Alfor's Rarities

[4candles]

Raffaele D'ALESSANDRO
3eme Sonatine op. 39

d'Alessandro 3eme Sonatine op.39.pdf

Many thanks for this Alfor!

[fleubis]

Further to the conversation about Britten, I vividly remember a conversation
with a great aunt of mine who lived in Aldeburgh for much of her life.
According to her, many local residents disliked him not because of his lifestyle
or because of the type of music he wrote, but because of the fame he enjoyed
in England at that time in spite of his decision to go to America when he did.
More recently, the main local gripe involved the giant scallop on the beach.

Yes, Britten's anti-war stance was definitely not popular in England at that time from everything I've read. It seems like it took until the War Requiem for his stance to become widely accepted and even popular. I continue to gobble up everything published about Britten. Just wish he'd written more piano music!

[alfor]

I take the liberty to go back to music and to alliterate today's first three postings as
"Treasure-Trifles":

Hugo REINHOLD (Austrian composer and pianist, 1854-1935, a nearly exact contemporary of Schütt)
Noveletten op. 23 Heft II
Not salonmusic imho; simple but good music in the succession of Schumann. Some of his works did find their way to the concert hall: http://musicsack.com/PianoConcertDispla ... =293026725)

Reinhold Noveletten op.23 vol.II.pdf

Felix vom RATH (German composer, 1866-1905; I previously posted his Capriccio alla polacca)
Schwermut

Rath Schwermut.pdf

Sigismund THALBERG
Etude de Perfection op. 36 (ed. Sauer)

Thalberg Etude op.36.pdf

Posted as an example of the piano style of this nearly forgotten Jewish-Italian composer
(From the once immensely rich Universal-Edition catalogue):
Vittorio RIETI
Poema Fiesolano (mixture of neo-classical and impressionistic style)

Rieti Poema Fiesolano.pdf

[Dani_area_51]

Thank you for Rieti Alfor. Have other several pieces by him and it's good to increase the amount of works.

[rob]

Thank you for Rieti Alfor. Have other several pieces by him and it's good to increase the amount of works.

Seconded. I have recordings of the 1931 Serenata for violin & small orch, the 1945 Partita for harpsichord flute oboe & string quartet, the 1955 Harpsichord Concerto and the Harpsichord Sonata (Sonata all'antico) from the 1950s. All really good pieces. Many thanks.

[fleubis]

Dani & Rob, you are way ahead of me, as this is the only piece of Rieti's I've seen, but how remarkably well written it is for the piano. How difficult a task it is to weave this filigreed impressionism in a neoclassical framework: It is quite amazing! Thanks for this wonderful piece, Alfor.

[Phillip210]

To Ferruccio, with compliments:

Raffaele D'ALESSANDRO
3eme Sonatine op. 39

d'Alessandro 3eme Sonatine op.39.pdf

Eduard SCHÜTT
Lose Blätter Sammlung kleiner Klavierstücke op. 13
(Schumann/Tchaikovsky influenced. Is it salon-music, is it "Hausmusik" or should it be labelled
"Character pieces"? Please judge yourself - and let me know, if you like!)

Schütt Lose Blätter op. 13.pdf

I like the Schütt pieces, Alfor, they are miniatures in the same vein as many of your recent posts, so Album Leaf, or Character Pieces when interesting titles appear and Klavierstücke when no programmatic title is suggested. This is how I see pieces like these. Yes, it sounds like salon music to me. That said, there is a lot of room on my piano desk for the lesser-known composers of pleasant, cheery music like Schütt brings us but does make me curious about what his bigger pieces might look like.

Re Schutt's longer pieces, you can satisfy your curiosity by looking at a recently uploaded YouTube video of a 2008 performance of his Piano Quartet. I guess that this is an early work, and doesn't have the refinement of his later output, but it is really interesting to hear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yq3J5Cf ... ture=feedu

[alfor]

Ewald STRAESSER (German composer, 1867-1933; more S. at http://www.mediafire.com/alfor)
Rhapsodie E-moll op. 21
more influenced by Grieg - Sonata op. 7! - than by Brahms; good but somewhat emotionally reserved (academic) piece

Straesser Rhapsodie e-moll op.21.pdf

Charles-Valentin ALKAN
a tiny Cadenza for the first mvt. of Beethoven's Concerto op. 37

Alkan Cadenza Beethoven op.37.pdf

[Dani_area_51]

Thanks for Alkan Alfor. Sorry to say, but looks like will be me to notice this again, but you have made a double post on Straesser if I am not wrong...

[fleubis]

I like the Schütt pieces, Alfor, they are miniatures in the same vein as many of your recent posts, so Album Leaf, or Character Pieces when interesting titles appear and Klavierstücke when no programmatic title is suggested. This is how I see pieces like these. Yes, it sounds like salon music to me. That said, there is a lot of room on my piano desk for the lesser-known composers of pleasant, cheery music like Schütt brings us but does make me curious about what his bigger pieces might look like.
Re Schutt's longer pieces, you can satisfy your curiosity by looking at a recently uploaded YouTube video of a 2008 performance of his Piano Quartet. I guess that this is an early work, and doesn't have the refinement of his later output, but it is really interesting to hear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yq3J5Cf ... ture=feedu

Thanks for pointing out this lovely piano quartet. It is written in a lushly romantic idiom and a delight to hear. My only criticism would be that the writing for viola and cello is not on a par with that of the piano and violin which makes it appear somewhat like an adapted violin/piano sonata. Nevertheless, a real delight!