Alfor's Rarities

[alfor]

Thank you so much Alfor for those wonderful pieces and also the quality of the scans you bring to us...Let me just ask, to be sure. It is vol.2a and vol.2b it isnt'? I think it is not 1.
Best regards.

You are right! It is of course vol. 2. I just corrected the mistake.

[liveforpiano]

Dear Alfor,

I would like to add my thanks for the Tausig in your wondeful scans. I had most of these but in rather poor copies, so it great to have such beautiful copies.

This also applies, of course to all of the pieces you so generously share with us.

Many many thanks.

Peter (still alive in the tower).

[alfor]

dedicated to Frank H.

Karl GLEITZ (obscure German composer, 1862-1920)
piano pieces op. 42 (not "Salonmusik" neither intended for children;
could be labelled as "gute, stimmungsvolle Hausmusik"*)

Gleitz op.42.pdf

Agathe BACKER-GRØNDAHL
Serenade op. 37
(B.-G.'s music definitely is "Salonmusik", but always with fresh original ideas and pianistically excellent writing!)

Backer-Grondahl Serenade op.37.pdf

*Sir MHB, alias Ivan the Terrible (British landlord, famous collector of rare musical score
and specialist for the German language) will gladly translate this term.

Now you're being cruel about my poor German abilities Alfred [well, I can't be fantastic at EVERYthing].........translates something like "good, tendency towards salon /house music" ??? Or is this a German lesson to help me improve my German......in whatever case...think I probably failed Malcolm

[alfor]

Now you're being cruel about my poor German abilities Alfred [well, I can't be fantastic at EVERYthing].........translates something like "good, tendency towards salon /house music" ??? Or is this a German lesson to help me improve my German......in whatever case...think I probably failed Malcolm

Dear Malcolm,

maybe I have to apologize for my personal sense of humor! Please take it as a true appreciation of your person!

P.S. "Gute, stimmungsvolle Hausmusik" means something like: "Good, atmospheric (moody) music for the house".
Up to the 1950s -the term "Salonmusik" being out of fashion since about 1920 - German music publishers used terms like: "Musik für (Music for) Schule / Haus / Konzert".

[mballan]

Now you're being cruel about my poor German abilities Alfred [well, I can't be fantastic at EVERYthing].........translates something like "good, tendency towards salon /house music" ??? Or is this a German lesson to help me improve my German......in whatever case...think I probably failed Malcolm

Dear Malcolm,

maybe I have to apologize for my personal sense of humor! Please take it as a true appreciation of your person!

P.S. "Gute, stimmungsvolle Hausmusik" means something like: "Good, atmospheric (moody) music for the house".
Up to the 1950s -the term "Salonmusik" being out of fashion at about 1920 - German music publishers used terms like: "Musik für (Music for) Schule / Haus / Konzert".

Hi Alfred

I guessed it was your wicked sense of humour At least I was partly correct in my translation......even if I did nt get the gist of the phrase. As they say "you learn something new every day" !! Thank you !

Malc

[fhimpsl]

Dear Alfor,

Thank you ever so much dedicating today's wonderful posting to me! And your selection of music is (as always) impeccable. I am duly honored by your thoughtfulness.

The Karl Gleitz is very much to my liking. When you and Malcolm were conversing over the appropriate term to use for comfortable, German salon-style music, the German term "Gemutlichkeit" immediately comes to my mind. (Please forgive my fractured German and lack of umlauts!) This is a term that Germans know and is very difficult to exactly translate to English. I feel the "Gemutlichkeit" well indeed with the Gleitz pieces!

As a second-generation German (both parents and all grandparents were from Germany), I take great pride in my heritage, and once in awhile I attempt to speak the language as I remembered it spoken around me all through my childhood. Using it, even in the fractured way that I do, brings a great sense of nostalgia and happiness to my mind.

And so, dear Alfor, once again ich wunsche Ihr alles Gute, und mit die Musik immernoch ein bischen spass zu haben!!

Dein,
Frank

[fleubis]

Dear Alfor,

I would like to add my thanks for the Tausig in your wondeful scans. I had most of these but in rather poor copies, so it great to have such beautiful copies.

This also applies, of course to all of the pieces you so generously share with us.

Many many thanks.

Peter (still alive in the tower).

I want to also add my appreciation to the great Tausig scans. I am very happy to be able to replace my poor quality copies with these great ones. It gives me a whole new excuse to play through these pieces again!

[alfor]

Dear Frank, dear fleubis,

you are welcome! I always appreciate comments on the music posted!

All the best
Herzliche Grüße

alfor

P.S. Regarding my recent scans: I assume that only a very small minority of pianophilians owns a DIN A3 printer, so I decided to optimize my recent scans for the DIN A4 format. The original Tausig scores measure 27 by 34 centimeters (!) - the actual text being about 23 by 30 (Din A4 = 21 by 29.7 cms!). So by reducing to DIN A4 some grace notes get out a bit small.***
As an alternative I could optimize my scans of large scores to DIN A3 - you then would have to choose an appropriate reduction percentage by yourself. But - see above - I doubt whether this would make much sense!

*** Your printer should be able to do "borderless printing" (with some printers you can choose this as an option) and in case my scans are a bit on the dark side, you should adjust your printers degree of lightness appropriately.

[alfor]

Jose BERR (obscure German composer, 1874-1947) http://www.left-hand-brofeldt.dk/Catalogue_b.htm
Sonatina seconda* op. 80

Berr Sonatina secondo op.80.pdf

Labelled as "pianistically demanding Salonmusic" by Teichmüller/Hermann

*yes, he was a good friend of Busoni, especially when B. lived in Zurich during WW I.


...Kurt von WOLFURT: PC...

[Ferruccio]

Jose BERR (obscure German composer, 1874-1947) http://www.left-hand-brofeldt.dk/Catalogue_b.htm
Sonatina seconda* op. 80

Berr Sonatina secondo op.80.pdf

Labelled as "pianistically demanding Salonmusic" by Teichmüller/Hermann

*yes, he was a good friend of Busoni, especially when B. lived in Zurich during WW I.

...

I like that .... !!!
Thank you very much !