Quote from: Lionel Harrison on November 21, 2025, 09:37:23 pm

You really do have an encyclopaedic knowledge of operetta! I admit that mine is limited to the standard fare of Sullivan, Offenbach, Lehár, Johann Strauss II, Suppé and odds and ends at the periphery of the Austro-Hungarian tradition. But Fred Raymond? Nein!

I am currently listening to this, released today:



I haven't had any direct involvement with this one, although it does contain three of the scores of which my late, lamented friend, Patrick Meadows and I produced the first editions way back when (the Ballade for Violin and Orchestra, the Romance, and Zara's Earrings). I will say that the performance of the Ballade on this release isn't as convincing as the one of the Avie disc with Curtis Stewart and Mike Repper: that takes 12:53, whereas this new one takes 15:25, which tells you all you need to know but the rest of the disc is really well done and will hopefully add to the numbers of SC-T fans in this anniversary year.

It is cold by here, although not as cold as it probably is by there! Stay wrapped up warm, Dafydd!

Very interesting and a nice picture of the composer on the front. Taking a little more time over a piece of music has it's advantages and disadvantages. In this instance taking more time over the piece seems to work to it's disadvantage. You obviously know your Samuel Coleridge-Taylor,so the Avie performance would be the one I would need to hear. I'm still hoping I will get to hear the recent Chandos cd of Ruth Gipps' Violin Concerto and Symphony No 5. Not to mention,the recent Grace Williams cds from Resonus and Lyrita (I could go on!). The Ruth Gipps would normally have been a pre-order! And is there any room here for actual cds? I might have to go down the download route whether I like it or not! (Not! )

If I had to pick one of those operetta composers,the pick of the bunch has to Leon Jessel's Scharwaldmadel,which really is a stand-out score. In his review of the now deleted Warner reissue John Sheppard described the operetta as a "real discovery"! If I was to recommend an operetta composer you might not have heard I would recommend Emmerich Kalman. That said,it seems to me that in terms of music to listen to,you have pretty much a full house (and W.C.! ) to get on with!
At very his best I would put Kalman on a level with Lehar for sheer tunefulness and the sheer brilliance and mastery of his orchestration. Die Csardasfurstin and Grafin Mariza are masterpieces of the genre (I also rate Die Bajadere very highly). The old emi-electrola recordings with Anneliese Rothenberger in the lead are the recordings to go for! Bonynge's recording of Die Bajadere is better than I could have hoped for;although Bonynge's idea of a fox-trot is strangely slow & the tenor seems to think he's singing lieder!! The thoroughly excellent 1980 soviet era Russian recording of the complete score sadly long deleted and unavailable!) Kalman's scores are also free of the sentimentality which comes to the fore in some of Lehar's later scores.

Lionel, I would recommend listening to Scott‘s first symphony again. It‘s such a charming romantic piece!
Around 1900 Grainger, Scott and O‘Neill sounded very similar I think. Maybe this has something to do with the Frankfurt connection?

Quote from: Lionel Harrison on November 04, 2025, 09:28:19 pm

The Adagio (Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam) of Bruckner 7 is one of the few movements of his that I like and that I think is pretty near perfect. As for the symphony as a whole, I am reminded of a comment made by the Bach scholar, Dr. Peter Williams, who was one of my lecturers at Edinburgh: we happened to be sitting next to each other in the Usher Hall for an SNO concert in which the second half consisted of Bruckner 7. At the end, as the applause died down, he turned to me and said: "Nice key, E Major. I could listen to it all night. You bloody well have to with Bruckner 7." I can relate this story now without fear of offending Dr. Williams's amour-propre since he sadly died in 2016.

As a self confessed Baxian,since I was about knee high to a grasshopper (albeit a small,skinny one! That's me not the grasshopper! )) I must admit I wasn't too thrilled by your view of Bax! But I did ask,didn't I?!! I also can't help but remember the wise words of Dundonell (Colin) whose contributions I do miss,that if we agreed about everything we wouldn't have a forum! Nuff said! When it comes to Anton Bruckner though,I have to say I do share your misgivings!

I did try hard with that Bruckner symphony! As per my previous experience listening to Bruckner,and particularly No 7,I begin by thinking,I like what I'm hearing. After a while I'm starting to think I'm hearing the same sequence repeated over and over again (or is it my imagination?! The other problem is the one of......is this actually leading anywhere?! Listening on wireless headphones admittedly,doesn't exactly help (particularly when the cd player is in another room!). But after a few listens I can usually work out where I am? I think to myself....is it because it's very long? But most of Mahler's symphonies are very long. Another problem is that Bruckner seems to be regarded as one of the greats by allot of people. His symphonies enjoy multiple recording cycles and are performed in concerts,so unlike say Draeseke,for example,who the only people who think he's anything but a third rank,fourth rank also-ran,confer at a certain forum,not to mention a particularly notorious dictatorship of the last century (not Draeseke's fault to be fair) you are aware of this consensus of opinion and particularly,if you are a non-musician who can't read a note of music like me,one part of you is thinking......they can't be that wrong about this composer can they?!! Can they?!! However,it does make me wonder about the consensus of opinion that elevates certain composers to some metaphorical podium when others languish,not to mention the received opinion that seems to confer repertory status on some composers while other composers remain,seemingly forever,on the fringes,only to be heard,if at all,thanks to the enterprise of enthusiasts (like yourself) and a number of enterprising record labels?!!