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Latest update: 1 March 2010
Raff's Concertante Die Tageszeiten for piano, chorus and orchestra is a mixture of piano concerto, symphony and cantata, unique at the time that it was written. Acclaimed Raff scholar Dr Avrohom Leichtling has written a penetrating analysis of the work which is now available in the Analysis section through kind permission of MusikProduktion Höflich, the original publishers.
The Overture Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is another important work and is the subject of the second new analytical article by Dr Avrohom Leichtling. It is now available online in the Analysis section, courtesy of original publisher MusikProduktion Höflich.
Tchaikovsky had a high regard for Raff's mastery of orchestration and form and this is reflected in his reviews of four major Raff works played in Moscow in the 1870s. These, and other writings on Raff by Tchaikovsky, are to be found in a new page in the Raff's Peers section.
The Raff on YouTube pages have been greatly expanded with the inclusion of eight videos recording a recital of Raff's piano music given by Valentina Seferinova.
Budget label Naxos have made available, through their online download store classicsonline.com, a "boxed set" of all eight CDs which made up their Marco Polo label's Raff symphonic cycle, first issued in the early 1990s.

Previous updates:
2 February 2010
A concert performance of a Raff symphony is always a welcome event and especially so when it takes place in his birthplace of Lachen, Switzerland. A new page in the News section reviews the recent performance of the Symphony No.11 Der Winter by the Sinfonieorchester Ausserschwyz under their conducor Urs Bamert.
Raff's Thüringian Suite is the last of his four orchestral suites and, like the others, is a large scale work. It is inspired by the historic German region of Thüringia, with which Raff had close ties, and the five movements describe various aspects of the area's history, countryside and everyday life. The music and the background to its composition is discussedl in a new page in the Music in Detail section. Each movement is illustrated by a streaming mp3 extract.
A brief description of the Fairy tale Epic Dornröschen has been added to the Vocal Music pages in the Music section. It is illustrated with a streaming mp3 example.
Two more facsimiles of original study scores of major orchestral works have been published by Musikproduktion Höflich. The Concertante for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra, Die Tageszeiten and the Overture Ein feste Burg swell their Raff scores available to 17.
Edition Silvertrust, specialists in publishing facsimilies of the original editions of negleted chamber music, have now added the String Sextet and the Piano Trio No.1 to their already extensive catalogue.
A reproduction of the set of original published parts for the Fantasie for Piano Quintet means that Merton Music can now supply parts for all of Raff's published chamber music for three or more players.

1 January 2010
The Suite for Violin and Orchestra was one of Raff's great successes. Its virtuoso pyrotechnics, calculated to prove a dazzling showcase for the soloist, thrilled audiences in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A new page in the Music section describes in detail the work and its background. It is illustrated with streaming mp3 extracts from all five movements.
The page in the Life section which describes the memorials to Raff in Frankfurt, Germany and Lachen, Switzerland has been completely rewritten and greatly extended, with more photographs and maps of each location.
There are two more reviews, by Dennis Slade and Peter Storm van Leeuwen, of the recent Sterling CD of the Suite for Piano & Orchestra and orchestral works.
We can look forward to a new CD to be issued next year which will feature a pair of string quartets, one of which will be a recording premiere.
There is exciting news of the premiere recordings in Sweden of works for piano, chorus and orchestra, due for release later in the year.
Raff's Symphony No.11 Der Winter is due to be played in a concert Switzerland in January. The News page has the details.

5 December 2009
A CD packed with Raff recording premieres is always a welcome event. Swedish label Sterling have just issued the second in their series of CDs of previously unrecorded orchestral music, two of the pieces on which have never been performed before this recording. The main work is the long-awaited debut recording of the Suite for Piano & Orchestra. The CD also features two overtures and three preludes from Raff's operas and choral works. Both Ilja Nieuwland and Mark Thomas review this milestone release, illustrated with streaming mp3 extracts.
The pages discussing recommended recordings of concertos and orchestral works have been suitably amended.
A brief description of the large-scale and exciting Overture to Raff's first opera, König Alfred, has been added to the Music section. It is illustrated with a streaming audio extract.
A brief description of the witty and tuneful Overture to Raff's last opera, Die Eifersüchtigen, has been added to the Music section. It is illustrated with a streaming audio extract.
There's news of an upcoming CD of music for piano from the legendary US virtuoso, Adrian Ruiz. It features a reissue of his pioneering LP performance of one of Raff's Suites together with a new recording of another major piano work.
Swiss label Divox has confirmed that Il Trittico's recent premiere recording of two major Raff chamber music works will appear on its label in Spring 2010.
The Concert News page has details of concerts early in 2010 featuring performances of the Sinfonietta in the USA and Raff's orchestration of Bach's Chaconne in the UK.