Pianophilia

Absolutely splendid. This had been on my shopping list for some time.

I understand from a friend of mine that even within Portugal pieces like this are difficult to obtain.

The National Library take on average 1 month just to answer an e mail.

Thal

This thread has been quiet too long! Here's something which should be new to most of you. I think it's a rather good piece! Enjoy.
Mike

Scharwenka790 wrote:This thread has been quiet too long! Here's something which should be new to most of you.

Pugno Concertstuck.pdf

I think it's a rather good piece! Enjoy.
Mike

Simply quite amazing.....thank you so much Mr S

Malcolm

Scharwenka790 wrote:This thread has been quiet too long! Here's something which should be new to most of you.

Pugno Concertstuck.pdf

I think it's a rather good piece! Enjoy.
Mike

Thanks for this, Mike. Does it mean that we're likely to see Pugno in the Hyperion Romatic Piano Concerto series before too long?

By the way, almost a year you mentioned on an earlier page in this thread that Volume 56 would be devoted to Pixis. I see from the booklet included with volume 50 that 56 is actually going to contain more Kalkbrenner. Has the Pixis been shelved, or is it due for release at a later date? An update on progress would be appreciated by many here, I'm sure!

Jo

Thanks for this, Mike. Does it mean that we're likely to see Pugno in the Hyperion Romatic Piano Concerto series before too long?

By the way, almost a year you mentioned on an earlier page in this thread that Volume 56 would be devoted to Pixis. I see from the booklet included with volume 50 that 56 is actually going to contain more Kalkbrenner. Has the Pixis been shelved, or is it due for release at a later date? An update on progress would be appreciated by many here, I'm sure!

The Pugno's been on my list of 'things to do' for a long time but as it would only be a (large) filler it needs to be part of a bigger project and this has not yet come to fruition. I did indeed scan it for a pianist who needs something to go with some other repertoire he is already commited to but there are other possible couplings so nothing is certain yet.

The Pixis was replaced in the recording schedule by Kalkbrenner, partly because we were having difficulty in finding an appropriate coupling but also because Howard Shelley finally felt he had time in his schedule to learn the Kalkbrenners which are quite demanding - he had been wary of commiting to them because of the work involved - so it was a case of 'striking while the iron was hot'. The Pixis is likely to be recorded next year, though we have still not finalised the coupling.

This may be a good time to mention again the difficulty we often have in finding orchestral material in particular. With the great expertise we have on this board perhaps some of you (I'm thinking particularly of the likes of Alfor and Caprotti but I’m sure there are others) may be able to help locate material I've been unable to find.
Top of the list is the orchestral material for Moscheles 8. I feel convinced this must exist as the work was performed several times by both Moscheles and Mendelssohn in England and Germany; the work was published (at least as a piano part) in England, France & Germany at the time of its composition and there was supposedly a later edition published by Klemm, which I have not seen, mentioned in Pazdirek where orchestral material is also listed. Even if there is no printed material there is still a chance manuscript copies of parts or full-score could exist. In spite of all this none of the major libraries have anything. I think I’ve exhausted most of the likely sources in the UK but my suspicion is that Germany is the place to look as Moscheles returned to Leipzig in 1845 and remained there until his death. Berlin (Staatsbibliothek,including the Mendelssohn archive) Munich (BSB) and also the Vienna libraries have been checked as well as others that can be searched online, but I know that there are many manuscript collections which are not yet catalogued electronically where this material may be hidden.
Another work (a possible Pixis coupling) where I drew a blank in the Hartknoch 2nd concerto, though I am less bothered about this as the piece is of more marginal interest.
Finally, for any French experts; I have a solo piano Allegro de Concert Op.39 by Eduard Wolff which describes itself as being the first movement of his concerto No.1 on the score. I am not aware he ever published a concerto but perhaps it exists in manuscript and, based on this first movement, I would certainly be interested in recording it. As you might imagine, it's very influenced by Chopin.
If any of you can shed any light on these, or have any other interesting ideas, I would be most grateful. We will certainly find a way to reward you for your help.
Mike

Just an idle thought Mike, with regard to the Moscheles 8 and such stuff. Not knowing what you have for a score but as we come across two piano versions of a lot of these concerti and piano solo versions with the orchestral part often given in smaller notes, would it not be possible for some bright spark at Conservatoire level to reconstruct an orchestral accompaniment in the style of the period as there are many models available to help in the orchestration.
As i say it is a thought that went through my mind and may be a solution for the impossible concerti like the moscheles 8 if indeed there is nothing to be found anywhere.
best wishes, thanks for everything and good luck.
Brian

It's true that orchestral parts are sometimes difficult to find.The ones for Moscheles n.8 should have been prepared by the same publisher (i.e.Klemm) if we give credit to the frontispice of the solo part. They are not in Berlin State Library or in the Dresden Landesbibliothek but other local libraries and conservatories near Dresden or Berlin shoul be checked.
As far as Wolff, the example you give is really very similar to Chopin's op.46 and I don't see why it should be different (in the sense of being part of a full concerto, even drafted). If we don't have any source stating that Wolff had in mind to compose an entire work in three movements, then a research of a manuscript score seems to be uneseful.

HullandHellandHalifax wrote:Just an idle thought Mike, with regard to the Moscheles 8 and such stuff. Not knowing what you have for a score but as we come across two piano versions of a lot of these concerti and piano solo versions with the orchestral part often given in smaller notes, would it not be possible for some bright spark at Conservatoire level to reconstruct an orchestral accompaniment in the style of the period as there are many models available to help in the orchestration.
As i say it is a thought that went through my mind and may be a solution for the impossible concerti like the moscheles 8 if indeed there is nothing to be found anywhere.
Brian

This early in the 19th century concertos were generally published only as one-piano editions with the occasional cue for a solo line, and this is the case with Moscheles 8, so there is not much to go on. Ian Hobson, in his cycle of Moscheles concertos for his own label Zephyr, has in fact attempted a reconstruction, but this approach doesn't really interest me. I see the series very much as a library edition documenting exactly what the composer wrote whatever weaknesses there may be in orchestration or indeed composition. We did have to create a viola part for Hertz 4 though, as that was missing from the set of parts we found!

How did you proceed for the viola part of Hertz n.4 ? i see that there are some hints in the score for two pianos, where the second piano is given the main orchestral voices.

Thanks for the explanation Mike, I understand your reasoning. I have several pieces for piano and orchestra where the whole thing is reduced to two hands with lots of smaller notes telling you that that is orchestra and not pianist, in that case it would be impossible without the parts to reconstruct that score if you indeed wanted to. One thought though does cross my mind and that in the instances where the composer took the manuscript parts round with him and collected them in after the performance. What would you do in such circumstances assuming the parts were never printed and therefore lost.
regards
Brian