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Steve Benson   02/4/2004	Subject: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. Message: Thanks to Peter Conole for prompting this idea.Honestly, Peter, it was in my head already!. Anyway, I dont suppose it matters WHO starts a thread of such common interest! As I said in my posting on "furtive pleasures", M. Ponti seems to provoke a lot of polarised opinions from outright dismissiveness to almost hero-worship! I am of the latter camp. Sadly, I heard he had had a stroke and was now unable to play. Is this so? Here is a discography of his Vox/Turnabout LPs: 1. Raff/Hiller Concerti 2. Von Bronsart/Goetz Concerti 3. Reinecke No.1 (apologies, John Boyer, it WAS the first) and D'Albert No.2. 4. Scharwenka No 2 and small piano works. 5. Clara Schumann Concerto and smaller solo works. 6. Litolff No.3 and Rheinberger. 7. Dvorak concerto( very hard to get hold of on LP) 8. Medtner No. 3 and smaller works 9. Tausig. Solo pieces 10-12. Tchaikowsky Nos 1,2 and 3(the latter coupled with Rimsky-Korsakov Concerto) 13.Alkan Solo piano pieces, including "Symphony" 14. Scriabin- complete piano sonatas etc. 15 Rachmaninov- Complete(?) solo piano pieces 16 Tschaikowsky-complete solo piano pieces 17. Raff-Ode to Spring(coupled with "Im Walde") 18. Thalberg-Concerto and solo pieces 19. Moszkowski- Concerto and smaller piano solos 20. One of the Moscheles concerti and solo pieces. 21. Henselt Concerto-never seen; not sure what coupled with. 22.Chopin Allegro de Concert(orchestration),Mendelssohn Capriccio Brilliant and Liszt "Totentanz". 23. Scriabin Concerto, c/w some duplicates from the complete Scriabin solo set. 24. Rubinstein No.4, c/w solo pieces 25. opera para-phrases, by Liszt,Thalberg, Moszkowski, Pabst, Grainger and Brassin(one whole disc plus various fill-ups) 26.Glazunov Concerto 2 27. Balakirev Concerto and Liapunov "Fantasia on Ukranian Themes"(particuarly zany and helter-skelter) 28. Liszt "malediction"-dont know coupling. I know he also recorded a Melcer-Sckrowinski(sic?) concerto(coupled with someone else's Paderewski on Olympia cd, again deleted and very hard to get);quite a lot for Dante(including a later version of the Raff concerto); and accompanied Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on A DGG LP of Ives' songs(again which I have never seen) I have heard other pianist's recordings of some of the above, but they never seem to have the passion, flamboyance and poignancy that is so appropriate to the character of these works.Or, like Raymond Lewenthal, or Earl Wild, they recorded one or two concerti and gave up-except of course for Ponti's female equivalent, Felicja Blumenthal; the Hyperion pianists; and some other (Vox, of course) regulars like Akiko Sagara, Hans Kann, Jerome Rose, Roland Keller(Stavenhagen's Concerto is very good in a grandiose high octane fashion).Oh, and there's the Genesis recordings, Gerard Robbins and others. Perhaps someone else can fill in any gaps? Thanks to Fernando, for his warm welcome, and to Peter and John for their enthusiastic posts! One CAN feel alone in liking these misunderstood and occasionally derided but often poignant and stirring, joyful works.Everyone seems very friendly, which is different from some of the postings I have seen on another classical (recorded music) site. Fernando, I am seeing whether I like Scharwenka No.2. Take care, Steve.
FERNANDO OLIVA   02/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Dear Steven: I posted a reply about the Rubinstein 1st. Piano Concerto opinions from the chat on "furtive musical pleasures". I would like to request your expert opinion about the pianists Joseph Banowetz and Leslie Howard. Thanks in advance. Have a nice week-end. I will listen to the Scharwenka 3rd. Piano concerto in the car during my weekly trip to fly-fishing. Cheers, Fernando.
peter conole   02/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: A warm welcome Steve. Am a newcomer to the Joachim Raff Society forum myself. You will meet wiser folk than me, with years of knowledge behind them. Thanks for starting the thread. It is almost too good to be true. When you check other threads/postings you will find my major passions are piano, violin and cello concertos - plus other things to only a slightly lesser degree. The reference to the Melcer-Szczawinski piano concerto (Melcer is enough, I think) had me grinning from ear to ear because I babbled on about it in another thread. Ponti's frontal assault on that work is coupled with a performance of the Paderewski concerto by one Piotr Paleczny. Different orchestras for each. Olympia disc OCD 398. All is not lost - Mark explained after my rave that Hyperion is going to bring out both (!) Melcer concertos in its great series. We will all be very grateful for the Ponti discography. I noticed you found a way to mention Stavenhagen - yet another 'one of those'. Did some research on him. I believe the piano concerto no.1 was first performed in 1899. There is a number 2 from 1912 which did not survive intact - someone did a good job on what was left and the result is on EBS 6079. Living as I do in a small provincial city, the feeling of isolation re a love of romantic concertos and symphonies is one I am familiar with. But even here there are like-minded people in various nooks and crannies - more than you can imagine. And yet, discovering the Joachim Raff Society was something really very special. Please stay around. Have been wondering what I can do to help this thread along. Judging from past discussions, things may get pretty lively and hugely enjoyable. Perhaps it might assist if the Raff piano concerto is put in context for discussion purposes. Here are the recorded ones I have located for the 1870s. The years in brackets are composition, 1st performance or publication dates -whatever seemed appropriate: Alkan 1872 (Cheating actually; the work is an arrangement of a work for solo piano by Klindworth -revised 1902) Bronsart 1873 Busoni 1878 (for piano and string quartet, but a true concerto. Maybe not fair to include it - composer only 12) Castillon 1871 Dvorak 1878 Huber no.1 1878 Martucci no.1 1878 Parry 1879 Raff 1873 Reinecke no.2 1872 Reinecke no.3 1877 Rheinberger 1876 Rontgen 1879 Rubinstein no.5 1874 Saint Saens no.4 1875 Scharwenka no.1 1877 Sgambati 1878 Tchaikovsky no.1 1875 Winding 1875 (this latter is called a 'concert allegro', but in musical form it is really a one movement concerto). If anyone thinks it necessary, I will give the CD serial numbers and the names of soloists. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone provides me with the details (composer, work, label, serial number) of any concerto not on the list. Very greatly appreciated. It will be seen from Steve's discography that Ponti honoured the Raff, Bronsart, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky works. Thanks for the discography Steve. Hope you enjoy the fun. regards Peter
peter conole   03/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: I forgot. Michael Ponti also recorded the Rheinberger concerto. regards Peter
Mark   03/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: A couple of quick points arising from Steve's very useful Ponti discography: 1. The 1996 re-run of the Raff Concerto which Ponti recorded for Dante is coupled with the ultra-charming Moszkowski concerto. His performance is the same old wing-ding which we know from the Vox days, but unfortunately the orchestra is so recessed that, as Matthias Wiegandt writes in his review elsewhere on this site, it sounds rather like a "music minus one" disk in reverse! 2. I don't know about the original LP, but on the later Vox Box CD transfers, the Liszt Malédiction is coupled with concertos by Bronsart, D'Albert, Mosonyi, Raff & Stavenhagen.
John Boyer   15/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Peter, Would you please e-mail me directly? I have tried several times to contact you, but the messages are returned as undeliverable. Is the e-mail address you list correct? - John Boyer
peter conole   15/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Dear John Yes, the Email address is correct. I cannot understand why you have had problems. Mind you, the 'minders' at my address are very protective right now because of spam and similar garbage. You can understand why. I would not like you to expose yourself to mischief by sending me your own Email address without due protection. Mark, can you help us here by arranging something? The technology defeats me (and I will not ask for 'mate' help). respect and regards Peter
Mark   15/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: What wouldn't I do for this community? ;-) OK. I have temporarily configured the raff.org email server so that if John emails: peter.conole@raff.org it should forward any mail to Peter's address. Do please let me know when you no longer need this generous facility!! Cheers,
peter conole   16/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Mark Thanks for that. You really are a gentleman. John, am not sure what has really happened re my email addresses. One simply will not allow non-work related material to get through. The 'minders' of the other are having fits re viruses at the moment and have been in chronic paranoia for a couple of weeks. Mark's short term solution might do the trick. regards Peter Conole
peter conole   16/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Mark Thanks for the temporary reconfigure. Very kind of you. I think the problem is now fixed and you can safely remove the temp. regards Peter
peter conole   17/4/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Have checked out Ponti's performance of the Raff concerto re in comparison with Antonioli on the Tudor label. Still agree with John that Ponti's id a better option for pure bravura and pleasure. I understand that at least two other pianists have recorded the work. Am curious about impressions of their efforts. I noted Mark's comment that a second effort by Ponti was not so good - orchestra too distant. Have not been able to track down Ponti's dealings with the Dvorak work. Steve and others may have some views. Same with the Rheinberger work - although in that case I actually preferred the Adrian Ruiz rendidtion. I guess one of the problems with some of the concertos listed by Steve and myself is that - regardless of quality, or relative lack thereof - they have not been graced with frequent concert perfomances or given attention by recording studios until very recently. regards peter
luis de orueta   01/5/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: hi peter, You can add to your list of Ponti´s recordings the 1989 issued by klavins music. In that one M Ponti is playing the 3,65 meters high by 1,96 meters wide Klavins-Klavier Mod 370.The program: Mussorgsky´s Pictures ( all 16); Chopin´s Andante Spinato+Polonaise,Nocturno in Re from op 27,Mazurka in La from op 17 and Etude nº 3 from op 10; plus Liszt´s Rapsodia Hungara nº 6.
peter conole   05/5/2004	RE: Michael Ponti, Raff and other Romantic concerti/pianists. IP: Logged Message: Thanks for the information about the klavins music recording featuring Ponti. The date 1989 - I imagine that means the disc is no longer available. The label does not appear in the latest Gramophone catalogue. It would be of great interest if Gramophone magazine devoted time and space to Mr Ponti and his work, as well as giving us a complete discography. I will write to the magazine and ask the obvious questions. There was one item missing from my listing of 1870's piano concertos - the Litolff No.5, which appeared in 1870. That decade was a very rich one, in the musical sense. Have sometimes wondered why. regards Peter