The Joachim Raff Society site is updated regularly with news and more features. To get automatic notification of updates to the site either:
Subscribe to the RSS feed or subscribe to the free email update newsletter.

Latest update: 1 September 2010
One of the great works of Raff's final years is Die Tageszeiten, a unique combination of choral symphony and piano concerto which is possibly his most joyous and life-affirming creation. A new page in the Music Section gives a detailed explanation of the background to the work and describes each of its four movements, complete with five streaming mp3 examples from the piece. A shorter description of Die Tageszeiten, including one streaming audio example, has been added to the Brief Descriptions pages.
Raff's cantata Die Sterne, with its atmospheric choral evocation of the stars and their impact on man, also has some of the most beautiful and serene orchestral passages which he ever wrote. A short outline of this magical piece has been added to the Brief Descriptions pages and is illustrated with a streaming mp3 extract.
The two songs for chorus and orchestra of Raff's op.186, Morgenlied and Einer Entschlafenen, find him at his most lyrical. A short description of them has been added to the Brief Descriptions pages, illustrated with a streaming mp3 example from one of them.
Another portrait of Raff, taken from a photograph of the 1870s, has been added to the Raff Portraits page in the Resources section.
Good quality scans of the title pages of seven Raff scores have been added to the Gallery pages in the Resources section. There is the Piano Trio No.3, a combined edition of five late piano works, and five salon works from around 1860: the Mazurka-Caprice, Chant de l'ondin, Introduction & Allegro scherzoso, Am Gießbach and the Villanella.
The Picture Gallery pages have been revised to accomodate the extra pictures now available.
Public domain site IMSLP has added scores for the Piano Trios Nos.2 and 3 to their catalogue of freely downloadable PDFs.
There's news of a performance of the delightful Sinfonietta in Guilford, Vermont, USA this month.
There is a review at The Classical Music Guide by Lance Hill of the recent Sterling CD of music for choir, piano and orchestra.
There is a review at Music Web International by Jonathan Woolf of the Tudor CD of the Piano Concerto and Ode au Printemps.

Previous updates:
3 August 2010
The pioneering recording from Swedish label Sterling of major choral works by Raff is now available on CD. Featuring the cantata Die Sterne and the innovative symphonically-proportioned Die Tageszeiten for chorus, piano and orchestra, as well as a pair of shorter works, this CD is a significant addition to Raff's recorded repertoire. Alan Howe's review is illustrated with two two streaming mp3 extracts. The page listing recommended recordings of vocal works has been suitably amended.
There is exciting news of the chance discovery of two hitherto unknown piano works by Raff, which probably date from early in his career.
Angelens letzter Tag im Kloster is a cycle of 12 piano pieces recounting the sad tale of a dying nun about which Raff had heard. A brief description of the set and its background has been added to the Music Section. It is illustrated with a streaming mp3 recording of one of the pieces.
Raff's op.111, the Zwei Capricen, are an attractive pair of piano caprices, one a Bolero and the other fast Waltz. They are briefly described in an addition to the Music Section, which is illustrated with a streaming mp3 recording of the Bolero.
Public domain site IMSLP has added downloadable PDF scores for a further 29 chamber music and piano works, many of them in multiple movements, to their Raff catalogue. They now offer 92 Raff scores.
Good quality scans of the title pages of four Raff scores have been added to the Gallery pages in the Resources section: Aus Thüringen Suite for orchestra, Fantasy for Piano Quintet, Two Romances for horn (or cello) and piano and Richard Wagners Opern-Album for piano.
There is a review at The Guardian by Andrew Clements of the recent Tudor nine CD box set reissue of the symphonies, orchestral suites and other orchestral works.
There is a review at Glarean Magazin by Markus Gärtner of the Sterling CD of works for violin and orchestra.

9 July 2010
Dr Alan Krueck's pioneering advocacy of Raff's music paved the way for the burgeoning interest which has occurred in recent years. His sudden death at the age of 70 has shocked all who knew him and is a great loss to everyone interested in reviving the reputations of Raff and Felix Draeseke in particular.
Alan Krueck's last contribution to raff.org is this review of a concert in May this year, in which Andreas Stoehr conducted the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra in the first performance for many years in Germany of the Symphony No.3 Im Walde.
There's news of the digital release of the much anticipated, ground breaking new recording of works for choir, piano and orchestra from Sweden's Sterling label. The CD release will follow shortly. The recording has already been reviewed by Rob Barnett for MusicWeb International.
A new recording from the Swiss Guild label features pleasing performances of the Two Verdi Paraphrases together with opera paraphrases for flute and piano by a variety of 19th century composer-virtuosos. This CD is reviewed and the CD discography and list of recommended recordings correspondingly amended.
British pianist Philip Sear has added more delightful performances of piano works by Raff to his collection on YouTube. This time they are three pieces from Raff's very popular set of 1859, Suite de Morceaux pour petites mains.
Nine new downloadable scores have been added to the catalogue of free Public Domain site IMSLP, including those for seven major chamber music works, bringing the total number of Raff scores available there to 66.
New editions of two Raff piano scores have been published by Edition Koru.
There is a review at MusicWeb International by Rob Barnett of the recent Sterling CD release of the Suite for Piano & Orchestra and overtures and preludes.
There is a review at Audiophile Audition by Lee Passarella of the recent Tudor nine CD box set reissue of the symphonies, orchestral suites and other orchestral works.

3 June 2010
A major addition to the site is the Score Library, which now offers 89 scores or parts for 58 of Raff's works. All are downloadable at no cost in convenient, easy to print and view, PDF format. They are in the Public Domain, so they may be copied freely, and have had non-musical pages removed, cutting download size and printing cost. Whilst the scans are not of the quality of commercial offerings, the collection is intended to offer the curious an accessible first look at many of Raff's scores.
The 1878 Variations for piano is a total rewriting of a work he composed 35 years earlier. Its 17 variations on an original theme increase in complexity and demand greater virtuosity as the work progresses. A brief description has been added to the Music section and is illustrated with a streaming mp3 recording of the complete work.
Amongst the last of the "salon" music which Raff continued to write even at the height of his career is the highly attractive Capriccio for piano. A brief description of this winning piece has been added to the Music section and it can also be heard via a streaming audio track.
Pianist Philip Sear is building up a very enjoyable series of performances of piano works by Raff on YouTube and the latest of them, the Impromptu Waltz, has been added to the Raff on YouTube pages.
A good quality scan of a design sketch for Raff's memorial in Frankfurt has been added to the Gallery pages in the Resources section.
There's news of two European performances of the Sinfonietta for 10 wind instruments in this Summer.
Free Public Domain score resource IMSLP has added the score of the String Quartet No.7 to their catalogue.