and well-crafted music. There are also many moving moments in the works I've heard so far, especially the Adagio in the Piano Concerto.
from the New Grove:
Braunfels, Walter
(b Frankfurt, 19 Dec 1882; d Cologne, 19 March 1954). German composer. At an early age he demonstrated strong musical gifts which were encouraged by his mother, a pianist who was a great-niece of Louis Spohr and a friend of Liszt and Clara Schumann. Braunfels began studying the piano at the age of 12 with James Kwast at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. He studied law and economics at the University of Munich, but after hearing a performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde under Mottl he decided to devote his energies to music. In 1902 he went to Vienna to study the piano with Leschetizky and after a year attained a level of virtuosity sufficient to enable him to pursue a successful career as a concert pianist for many years. He returned to Munich to study composition with Thuille, and also served under Mottl at the Nationaltheater. In 1925 he became co-director of the newly constituted Cologne Hochschule für Musik with the conductor Hermann Abendroth.
A determined opponent of the Nazis, Braunfels was removed from this post in 1933 on account of being half-Jewish. Although his music was officially proscribed during the Third Reich, Braunfels refused to leave Germany, withdrawing instead into self-imposed exile at Lake Constance where, in isolation, he continued to compose. In 1945 he was again summoned to Cologne in order to rebuild the Hochschule, and was made professor emeritus in 1950.
Like many composers of his generation, Braunfels was profoundly influenced by Wagner. But he was equally inspired by the orchestral virtuosity and fantasy of Berlioz's music to which he paid homage in the orchestral piece Phantastische Erscheinungen eines Themas von Hector Berlioz (1917). His first breakthrough came with the opera Prinzessin Brambilla which enjoyed a successful première under Schillings in Stuttgart in 1909. The work, based on a story by Hoffmann, is a typical post-Wagnerian fairy tale opera in the manner of such contemporaries as Humperdinck, Klose and Pfitzner. A greater individuality is manifested in his second staged opera Die Vögel (1920), based on Aristophanes' comedy. Here the romantic ardour and the sense of longing for unearthly spiritual values struck a chord in a Germany trying to recover from World War I. Enthusiastically championed by Bruno Walter in Munich, it quickly established a place in many German opera houses during the early 1920s. Further success came with his next opera Don Gil von den grünen Hosen (1924), a work distinguished for its skilfully conceived sequence of through-composed ensemble scenes coloured with elements of Spanish folklore.
By 1925 Braunfels ranked with Strauss and Schreker as one of the most popular of contemporary German opera composers. But his non-operatic compositions also gained considerable respect. Influential conductors such as Furtwängler performed the Phantastische Erscheinungen and the brilliant Don Juan: eine klassich-romantische Phantasmagorie (1923), while Abendroth gave the immensely successful premières of the Te Deum (1921) and the Grosse Messe (1926). In the latter works, Braunfels moved away from the late Romantic language of the early operas to a more austere neo-Baroque style, the massive sonorities of which almost recall those of Bruckner. This austerity became even more pronounced after Braunfels had been removed from his post in Cologne in 1933. During this period he was increasingly drawn to religious and mystical subjects, collaborating for example with the poet Paul Claudel on the opera Verkündigung, composed during the first years of the Nazi regime but first performed only in 1948. Near the end of World War II Braunfels turned to chamber music, composing three string quartets and a string quintet, works of great formal concentration which reveal the profound influence of Beethoven.
Although Braunfels was rehabilitated after 1945, his music no longer enjoyed the same level of esteem as in the 1920s. Considered old-fashioned and reactionary in the context of postwar musical developments, his work was quickly forgotten. However, a revival of interest in Braunfels took place during the 1990s with performances of Die Vögel in Bremen (1991) and Berlin (1994), and a subsequent recording of the opera released in 1996.
Selected Works
Chamber Piano
===================== ====================================
String Quartet, a, Op.60, 1944; Kleine Kette, 6 pieces, op.55
String Quartet, F, Op.61, 1944; Variations, op.46, 2 pianos
String Quintet, f, Op.63, 1944–5; Toccata, Adagio, & Fugue in f, Op.43, organ
String Quartet, e, Op.67, 1946–7 Kleine Stücke, op.24, pf 4 hands
Concerti
======================
Conc., op.49, Cello, orch, inc.;
Konzertstück, c, op.64, Piano, orch, 1946;
Musik, op.68, Violin, Viola, 2 Horns, str orch, 1947;
Symphonia brevis, op.69, 1948;
Hebriden-Tänze, op.70, Piano, orch, 1950–51
Piano Conc., A, 1911
Konzert fur Orgel, Knabenchor und Orchester, Op.38, 1927
Schottische Fantasie, op.47, va, orch, 1932–3;
Orchestral
======================================
Orchester Suite, op.48, 1933–6;
Phantastische Erscheinungen eines Themas von Hector Berlioz, op.25, 1917
Serenade, E, op.20, chbr orch, 1909
Suite from Der gläserne Berg, op.39b, chbr orch, 1928
Carnaval Ov. to E.T.A. Hoffmann's Prinzessin Brambilla, op.22, 1912
Sym. Variations on an old French children's song, op.15, 1909;
'Don Juan' a Phantasmagoria for Large Orchestra (1924)
The only piece I know since it was one of the few western works being played in China when I was little, is the Skater's Waltz.
That is a walz by mr. Waldteufel, Spring!
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/935/MI0000935292.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
On You Tube one can find a good performance of Braunfels' Te deum from the Koncertgebouw and a recent recording of the rather odd, but fascinating concerto for organ, orchestra and (a brief appearance of a) boys choir.
I find some ofthe purely orchestral works a bit rambling... His chamber works I have to discover yet.
Peter
Oops!
The Quintet and the String Quartets are solid works.
(http://cdn.dodax.com/images/0202/420/730/0765387730420-1200px-002.jpg)
I hope someone is working on the violin & viola concerto, the cello concerto, and others. If anyone has read of such stuff coming down the pipe, please share.
Quote from: Scion7 on October 20, 2015, 12:40:04 PM
I hope someone is working on the violin concerto, the cello concerto, and others. If anyone has read of such stuff coming down the pipe, please share.
That would be VERY interesting, indeed. But they would have to be written first. There's an organ concerto and a piano concerto and a Konzertstueck quasi-Piano-Concerto... but neither one for Violin or Cello. (For which Braunfels composed little to nothing, incidentally.)
Quote from: Scion7 on October 20, 2015, 12:36:44 PM
(http://cdn.dodax.com/images/0202/420/730/0765387730420-1200px-002.jpg)
Yes, this is one of the Dutton recordings I own and it is splendid. 8)
Quote from: jlaurson on October 20, 2015, 04:11:40 PM
That would be VERY interesting, indeed. But they would have to be written first. There's an organ concerto and a piano concerto and a Konzertstueck quasi-Piano-Concerto... but neither one for Violin or Cello. (For which Braunfels composed little to nothing, incidentally.)
^ Scroll back for what the New Grove has listed for him, either published or in manuscript. Look under concerti.
More information on Braunfels and his works published (or not) finished (or not) etc here: http://www.walter-braunfels.de/wb-html/deutsch/werkverzeichnis-2
(https://www.galileomusic.de/cover/400/oc411.jpg)
Konzert für Orgel, Knabenchor und Orchester op. 38 (1927)
1.Fantasie10:49
2.Choral (,,Sei gegrüßet, Jungfraue, Wohnung Gottes, reinstes Licht") – Interludium16:41
3.Fuge (mit Choral ,,Zion hört die Wächter singen")08:49
Toccata, Adagio und Fuge f-Moll op. 43 für Orgel (1933–1942)
4.Toccata05:09
5.Adagio.07:16
6.Fuge07:55
Symphonische Variationen
über ein altfranzösisches Kinderlied op. 15 für Orchester (1909)
7.Variationen16:18
Peter
I was looking at Scion7's post of Braunfels' oeuvre and shouldn't Schottische Fantasie be listed under concerti? This feels like a viola concerto in all but a name. If I remember correctly, there's even a cadenza for the instrument (which the instrument, among other things, has a major contribution to the work as a whole).
From the Braunfels website:
Solo instruments and orchestra / Soloinstrumente und Orchester
Hebridentänze op. 70 (1950–1951)
for piano and orchestra — 25'
2 2 2 2 – 4 2 1 1 – timp, perc, hp, str
première: 08/12/1952, Karlsruhe
Edition Gravis
Hexensabbat op. 8 (1906)
for piano and orchestra — 8'
3 3 3 2 – 4 2 3 1 – timp, perc, str
Family Archive
Konzert für Klavier und Orchester op. 21 (1911)
concerto for piano and orchestra (A major) — 30'
3 3 4 3 – 4 3 3 1 – timp, perc, hp, str
première: 20/11/1911, Berlin. Siegmund von Hausegger, Walter Braunfels, pno
F. E. C. Leuckart Verlag
Konzertstück op. 64 (1946)
concerto for piano and orchestra (C sharp minor) — 16'
2 2 2 2 – 4 2 0 0 – timp, perc, str
première: 29/09/1946, Hamburg. Eugen Jochum / Walter Braunfels
Ricordi
Schottische Phantasie op. 47 (1932–1933)
for viola solo and orchestra — 30'
2 2(+bass cl) 2 – 4 2 1 0 – timp, hp, str
première: 06/12/1933, Winterthur. Walter Braunfels / Oscar Kromer
Robert Forberg / Ricordi
Sinfonia concertante op. 68 (1947)
for violin solo, viola solo, two horns and string orchestra — 30'
première: 04/1949, Hamburg. Eugen Jochum
Edition Gravis
Tag und Nachtstücke(1933–1934)
for oblig. piano and orchestra — 30'
2 2 2 2 – 4 2 2 0 – timp, perc, hp, str
(posthumous work, formerly op. 44)
Family Archive
changed
Latest on Forbes.com:
Classical CD Of The Week: Revelation Of A Mystery Play (http://bit.ly/CDoftheWeek010a)
Alongside Mieczysław Weinberg (Passenger and especially Idiot), Walter Braunfels is the greatest
among least known opera composers. (Needless to say, he was given an overdue chapter in the
new, second edition of Surprised by Beauty, Robert Reilly's "Listener's Guide to the Recovery of
20th Century of Music" for which it was my privilege to contribute this particular chapter.) Record-
ings of Jeanne D'Arc and at last a new recording of The Annunciation show Braunfels at his best...
(http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2016/05/Forbes_Classica-CD-of-the-Week_BR-KLASSIK_Braunfels_Annunciation_Banse_Schirmer_Munich-Radio-Symphony-Orchestra_Laurson_1200-1200x469.jpg)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/04/20/classical-cd-of-the-week-living-history-mozart/ (http://bit.ly/CDoftheWeek010a)
I can recommend the disc below (should it appear). The late Sinfonia Brevis is a powerful/valedictory work with echoes of Mahler, Bruckner, Reger and Hindemith. It is a powerful gritty and monolithic type work. The Suite from 'The Glass Mountain' is a charming and atmospheric fairy-tale type work which reminded me a bit of Josef Suk. The earlier Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song (1909) is excellent too - I like every work on this disc.
[asin]B00SKCAKVO[/asin]
Quote from: jlaurson on May 11, 2016, 02:24:23 AM
Latest on Forbes.com:
Classical CD Of The Week: Revelation Of A Mystery Play (http://bit.ly/CDoftheWeek010)
Alongside Mieczysław Weinberg (Passenger and especially Idiot), Walter Braunfels is the greatest
among least known opera composers. (Needless to say, he was given an overdue chapter in the
new, second edition of Surprised by Beauty, Robert Reilly's "Listener's Guide to the Recovery of
20th Century of Music" for which it was my privilege to contribute this particular chapter.) Record-
ings of Jeanne D'Arc and at last a new recording of The Annunciation show Braunfels at his best...
(http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2016/05/Forbes_Classica-CD-of-the-Week_BR-KLASSIK_Braunfels_Annunciation_Banse_Schirmer_Munich-Radio-Symphony-Orchestra_Laurson_1200-1200x469.jpg)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/04/20/classical-cd-of-the-week-living-history-mozart/ (http://bit.ly/CDoftheWeek010)
That link didn't work. That said, I think you wanted this one:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/05/04/classical-cd-of-the-week-revelation-of-a-mystery-play/#58443b3b4970 (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/05/04/classical-cd-of-the-week-revelation-of-a-mystery-play/#58443b3b4970)
Quote from: mc ukrneal on May 11, 2016, 04:22:38 AM
That link didn't work. That said, I think you wanted this one:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/05/04/classical-cd-of-the-week-revelation-of-a-mystery-play/#58443b3b4970 (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2016/05/04/classical-cd-of-the-week-revelation-of-a-mystery-play/#58443b3b4970)
Damn, you're right. Thanks for pointing it out and correcting.
The 10 Best Classical Recordings Of 2016
An extra spot on the Top 10: #11 Braunfels: http://bit.ly/Forbes_Best_Classical_Recordings_2016_New
(http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2017/01/Forbes-Best-Classical-Recordings-of-2016-N11-Braunfels_BBC_Wildner_Dutton_laurson-1200x470.jpg?width=960) (http://bit.ly/Forbes_Best_Classical_Recordings_2016_New)
"Sinfonia Brevis"
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/611DubOosIL.jpg)
Right now, I'm finishing listening to the Te Deum. Splendid music, a piece of art. It conveys a heartwarming sense of grandeur, something contemplative that raises the spirit. The beginning of Aeterna fac is pure beauty, a subtle song of angels. The ending of the work couldn't be less than glorious.
Another great discovery this year.
I very much like Braunfels' Piano Concerto which has been recorded by Dutton. I must explore more of his music!
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81fEWhhHvuL._SY355_.jpg)
I share the sentiment of Kyle in liking the Piano Concerto. That work is simply fantastic! This should go to the category 'Pieces that have blown you away recently'. There is a positive energy permeating the work that you feel your spirit raised. And what about the 2nd movement? One of the greatest I've heard recently, clearly majestic! The 3rd movement has a theme based on the 18th century song Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, which is pretty catchy.
If you haven't heard it yet, do yourself a favor and give it a try!
It begins to dawn on me - too slowly, because too little concerned with German composers in general - that we're dealing here with yet another major rediscovery. ???
CPO will be releasing another revelationary disc, next month - I found the trailer very helfpful: https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/orchesterwerke/hnum/8930842
Interesting! Let's hope this recording of the Berlioz Apparitions is complete (the cpo recording of it omits a part as far as I'm concerned). The back cover is too small for further details.
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on February 05, 2019, 09:49:54 AM
Interesting! Let's hope this recording of the Berlioz Apparitions is complete (the cpo recording of it omits a part as far as I'm concerned). The back cover is too small for further details.
It IS the first complete recording!
What part is missing from the CPO disc ? Timings are almost identical (difference of slightly over 1 minute).
I found it: it's the 9th Apparition.
You beat me! Yes, it is.
From the WAYL thread:
Quote
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_900/845221052670.jpg?1464298915)
So recognizably Braunfels... the Mass is a huge work, some 15 minutes longer than Bruckner's 3rd Mass and as long as Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Patient, inexorable unfolding, head-spinning curls of incense-laden harmonies, unexpected melodic turns. Just when I was thinking the Credo was nice but overlong, too reverential, blissfully unaware of the dramatic opportunities arising from the familiar text, comes the stunning conclusion with its volutes of sound and stomach punching last chord. Wow ! That Credo is as long as the combined next 5 sections, in which Braunfels sends us in all kinds of directions, making up for the quasi-static pace and emotional fixedness that preceded. He achieves a kind of musical updraft, a whirlwind of aural sensations. Quite intoxicating.
Excellent performance from the mixed choirs (incl. an important contribution from the children's chorus), orchestra and soloists (very important parts for the soprano and bass). Very good sound, a little bit distant for my taste. Recorded in the Philharmonie, Berlin - not my favourite venue by far, but the sense of space is tangible and is to be counted an asset in such a big work. The enthusiastic program notes are by our own Jens F. Laurson ;) and make for an absorbing read. Many influences seem to have been detected by commentators. I will add another one: Schubert's E Flat Mass D. 950, another huge choral work where time seems suspended and proves to be much more than the sum of its (sometimes elusive) parts.
Cross-posted from the WAYL thread:
Quote
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51wstzaalZL.jpg)
Like Hindemith and Reger, Braunfels was a past master at the art of the orchestral Variations. The Fantastic Apparitions on a Theme of Hector Berlioz is presented here minus the 9th "apparition" (variation). Why? There was room on the disc to include it. The notes don't explain except to mention that it was "often the case in performances of the work". That's a lame excuse if you ask me. I guess I'll have to seek out the newly issued Capriccio disc to hear it.
Be that as it may, the work is very substantial at almost 50 minutes. The theme in question is the impish "Flea Song" from La Damnation de Faust. Amazing how it lends itself to all kinds of moods and transmogrifications.
The op. 20 Serenade is a 4 movement work in a standard symphonic cast. Maybe Braunfels wanted to avoid the term 'symphony', but that's pretty much what we have here, if maybe on a small scale for a late-romantic german work. The RSO Wien under Russell Davies play very well and the 2001 recording is spacious and very natural.
Quote from: André on May 09, 2019, 10:32:53 AM
The Fantastic Apparitions on a Theme of Hector Berlioz is presented here minus the 9th "apparition" (variation). Why? There was room on the disc to include it. The notes don't explain except to mention that it was "often the case in performances of the work". That's a lame excuse if you ask me. I guess I'll have to seek out the newly issued Capriccio disc to hear it.
Yes you do. And then read in the enthusiastic liner notes, why it was left out in the first place. :-)
Cross-posted from the WAYL thread:
Quote
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51PwngW5xeL.jpg)
Verkündigung (The Announcement) is neither an oratorio nor an opera, but a mystery play based closely on the Paul Claudel play L'Annonce faite à Marie. The action takes place in the Middle Ages (more precisely around 1430) and centres around the character of Violaine. Her childlike simplicity and innocence are met with mistrust, rejection and, ultimately, death. It is mystical, symbolic pietist stuff. Anyone with a liking for Honegger's Jeanne au bûcher (also written by Claudel) will have a head start appreciating the work.
Braunfels' music is often achingly beautiful, especially in the long Prologue and the last two acts (III-IV). This performance does the work proud at all levels. Russell Davies conducts fervently and the singing is never less than first rate, simply glorious in the case of Andrea Trauboth's ardent Violaine. The sound from the Cologne Radio (live, 1992) is clear and spacious. There is a more recent version from the Bavarian Radio (also live, from 2012) but I can't imagine it beating this one.
Gramophone has a good recension on the work and present recording. The author is spot on about the potential for polarization of Verkündigung: reactions ranging from 'a cult piece' for some to 'boring' or even 'repulsive' for others.
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/braunfels-verkündigung (https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/braunfels-verk%C3%BCndigung)
Polarisation potential indeed,
André ;) (and good day to you). This was my reaction some months ago:
Quote from: ritter on November 18, 2018, 09:41:47 AM
First listen to this rarity:
[asin]B00H87JYS2[/asin]
Walter Braunfels's Verkündigung is a setting (in German translation) of Paul Claudel's mystery play L'annonce faite à Marie, and thus can be seen as a reflection of i) the composer's fervent Catholicism after his conversion from Protestantism, ii) the allure Claudel's verse had for composers (cf. Honegger and Milhaud), and iii) the to me rather surprising positive reaction to Claudel's oeuvre in Germany (I remember once seeing a huge tome dealing with "Paul Claudel and the German Stage" in a bookstore in Berlin, but the subject matter was really too specialised for me to look into it any further).
This opera was completed in "internal exile" in 1935, but only premiered in 1948 (performances under the Nazi regime were out of the question >:(, as Braunfels was partly of Jewish descent). To be honest, I don't find Claudel's (early) play very alluring (a medieval story of self-renunciation, involving leprosy and the resurrection of a dead child), and Braunfel's late-romantic style, with a declamated singing line, becomes rather tedious. The best bits IMHO are some orchestral passages and accompaniments, but these are unfortunately few and far between. One reviewer (https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/2/Recordings/BRAUNFELS__Verk%C3%BCndigung.html) of another, more recent recording, points out that the work is almost entirely uninfluenced by Wagner, but I can't help but thinking that long stretches of it do remind me of Wagner (Siegfried, that is, not Richard ;)). Wagner junior's usually pagan medievalism sounds uncannily similar to Braunfel's Christian one... ::)
I'm glad you enjoyed
Verkündigung it more than I did, in any case. :)
I had read your comment when shopping for the work :).
I suspect that the vast majority of listeners will fall into the 'boring' camp. :D
Cross-posted from the 'Pieces (or is it works?) that blew you away recently' thread.
Quote
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/913WRRK29jL._SL425_.jpg)
Braunfels gave a diminutive title to his 1948 symphony, an author's caprice really, as the Sinfonia Brevis is anything but short (33 minutes) or small in scale. Cast in the regular 4 movements it packs a tremendous amount of symphonic weight and energy. Post-romantic and quasi atonal in places it is a more demanding piece than his other symphonic works. It felt at times as if Braunfels had uncovered the secret to Bruckner's 9th finale, dissected it and recast in 4 different movements. It evokes that work's vision of heaven, hell and the Great Beyond.
I note that vandermolen has also expressed his appreciation of the work ('powerful'). I think I'll explore the alternative version, issued on Capriccio.
Jens was certainly right to give this disc a special place in his Best of the Year - excellent description of the works, by the way !
Quote from: André on December 31, 2020, 01:21:53 PM
Cross-posted from the 'Pieces (or is it works?) that blew you away recently' thread.
I note that vandermolen has also expressed his appreciation of the work ('powerful'). I think I'll explore the alternative version, issued on Capriccio. Jens was certainly right to give this disc a special place in his Best of the Year - excellent description of the works, by the way !
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Very much appreciated.
Also: There are new releases of Braunfels coming up on Capriccio. Can't speak to the performances, this time, as I've not heard them myself, yet... but the liner notes: ooh-la-la! ;-)
And a happy new year, all'round!
That's great news, Jens! What will the works be ?
Can we petition Decca to reissue Jeanne d'Arc? A 2010 release and it's absolutely impossible to find... ???
Quote from: André on December 31, 2020, 01:28:29 PM
That's great news, Jens! What will the works be ?
Ariel's Song, op.19, Don Gil of the Green Trousers Overture, Divertimento for Radio Orchestra op.42
Quote
Can we petition Decca to reissue Jeanne d'Arc? A 2010 release and it's absolutely impossible to find... ???
And such a bloody good recording, at that. Probably better petition Honeck to see if someone would re-issue it. I reckon he might hold the rights... or the Swedish Orchestra with which he recorded it. (If I've got that right, ottomh.) I will inquire!
Quote from: SurprisedByBeauty on December 31, 2020, 01:32:01 PM
Ariel's Song, op.19, Don Gil of the Green Trousers Overture, Divertimento for Radio Orchestra op.42
And such a bloody good recording, at that. Probably better petition Honeck to see if someone would re-issue it. I reckon he might hold the rights... or the Swedish Orchestra with which he recorded it. (If I've got that right, ottomh.) I will inquire!
That's nice, the Divertimento is only available in a 2cd set on cpo with works by other composers.
And yes, please ask Honeck about it ! I wouldn't have thought possible that an individual could own the rights to a recording. It would be so nice to have him replace Nagano here in Montreal... ::)
Quote from: André on December 31, 2020, 02:52:01 PM
It would be so nice to have [Honeck] replace Nagano here in Montreal... ::)
Ha! Dream on. Although, I don't have any inklings as to where he might land, should he choose to leave Pittsburgh at any point.
I certainly wished that he had conducted the New Year's Concert, earlier today, rather than that snooze-fest of comatose Muti.
Quote from: SurprisedByBeauty on January 01, 2021, 07:27:04 AM
Ha! Dream on. Although, I don't have any inklings as to where he might land, should he choose to leave Pittsburgh at any point.
I certainly wished that he had conducted the New Year's Concert, earlier today, rather than that snooze-fest of comatose Muti.
It was odd wasn't it - Muti didn't exactly look thrilled!
Quote from: SurprisedByBeauty on December 31, 2020, 01:32:01 PM
Ariel's Song, op.19, Don Gil of the Green Trousers Overture, Divertimento for Radio Orchestra op.42
Enjoying the music, plus other discs, this morning.
Great stuff ! Love all his music.
I dislike those Capriccio album covers --- I think they're distasteful, but how do a lot of these Capriccio performances stack up against the Dutton releases?
The works are scattered on different discs, so no two programs are alike. I have most of them and like them equally. The orchestras used on Capriccio are excellent - more burnished. There's also a few discs on CPO, again with different programs. Duplication is impossible to avoid unfortunately.
Quote from: André on May 24, 2021, 04:34:44 PM
The works are scattered on different discs, so no two programs are alike. I have most of them and like them equally. The orchestras used on Capriccio are excellent - more burnished. There's also a few discs on CPO, again with different programs. Duplication is impossible to avoid unfortunately.
Thanks, Andre. I have the Dutton and CPO recordings. I might spring for the Capriccio ones. There's also the two recordings of orchesterlieder on Oehms Classics that look interesting, which I remember you buying.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 24, 2021, 04:53:03 PM
Thanks, Andre. I have the Dutton and CPO recordings. I might spring for the Capriccio ones. There's also the two recordings of orchesterlieder on Oehms Classics that look interesting, which I remember you buying.
Volume one of the Oehms orchestral lieder discs has the big Don Juan Variations on it. It's also on one of the Capriccio discs, and my own favourite among all the orchestral works by this composer.
Quote from: André on May 24, 2021, 04:57:02 PM
Volume one of the Oehms orchestral lieder discs has the big Don Juan Variations on it. It's also on one of the Capriccio discs, and my own favourite among all the orchestral works by this composer.
Very nice, thanks again, Andre. I'll have to pull out what Braunfels discs I own and see if I want to explore his music any further. I do remember thinking highly of his
Piano Concerto.
Quote from: André on May 24, 2021, 04:57:02 PM
Volume one of the Oehms orchestral lieder discs has the big Don Juan Variations on it. It's also on one of the Capriccio discs, and my own favourite among all the orchestral works by this composer.
Mine too! The composer's accomplishment and imagination in full display.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 24, 2021, 05:04:21 PM
Very nice, thanks again, Andre. I'll have to pull out what Braunfels discs I own and see if I want to explore his music any further. I do remember thinking highly of his Piano Concerto.
That Piano Concerto is solid music indeed. The slow movement is especially sublime.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 24, 2021, 06:11:47 PM
That Piano Concerto is solid music indeed. The slow movement is especially sublime.
Yes, I believe that was the movement that impressed me the most.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 24, 2021, 03:59:48 PM
I dislike those Capriccio album covers --- I think they're distasteful, but how do a lot of these Capriccio performances stack up against the Dutton releases?
I don't like the cover art either. I listened to the other Oehms album with an organ today. Sounds very good.
The concerto for organ, children's choir and orchestra is superb.
That disc was my first of anything by Braunfels. JPC was selling it in a tri-pak of Oehms releases with Iveta Apkalna (the organist).
The covers, well... yes. ::) At least they have a certain memorability, I suppose. But at least Braunfels is getting more attention and multiple recordings of major works.
And of course, if you like the liner notes better than the cover... I'm happy. ;)
The liner notes are excellent. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable :).
I waited for too long to give these quartets a listen, and glad to find out they are up to the expectations: elegant, totally approachable, not too much dense. There's more interesting music here than in his String Quartet No. 3 (which is performed by the Minguet Quartett on Avi Music).
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiODAyOTI4OS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0MDE5ODI1NTd9)
for me, the greatest Braunfels is in the choral works. His Te Deum in fact has become my favourite choral work bar none -- beating out even Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. The applause lasted for an hour at the premiere in Köln -- the greatest success of any work in the history of the city. It even inspired me to write one which as a non-Catholic is a pretty strange undertaking ;D . The intensity of operatic feeling reached in the 3rd movement is just shattering. The Mass is pretty good as well and I was at a rare performance of the Passionskantate which isn't available on disk to my knowledge.
It should be remembered that in the 1920's, Braunfels was regarded as almost on a par with Strauss -- his Die Vögel had also been hugely successful. After his forced migration on accession of the Nazis, he never again recovered. I'm more indifferent to much of his orchestral music I have to say, although I love the early Serenade. The string quintet is also a very fine piece.
Quote from: lunar22 on June 24, 2023, 11:00:56 AMfor me, the greatest Braunfels is in the choral works. His Te Deum in fact has become my favourite choral work bar none -- beating out even Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. The applause lasted for an hour at the premiere in Köln -- the greatest success of any work in the history of the city. It even inspired me to write one which as a non-Catholic is a pretty strange undertaking ;D . The intensity of operatic feeling reached in the 3rd movement is just shattering. The Mass is pretty good as well and I was at a rare performance of the Passionskantate which isn't available on disk to my knowledge.
It should be remembered that in the 1920's, Braunfels was regarded as almost on a par with Strauss -- his Die Vögel had also been hugely successful. After his forced migration on accession of the Nazis, he never again recovered. I'm more indifferent to much of his orchestral music I have to say, although I love the early Serenade. The string quintet is also a very fine piece.
Indeed, the
Te Deum is a tremendous work and my favorite by Braunfels that I know. I recall enjoying the
Große Messe as well, despite its longueurs. (I really wish I could hear the Honeck recording of it on Decca, but it's pretty much impossible to find). I've also been mildly disappointed by most of his purely orchestral music, though recently I really enjoyed his substantial Prelude and Fugue for large orchestra (conducted here by Honeck, no less): https://youtu.be/gfCask7Jyes
I'll revoke my quasi-dismissal of Braunfels' orchestral music, as I remembered how much I enjoyed this Dutton CD:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ibV61zjUL._SX425_.jpg)
The Sinfonia Brevis (not so "brevis" at around 30 mins. in length) is a late work, overall quite dark in tone and unsettlingly chromatic in language. Stylistically, it reminded me a bit of the two substantial Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Otakar Ostrcil. Not an immediately memorable work, perhaps, but a compelling one.
The two other works on the disc, the Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song and the Suite from The Glass Mountain, are much earlier and lighter in tone, full of tunefulness, glittering orchestration, and a naivety of spirit (as befits the subject matter). Really charming stuff, but at the same time never too facile or "cutesy". So, it's very much a disc of two contrasting halves, both equally rewarding and convincingly performed.
Quote from: kyjo on July 04, 2023, 08:26:33 AMI'll revoke my quasi-dismissal of Braunfels' orchestral music, as I remembered how much I enjoyed this Dutton CD:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ibV61zjUL._SX425_.jpg)
The Sinfonia Brevis (not so "brevis" at around 30 mins. in length) is a late work, overall quite dark in tone and unsettlingly chromatic in language. Stylistically, it reminded me a bit of the two substantial Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Otakar Ostrcil. Not an immediately memorable work, perhaps, but a compelling one.
The two other works on the disc, the Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song and the Suite from The Glass Mountain, are much earlier and lighter in tone, full of tunefulness, glittering orchestration, and a naivety of spirit (as befits the subject matter). Really charming stuff, but at the same time never too facile or "cutesy". So, it's very much a disc of two contrasting halves, both equally rewarding and convincingly performed.
The other day I was listening to the another recording of the
Sinfonia brevis and I agree, a marvelous, substantial and serious work that has nothing of 'brevis'. Another work with a misleading title is Reger's long and stodgy
Sinfonietta, a symphony in all but name.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiODU0NjY3OC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE1NTI1NjA3NDR9)
To be released on 6 September. The second recording of this opera.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTYyODg4Ny4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3MTYzODY1OTZ9)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 23, 2024, 09:39:23 AMTo be released on 6 September. The second recording of this opera.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTYyODg4Ny4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3MTYzODY1OTZ9)
Interesting! The older recording, also conducted by
Honeck and with
Juliane Banse as well —on Decca— is unobtainable.
I'm not the greatest fan of
Braunfels (I remember disliking the
Te Deum that has so many admirers here on GMG), but these Francophile works of his intrigue me (I should revisit
Verkündigung, his "mystery" based on
Claudel).
Quote from: ritter on May 23, 2024, 10:38:01 AMInteresting! The older recording, also conducted by Honeck and with Juliane Banse as well —on Decca— is unobtainable.
I'm not the greatest fan of Braunfels (I remember disliking the Te Deum that has so many admirers here on GMG), but these Francophile works of his intrigue me (I should revisit Verkündigung, his "mystery" based on Claudel).
I wouldn't say that the Decca one is unobtainable as I bought a copy not too long ago via Discogs. You might want to try there before springing for this newer one on Capriccio.
Just want to say that after seeing the name 'Walter Braunfels' on a German book in my Amsterdam music library during the latter half of the 1970s, I have finally come round to listening to him... The first thing I heard today was his orchestral piece 'Phantastische Erscheinungen', a set of variations on a theme from Berlioz' 'Damnation de Faust'. Incredible music, right up my alley. Colourful, inventive, unpredictable, lively. He might well become a new favourite composer if his other works are just as good.
It just goes to show that you can discover something wonderful as long as you remain open to it.
Quote from: kyjo on July 04, 2023, 08:26:33 AMI'll revoke my quasi-dismissal of Braunfels' orchestral music, as I remembered how much I enjoyed this Dutton CD:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ibV61zjUL._SX425_.jpg)
The Sinfonia Brevis (not so "brevis" at around 30 mins. in length) is a late work, overall quite dark in tone and unsettlingly chromatic in language. Stylistically, it reminded me a bit of the two substantial Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Otakar Ostrcil. Not an immediately memorable work, perhaps, but a compelling one.
The two other works on the disc, the Symphonic Variations on a French Children's Song and the Suite from The Glass Mountain, are much earlier and lighter in tone, full of tunefulness, glittering orchestration, and a naivety of spirit (as befits the subject matter). Really charming stuff, but at the same time never too facile or "cutesy". So, it's very much a disc of two contrasting halves, both equally rewarding and convincingly performed.
I thought I listened to this a few years ago without it making a huge impression. Like you, I've not in general been as convinced by his orchestral music as some other areas so must go back to this.
Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on September 03, 2024, 06:46:57 AMJust want to say that after seeing the name 'Walter Braunfels' on a German book in my Amsterdam music library during the latter half of the 1970s, I have finally come round to listening to him... The first thing I heard today was his orchestral piece 'Phantastische Erscheinungen', a set of variations on a theme from Berlioz' 'Damnation de Faust'. Incredible music, right up my alley. Colourful, inventive, unpredictable, lively. He might well become a new favourite composer if his other works are just as good.
It just goes to show that you can discover something wonderful as long as you remain open to it.
Glad you have discovered such a compelling composer. The
Phantastische Erscheinungen is tremendous fun indeed. Other works with orchestra of his I warmly recommend are Don Juan Variations, Variations on an old French song, Te Deum, Sinfonia brevis and Piano Concerto.
I'll be listening to anything I can lay my hands on. Spotify comes in very... handy. Looking forward to all those treasures!
Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on September 07, 2024, 03:00:54 AMI'll be listening to anything I can lay my hands on. Spotify comes in very... handy. Looking forward to all those treasures!
The Don Juan variations are incredible fun. His chamber music is also remarkable (try his brucknerian string quintet). And if you're not allergic to church music, try his oratorio Verkündigung, the Great Mass and of course the Te Deum with its ecstatic, vaulting choral lines ...
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 23, 2024, 09:39:23 AMTo be released on 6 September. The second recording of this opera.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTYyODg4Ny4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3MTYzODY1OTZ9)
Speaking of which: I was at that concert (Notes from the 2013 Salzburg Festival ( 5 ), Jeanne D'Arc • Walter Braunfels (https://ionarts.blogspot.com/2013/08/notes-from-2013-salzburg-festival-5.html) and it was the one of the most memorable Salzburg events for me. (I love the Decca recording also and perhaps having two Jeanne's is overkill --- there is so much other Braunfels to be discovered, for most listeners, that I would direct their attention to that, instead --- but Honeck did a marvelous job here, too, and so did the orchestra and the Salzburg cast is fabulous right down to the small roles.)
And, while talking about that recording: I've been part of a little YouTube podcast (#ClassicalDiscoveries) where we explore, well, music worth discovering... and I was wondering if I could show it here, to get some feedback and especially criticism (maybe a bit beyond "you guys suck", although I can see that, too) from people well into that sort of thing. And perhaps take cues as to what we
should be doing and covering.
(I don't quite know where to post this, without being obnoxious, but I thought this might be the right thread. I will also post our video of Miklos Rozsa "Beyond Ben Hur" (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,517.msg1593846.html#msg1593846), Mahler (his Beethoven "Retuschen") (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,683.msg1593849.html#msg1593849) and Schnittke ("Film Music for 'Little Tragedies'") (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,636.msg1593848.html#msg1593848) in those composers' threads.)
Classical Discoveries - #001 JEANNE D'ARC by Walter Braunfels
Quote from: André on September 07, 2024, 06:07:32 PMThe Don Juan variations are incredible fun. His chamber music is also remarkable (try his brucknerian string quintet). And if you're not allergic to church music, try his oratorio Verkündigung, the Great Mass and of course the Te Deum with its ecstatic, vaulting choral lines ...
Will check all of them out. And as a practicing Catholic, being averse to church music would be a miracle all of itself...
How many times do you come across a performance of his gritty Sinfonia brevis other than CD recordings?