Invitation

[oisfetz]

Hallo. I want to invite all of you who are Facebook users, to visit mi page "Rarezas" (rarities) and find little known/forgotten/underrated/unplayed and seldom recorded composers, works and players on chamber and string with orchestra. Historical recordings when they are available. I believe you'll enjoy it. Cheers.

[Lance]

Many thanks for your kind invitation. I would like to look into it. Is "Rarezas" the term to use to get to the page?

[oisfetz]

Yes Lance. Just write "rarezas", and you'll be there. Cheers.

[piston]

Here's the facebook page address:
https://www.facebook.com/classicalrarities?fref=nf

[piston]

I was hoping for some "rarezas" from Latin America (seldom heard composers; rare recordings) but that is apparently not the mission here.

[oisfetz]

Piston, forget Latin-America. I don't care nor are fan of that music. I'm a citizen of the world and only love European classical. My birth in Argentina was only caused by a very serious mistake of my grandparents, who thought that there they could have a better future. I'll never forgive them for it.

[diegobueno]

So no Ginastera for you? No Villa-Lobos? No Carlos Chavez or Silvestre Revueltas?

[oisfetz]

Bueno Diego, I know several of their works, but they aren't my favourites. Ginastera in particular, I dislike him a lot. BTW: on my Facebook page you have today first movement of LvB violin concerto by Prof.Karl Flesch. THAT's a rarity!

[jbuck919]

Bueno Diego, I know several of their works, but they aren't my favourites. Ginastera in particular, I dislike him a lot. BTW: on my Facebook page you have today first movement of LvB violin concerto by Prof.Karl Flesch. THAT's a rarity!

You see, Mark (diegobueno)? Oisfetz doesn't care about having "parochial" taste, indeed doesn't see it as such (quite the opposite, in fact), even when that means being frank about how he feels about relatively famous composers from his own country.

[piston]

That's an interesting choice of word, JB, considering that to include composers from the whole Western Hemisphere, along with European ones, strikes me as broad-minded rather than "parochial." It's when people are stuck in the same Classical to early Romantic periods and are limited in their knowledge and interest to composers from a couple of European countries that such a term applies.

[John F]

So no Ginastera for you? No Villa-Lobos? No Carlos Chavez or Silvestre Revueltas?

This summer, Carlos Chavez is the featured composer at the Bard Festival. The Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center has an exhibition of Chavez's manuscript scores and other materials.

[oisfetz]

Chavez conducting his violin concerto with Szeryng, it's a piece I like very much.

[John F]

From the music on your site and your screen name, obviously violin music is special for you. Are you a fiddler yourself or a fan?

[slofstra]

Piston, forget Latin-America. I don't care nor are fan of that music. I'm a citizen of the world and only love European classical. My birth in Argentina was only caused by a very serious mistake of my grandparents, who thought that there they could have a better future. I'll never forgive them for it.

The dislike seems to have some deep roots.

[jbuck919]

That's an interesting choice of word, JB, considering that to include composers from the whole Western Hemisphere, along with European ones, strikes me as broad-minded rather than "parochial." It's when people are stuck in the same Classical to early Romantic periods and are limited in their knowledge and interest to composers from a couple of European countries that such a term applies.

I was kidding Mark, because in the distant past I've gotten seriously on his nerves by giving short shrift to a great deal of music that he appreciates and would want me at least to give more of a chance,

I knew nothing of Chavez but his violin concerto has a pretty distinguished YouTubography, so I listened to it this afternoon. There are a number of composers who are to me most to be praised for their violin concertos, which seem for some inscrutable reason to bring out the best in many composers. But this one--well, it isn't awful.

[oisfetz]

From the music on your site and your screen name, obviously violin music is special for you. Are you a fiddler yourself or a fan?

I were a violin fan since my teens (and that was about 60 years ago), and same recordings collector. Also maniac about chamber music, in particular string quartets. But also love string concertos, and today I put a cello one by Victor Herbert. And a Bach's viola d'gamba sonata played on cello by a guy who begun his musical life playing the cello, without much success, and wisely turn to conducting. His name was John Barbirolli.

[piston]

Your facebook page is of interest to me, if only as a platform for thinking about what is considered "rare" in classical music. Is Taneyev rare? Myaskovsky? A CMGF search will reveal that these two Russian composers have been advocated here for several years.

My view is that there's a great number of excellent composers who, for a variety of reasons, were not and have not been great centers of attention like Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, the Mighty Five, and so on. For each great star there are dozens of lesser stars who were truly valuable artists, in numerous ways, and original creators of interest.

And there's the cultural divide between countries. In the USA, composers such as Copland, Bernstein, Gershwin, etc., might be thought as super-stars. In other countries, composers such as Villa-Lobos and Guarnieri, Roussel and Koechlin (Guarnieri's mentor) are more valued than these American composers.

[oisfetz]

Well, what I put on Face are works by composers little know by the major part of the average users, and for them are rare. Not for us, who are expert listeners and know a lot of repertory. I think that what can maybe surprise you are real rare historical old versions by players long time gone, like that Bach-Barbirolli, or some first string quartet recordings I put before.

[piston]

Correct.

But there's also a bunch of operas recorded sixty plus years ago that I am always googling for. Many ballets too.

[oisfetz]

You should investigate YouTube carefully. There are many posters who loaded singers and including complete operas. Began writing the title of one opera you want, and see what happens.
Today I put a clarinet quintet by Paul Ben-Haim. Yes, you know him, but..we are the champions.

[THEHORN]

Sounds interesting ! I'll definitely try it . Thanks !

[oisfetz]

Want to listen to Piazzola's music played on a sax quartet?. And it sounds good! Today on my page.

[jbuck919]

Want to listen to Piazzola's music played on a sax quartet?. And it sounds good!

And why shouldn't it? We're not talking about late Beethoven.

When I was in college I had one significant meeting with Arthur Mendel, the editor/compiler of the still central scholarly work The Bach Reader. For some reason, he put on a recording of portions of The Art of Fugue with "I'll bet you can't guess the forces." Well, sax was my father's primary instrument, and though I have always detested its timbre in spite of that, I recognized immediately that it was a saxophone quartet.

BTW.your Facebook site is full of things other than music performance rarities. To like it is to invite more pictures like the one of the baby with the naked butt who is coincidentally in the same pose as a dog.

[oisfetz]

What are you talking about? I've only put 4 photos, one Heifetz playing, one Heifetz&co., one Gilels&co. and one with the Hollywood SQ. There's no baby!

[jbuck919]

What are you talking about? I've only put 4 photos, one Heifetz playing, one Heifetz&co., one Gilels&co. and one with the Hollywood SQ. There's no baby!

Well, I got it right this time, but there is more than one group called "rarezas," and the one that came up first before had music links as well as bare-bottomed babies, etc.

[oisfetz]

Well, I should sue that guy for copyright violation, and to Facebook for alowd him for put same title. BTW, today you have Bruch's string octet (lovely work!), a Saint-Saens beautiful phantasy for violin&arp (with 2 great virtuosi playing), and a piece for violin&piano by Sauret. Yes, that sadistic guy who wrote an almost unplayable cadenza for Paganini's op.6.