Ries's Pieces

[SonicMan46]

I wish this thread would have this title: Ries's Rice.

LOL!    Well, although I use to enjoy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, never liked these 'cutesy' title's for composer's threads - Grazioso started this short thread back in 2007 and despite still being on the 'Member's List', he has not posted since 2014, so I suspect will not be coming back - thus, I imagine one of our mods could change the title of the thread - however, not sure that Ries's Rice would be my preference?    Dave

[SonicMan46]

Continuing into the late afternoon and still listening to Ries' Chamber Works, i.e. Piano Trios, Septet & Octet, and String Quartets - really enjoying this composer bridging the classical-romantic eras - many call him a 'wannabe' Beethoven but he composed pleasant music reflecting his own character - these are all entertaining recordings - reviews attached, if interested.  Dave

     

[SonicMan46]

Ries Symphonies - he composed 8 symphonies (No. 8 is WoO 30 without an Opus number) - quoted below is the order of composition from 1809/10 to 1835, so the numbering is somewhat out of order.  CPO has boxed the 4 CDs shown below, all performed by Howard Griffiths and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra; recordings done in Zurich from 1997 to 2002.

For myself, I prefer the chamber music of Ries - his symphonies are often stated to be 'derivative' with much borrowing from the symphonic 'giants' of the times, mainly his teacher and friend, LV Beethoven.  Over the last few days, I've finished listening to the four discs below and enjoyed - of course, if I want orchestral music from the era, I will more likely pull out Beethoven or even other lesser symphonists from the first third of the 19th century.  For those interested, reviews of most of these performances are attached, generally all are quite good except for a short AllMusic 'thumbs down' (2 1/2*/5*) from James Leonard.  Looking on Amazon USA, Griffiths and the Zurich Orchestra seem to be the only contenders in town if you want to sample this music.  Dave

Sinfonie Nr. 1 D-Dur op. 23 (Bonn 1809/10), Erstdruck: Bonn, Simrock 1811; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Nr. 5 d-Moll op. 112 (London 1813), Erstdruck: Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel 1823; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Nr. 2 c-Moll op. 80 (London 1814), Erstdruck: Bonn, Simrock 1818; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Nr. 3 Es-Dur op. 90 (London 1815), Erstdruck: Bonn, Simrock 1826; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Nr. 4 F-Dur op. 110 (London 1818), Erstdruck: Breitkopf & Härtel 1823; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Es-Dur WoO 30 (London 1822); Erstdruck: Berlin, Ries & Erler 2005; CD: Zürcher Kammerorchester / Howard Griffths (cpo)
Sinfonie Nr. 6 D-Dur op. 146 (London 1822), Erstdruck: Leipzig, Peters 1827; Neuausgabe: Berlin, Ries & Erler.
Sinfonie Nr. 7 a-Moll op. 181 (Frankfurt/Main, 1835), Erstdruck: Berlin, Ries & Erler 2005. (Source)

     

[SonicMan46]

TTT After 2 Years!  Since my last posting, I'm now up to nearly 20 discs in my Ries collection (see bottom pic - click to enlarge) - he composed 8 Piano Concertos, although my Hyperion CD states 8 and 9 - according to Wiki, his Concerto No. 1 is for violin & orchestra and Nos. 2-9 are for piano, SO there is no No. 1 for piano and orchestra - Naxos has come out w/ a box of the piano concertos (shown below) - will look at the pricing on the various web sites.

But for those just getting into Ries, I like his chamber works best and all are pleasant - any comments, suggestions, and recommendations appreciated.  Dave

ADDENUDUM: well, I just bought the Naxos Piano Concertos box for €18 ($19+ USD) @ JPC (and added the Ries Violin Concerto on CPO for just €6.71 (current exchange rate, 1€ = 1.07$)

 

[kyjo]

Most likely, Ries' chamber works constitute his overall strongest corpus of music. I've been really impressed by his piano quartets (particularly the ones in E-flat and E minor) and Piano Quintet - full of great ideas and not at all derivative.

[Symphonic Addict]

To be released on October 4th:



This is the 2nd volume of his symphonies on this label.

[SonicMan46]

To be released on October 4th:

   

This is the 2nd volume of his symphonies on this label.

As indicated, Ondine has released the first two volumes above, and is about to put out the last volume shown, i.e. Symphony 3 & Es (i.e. E Flat in German so presume No. 8 below in the listing) - so just one more volume for Nos. 6/7 - I've not heard any of these recordings - comments? Comparisons to the Griffiths recordings on CPO from the late '90s-2002?  Dave

Symphonies
No. 1 in D major, op. 23 (1809)
No. 2 in C minor, op. 80 (1814)
No. 3 in E flat major, op. 90 (1816)
No. 4 in F major, op. 110 (1818)
No. 5 in D minor, op. 112 (1813)
Symphony (unpublished, sometimes known as No. '8') in E flat major, WoO. 30 (1822)
No. 6 in D major, op. 146 (1822, last movement revised in 1826)
No. 7 in A minor, op. 181 (1835) (Source)

[SonicMan46]

Well, my Ries collection has expanded (see attachment) - now up to nearly 30 discs with the addition of the the Piano Orchestral box and Susan Kagan's 5 CDs of solo piano works - guess my next step is to do some listening comparisons to the Symphony sets on CPO and Ondine on Spotify - Dave

[Florestan]

My favorite Ries music is this:

[Symphonic Addict]

As indicated, Ondine has released the first two volumes above, and is about to put out the last volume shown, i.e. Symphony 3 & Es (i.e. E Flat in German so presume No. 8 below in the listing) - so just one more volume for Nos. 6/7 - I've not heard any of these recordings - comments? Comparisons to the Griffiths recordings on CPO from the late '90s-2002?  Dave

I'd like to be helpful, but I haven't heard any of those Ondine recordings yet.

[JBS]

As indicated, Ondine has released the first two volumes above, and is about to put out the last volume shown, i.e. Symphony 3 & Es (i.e. E Flat in German so presume No. 8 below in the listing) - so just one more volume for Nos. 6/7 - I've not heard any of these recordings - comments? Comparisons to the Griffiths recordings on CPO from the late '90s-2002?  Dave

I have the Ondine recordings that have been released to date, but not the CPO.
I like them enough that I  plan on getting the others as they come out, but I'm not sure anyone needs more than one recording. Symphonies 4 and 5 are superior to 1 and 2, so if you want to start with the Ondine series, start with that one.

[JBS]

BTW there is a new recording of the Piano Trios on Naxos I ordered yesterday, and I plan on getting this one

[SonicMan46]

My favorite Ries music is this:

     

Hi Andrei - curious about the flute(s) used in those CPO discs and found the booklet to V. 1 with the quote below, so Kaiser is using period instruments (presume reproductions?).  Just listened to my Oxalys 2-CD set of all of the flute quartets (pic inserted above) - $12 bargain on BRO - BUT will give Spotify a try - I do like period flutes!    Dave

The Ardinghello Ensemble consists of four members –
Karl Kaiser (flute), Annette Rehberger (violin), Sebastian
Wohlfarth (viola) and Gesine Queyras (cello) – and
is undogmatically committed to historically informed
performance practice. Karl Kaiser plays transverse flutes
from the early 19th century, while the three string players
use instruments with strings and bows dating roughly
from 1820.

ADDENDUM: JPC has these CPO flute discs half price OFF!  Ordered all three - US shipping was only 5 Euros.

[SonicMan46]

BTW there is a new recording of the Piano Trios on Naxos I ordered yesterday, and I plan on getting this one

Hi JBS - same question I asked Andrei below about the flute in this new Brilliant recording w/ Ginevra Petrucci - the notes online at Brilliant's website do not say and the pics I see of her show only modern flutes - BTW, in the recording of these works that I own the image of the group shows the flutist with a many-keyed wood flute, so assume a modern one?  Dave

[SonicMan46]

   

As indicated, Ondine has released the first two volumes above, and is about to put out the last volume shown, i.e. Symphony 3 & Es (i.e. E Flat in German so presume No. 8 below in the listing) - so just one more volume for Nos. 6/7 - I've not heard any of these recordings - comments? Comparisons to the Griffiths recordings on CPO from the late '90s-2002? Dave

Well, for the curious - Fanfare reviews attached which include 2 volumes of Griffiths and 2 volumes of Nisonen - the reviewers of the Nisonen recordings own the CPO volumes so make some comparisons - seems to be some favor toward the newer Ondine versions, so the first two releases are on Spotify - yet some more auditions -     Dave

[JBS]

Hi JBS - same question I asked Andrei below about the flute in this new Brilliant recording w/ Ginevra Petrucci - the notes online at Brilliant's website do not say and the pics I see of her show only modern flutes - BTW, in the recording of these works that I own the image of the group shows the flutist with a many-keyed wood flute, so assume a modern one?  Dave

Trio David is apparently a MI ensemble. I've only wishlisted it, so I can't really answer your question.

[SonicMan46]

Just left the post below w/ attachment in the 'listening thread' - reposted here for quick reference for those interested -     Dave

Ries, Ferdinand - Solo Piano Works w/ Susan Kagan on 5 volumes which I own - a duet Vol. 6 has been released not yet obtained - also 3 volumes of Violin & Piano Sonatas (not shown) have been recorded on Naxos with Eric Grossman (these are in my collection, two as MP3 DLs).  Reviews of the Kagan solo piano discs attached - all quite positive and from Fanfare - remember she is a reviewer there so written by her buddies -  )  Dave