Classic-Early Romantic Composers - A Cornucopia!

[SonicMan46]

Sorry about that Dave....might help if I read more carefully.  :)  What are the sonatas like?

Bill - no problem at all; I've not listen to the Boyce Trio Sonatas in a while, but I recall enjoying them tremendously; from the liner notes, these were published in 1747 - the models being earlier 'Trio Sonatas' from the late Baroque period, such as those by Handel; so if you enjoy those works, these should also please you - apparently about half are more in a 'chamber' mode & the others in a 'concerto grosso' style, so a lot of variety - since these works appeared in this 'transitional' period, there is some early galant writing merged into the works, which to me makes them even more interesting.

Checked the Hyperion web site, but no longer listed, so must be OOP; as to reviews, the Penguin Guide gives the set 3* (w/ a definite preference over the Standage recordings); and the Third Ear gives them a quite positive recommendation (for them!).  Finally, I have Holman & the Parley of Instruments in other recordings & enjoy them tremendously.  If you can find the set for the price of one CD, then definitely give these compositions a try!  Dave 

[Maciek]

Dave suggested I add these three composers here, so here I go! I'll just repaste my post from the other thread with some very minor changes:

First of all, I'd like to mention Józef (Jozef) Elsner (Chopin's teacher) and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (Dobrzynski, Chopin's colleague from Elsner's class, rumored to have helped Chopin with the orchestration of his Piano Concerti). Acte Préalable have released some of their string chamber works. I often complain about the performances on AP but these are recorded by the Wilanów String Quartet and by Camerata Vistula - two excellent ensembles. And anyway, if you decide to buy and don't like them, I will be more than happy to supply my mailing address (so far I only have these as radio recordings).

    

And another good performance but a slightly less interesting composer (Franciszek Lessel, Haydn's pupil):



There was much more on Dobrzynski, Lessel and even Elsner in the Little-known Polish composers 966-1945 thread on the old GMG. Check it out.

Cheers,
Maciek

[SonicMan46]

First of all, I'd like to mention Józef (Jozef) Elsner (Chopin's teacher) and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (Dobrzynski, Chopin's colleague from Elsner's class, rumored to have helped Chopin with the orchestration of his Piano Concerti)...............

Maciek - thanks for adding these names - these discs are now on my 'wish list' (if I can obtain them?) - and glad that you posted here - really would like this thread to continue on because of so many options!  Dave 

[Maciek]

You're welcome!

If the typical sources don't work, you can try:
http://www.gigant.pl/
http://www.merlin.com.pl/

Or the Acte Prealable site:
http://www.acteprealable.com/
(according to their info those CDs should be available here:
http://www.spinningdogrecords.com/)

Oh, and one more thing. Unless you're very desperate, stay away from the AP "Polish Flute Music" disc (Tyszecka is a terrible pianist)!

Maciek

[SonicMan46]

Andreas Romberg (1767-1821) - just received an additional volume of string quartets by this 'transitional' classic composer (shown below in a poor image - not much more seems available); trained by his father, a musician - Romberg was a 'touring' violin virtuoso by the age of 6 y/o, often playing w/ his cousin, Bernhard Romberg, a cellist.  Travels included Italy, Paris, & Vienna, where Haydn took an interest in him & he 'concertized' w/ Beethoven; he finally returned to Hamburg, and in 1815 he succeeded Louis Spohr as court music director to Duke August in Gotha, Thuringia, dying there in 1821.

His first string quartets were published in the 1790s (Op. 1, Nos. 1-3 - first volume of this set; second volume includes an Op. 30 listing) - these are marvelous works which are performed well by the Leipzig SQ in glorious sound; the earlier works are more Haydnesque (and some might complain of them being more 'derivative' than the latter compositions - understandable?) - but just cannot give the MDG & CPO labels more praise in not only searching out this 'lost' repertoire but also in producing outstanding performances.  Not much more seems to be available from this composer in checking a number of sites, including Arkiv Music - several discs w/ clarinet works (which I'd be very interested in hearing some comments!).

   

[Catison]

Bill - he's already on the list in the OP, but thanks for the bio information and the CD recommendation; for those not knowing William Boyce, I own another set of the same symphonies, Hogwood w/ Acad Anc Music & Trio Sonatas, 2-CD set on Hyperion w/ Peter Holman & the Parley of Instruments Baroque Orch; would love to hear about alternate or other suggestions -    Dave

 

The Boyce symphonies are available on Naxos, performed by the Aradia Ensemble.  This is one of the best period ensembles I have ever heard.  They use a small group, with just a few of each instrument.  If I recall, their string section is basically a double string quartet.  But the clarity of their tone is quite astounding.  I have made it a point to acquire all of their discs.  The one that sold me was their Rinaldo, also on Naxos.

[Scriptavolant]

Giuliani, Mauro (1781- 2829)**

Only the good die young, poor Mauro 

[SonicMan46]

Only the good die young, poor Mauro 

Sciptavolant - thanks for picking up that obvious mistake -    Made an edit to the OP - took a while to put all of that info together, so glad that only a few have found my errors -     Dave

[Ten thumbs]

Whilst this thread has raised quite a number of worthy composers, I am surprised that two of the founders of the Romantic tradition have not so far been mentioned, i.e. Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn. Between them they invented the 'song without words', Fanny probably as 'senior partner' supplying the idea and Felix the name. This form became much in vogue, but let's give credit where it is due. They began composing around 1821 and had written a considerable amount by the time of Beethoven's death.

[SonicMan46]

Whilst this thread has raised quite a number of worthy composers, I am surprised that two of the founders of the Romantic tradition have not so far been mentioned, i.e. Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn. Between them they invented the 'song without words', Fanny probably as 'senior partner' supplying the idea and Felix the name. This form became much in vogue, but let's give credit where it is due. They began composing around 1821 and had written a considerable amount by the time of Beethoven's death.

Ten Thumbs - no need to be surprised; this is not a defined category, and the Mendelssohn sibs certainly are a worthy consideration (I own a considerable amount of Felix's music); but once you start getting into those being born in the early 19th century, many could be added - not a big problem, but the main intention of the thread was for these more 'transitional' composers (don't have a good definition, though) - thanks for the input - 

BTW, as a follow-up to the recent Romberg post, now listenting to his Clarinet Quintet w/ Thea King & the Britten SQ on the bargin Helios label; interesting combination of composers going into the early 20th century - the Romberg work is outstanding - 

[SonicMan46]

Just picked up a copy of Fanfare which I've not looked at for quite a while - there was a CD of bassoon works, which was well reviewed by a composer that I had not heard of before; he's just a little early for this thread, but was certainly composing in the first half of the 18th century and overlapped many others in the original listing - I've not yet bought any of his recordings, but the one mentioned (and several others w/ flute & harpsichord shown on Amazon) certainly sound interesting:

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689 - 1755) - Biography HERE - would appreciated any thoughts or comments - thanks! 


 

[Gabriel]

From these composers we would have - as it happened to be in the old forum - material for separate threads for many of them. Right now I'm listening to the magnificent second movement of Rejcha's F major symphony. A true delight, and a lesson of scoring.

[Lethevich]

Can anyone recommend some mid-late classical symphonists? So far my impressions have been:

Mysliveček: enjoyable if lightweight
Boccherini: ditto, with melodic appeal, but less interesting than his works in other forms
Dittersdorf: negative, but apparently this is the fault of the Naxos performances
Vanhal: VERY pleased with this guy, he is the nearest to approaching Haydn in wit and depth

I suspect my reaction to Vanhal was partly due to the performances (Concerto Köln), which were near ideal.

[Maciek]

I'm almost 100% certain this isn't what you're looking for, but there's a nice 2CD set with Jan Krenz conducting symphonies by Mozart, as well as Wojciech Dankowski (ca. 1760 - 1800 or later), Antoni Milwid (1755 - 1837) and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (1807 - 1867):



There's also a PMC CD with "Polish Symphonies": two anonymous symphonies from the 1750s-60s, as well symphonies by Jan Wański (ca 1760 - 1821 or later) and Wojciech Dankowski.



And the only reason I had to mention these is that they are both on my wishlist, and maybe someone will drop by and comment (so that I can move them up in queue, or abandon the idea altogether).

[Josquin des Prez]

I am surprised that two of the founders of the Romantic tradition have not so far been mentioned, i.e. Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn.

Besides the fact this thread specifically prohibited "big" composers from being mentioned, i'd argue whether either of them had any role in the founding of anything whatsoever, Fanny in particular, who's name doesn't deserve to be mentioned next to that of her brother, a composer with whom i already have a few reservations.

[Josquin des Prez]

Vanhal: VERY pleased with this guy, he is the nearest to approaching Haydn in wit and depth

I suspect my reaction to Vanhal was partly due to the performances (Concerto Köln), which were near ideal.

The Concerto Köln can make anything sound good, but i think this composer is actually quite decent, at least with his symphonic work. I tried some of his chamber music that wasn't too impressed with that. A nice complement if you like early Haydn.

[71 dB]

Dittersdorf: negative, but apparently this is the fault of the Naxos performances

I find Sinfonias on Ovid's Metamorphoses on Naxos enjoyable. 

I have grown very fond of Dittersdorf's music. It's like the combination of Haydn and Mozart.

Vanhal: VERY pleased with this guy, he is the nearest to approaching Haydn in wit and depth.

Yeah, Vanhal is great!

[sTisTi]

Can anyone recommend some mid-late classical symphonists? So far my impressions have been:

Mysliveček: enjoyable if lightweight
Boccherini: ditto, with melodic appeal, but less interesting than his works in other forms
Dittersdorf: negative, but apparently this is the fault of the Naxos performances
Vanhal: VERY pleased with this guy, he is the nearest to approaching Haydn in wit and depth

Have you looked into Krommer? Besides his 3 nice clarinet concertos on Naxos and his 2 equally fine oboe concertos (e.g. Sarah Francis on Hyperion/Helios), my favourite are his 2 symphonies op. 40 & 102 (Bamert/London Mozart Players on Chandos).

I sampled lots of the discs from Chandos' "Contemporaries of Mozart" series, but ended up liking Krommer best. Another interesting one from this series imho is the disc with the symphonies of Wranitzky.

[Josquin des Prez]

Can anyone recommend some mid-late classical symphonists?

Definitely try the following:

Jan Vaclav Vorisek - Symphony in D

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga - Symphony in d

Norbert Burgmüller - Symphony No.2 in D
Norbert Burgmüller - Overture in F

Not a symphony, but you should also try Burgmüller's 4th String Quartet. It's one of the great forgotten masterpieces, and i'm not trying to exaggerate.

[Lethevich]

After consulting a list on the ever useful Wikipedia, I noticed two others who tend to be mentioned in the same breath as Vanhal and Krommer: Kraus and Pleyel. I assume that these two are "big" enough to warrant investigation?

Have you looked into Krommer? Besides his 3 nice clarinet concertos on Naxos and his 2 equally fine oboe concertos (e.g. Sarah Francis on Hyperion/Helios), my favourite are his 2 symphonies op. 40 & 102 (Bamert/London Mozart Players on Chandos).

I sampled lots of the discs from Chandos' "Contemporaries of Mozart" series, but ended up liking Krommer best. Another interesting one from this series imho is the disc with the symphonies of Wranitzky.

He is someone I have seen mentioned a lot, but haven't heard any of his music - time for me to change that, thanks

Definitely try the following:

Jan Vaclav Vorisek - Symphony in D

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga - Symphony in d

Norbert Burgmüller - Symphony No.2 in D
Norbert Burgmüller - Overture in F

Not a symphony, but you should also try Burgmüller's 4th String Quartet. It's one of the great forgotten masterpieces, and i'm not trying to exaggerate.

Danke, those will be purchased next time I do a CD order. I don't think I've even heard of the second two composers before