Joachim Raff - Suite for Piano & Orchestra; Overtures & Preludes (Tra Nguyen)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

• Suite for piano & orchestra, Op. 200
• Die Eifersüchtigen, comic opera, WoO 54: Overture
• König Alfred, opera, WoO 14: Overture
• Dornröschen, fairy tale, WoO 19: Vorspiel & Die Dornhecke
• Samson, musical tragedy, WoO 20: Vorspiel dritter Akt

Tra Nguyen, piano

Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra

Roland Kluttig, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Sterling

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Review

Joachim Raff (1822-82) deserves considerably more attention than he currently receives, so full marks to this ever-enterprising Swedish indie for the resurrection of the Swiss composer’s five-movement Suite and affording us glimpses of Raff the opera composer. He had a fine melodic gift (as anyone who knows his C minor Piano Concerto and Cello Concerto will know) and was one of the master orchestrators of the day (he acted as Liszt’s guide in instrumentation for a short while). His Op 200, lasting over 36 minutes, shows not only these gifts but a clever and witty eclectic. The fugue subject of the first movement’s Introduction and Fugue, for instance, after its academic exposition, is treated in an unexpectedly humorous way, then played against itself in inversion as well as being used in a high-spirited transformation for part of the finale. The nimble-fingered soloist, the young British-Vietnamese pianist Tra Nguyen, despatches the Mendelssohnian filigree writing with stylish aplomb. Altogether an engaging and attractive discovery.

The two overtures from his 1882 comic opera Die Eifersüchtigen (“The Jealous Ones”) and King Alfred (1850), Liszt-influenced and solidly crafted, would make effective curtain-raisers though lacking that last spark of individuality that will forever confine Raff to the second division. The last three pieces underline this, especially the Intermezzo from Raff’s Dornröschen (“Briar-Rose”) for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, a straight lift from Mendelssohn’s fairy world. The orchestral playing is fine with the occasional untidy string ensemble, the recording is excellent and comes with an extensive (16-page) booklet in English.

— Jeremy Nicholas

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Joachim Raff (27 May 1822 —  24 or 25 June 1882) was a German composer and teacher who was greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten by the late 20th century. Initially a self-taught musician, he was influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann before aligning with Liszt and Wagner's "New German School". He served as Liszt's assistant in Weimar and later taught piano in Wiesbaden. From 1877, he directed the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. A prolific composer, Raff wrote 11 symphonies, concertos, operas, choral, chamber and piano music. Many of these works are now commercially recorded.

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Tra Nguyen (born 1973 in Hanoi) is a distinguished Vietnamese pianist. Trained at the Moscow Conservatory with Lev Naumov and later at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton, she has since performed at major venues worldwide, including Wigmore Hall and Tokyo Opera City. Nguyen explores both core and lesser-known repertoire, recently tackling Schubert's complete sonatas and Liszt's Grandes études. Her acclaimed recordings, including world premieres and a Joachim Raff series, have earned international praise. She is also an accomplished chamber musician, collaborating with top artists.

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