Unsung Composers

I know his name has been mentioned in passing on a couple of occasions in this forum, but I think Castro deserves a topic of his own on the strength of his piano concerto alone! I refer those interested to a performance on youtube, and although presented in rather disjointed chunks! - gives a more than adequate overview of the work and should hopefully start up interest (I know Mike Spring has seen the score and initially thought it rather weak - but I beg to differ and I am sure there are others that would too!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQH8ZmaYHcc

Then of course there is his piano music, a fair amount of which has appeared on a variety of Mexican labels that seem to be extremely difficult/well nigh impossible to obtain. (Can anyone tell me where I can obtain Quindecim recordings - they seem to have a fair catalogue including much 19th -early 20th century Mexican classical music - one of their CD's is a complete recording of Castro's valses pour piano?) There are a few odd pieces on IMSLP for those interested, but there also seems to be (if only one can know how to obtain them) a number of fairly recent published scores, including a volume of waltes. Castro studied in Paris with, amongst others, Moszkowski.


I also thoroughly recommend the cello concerto for those who like their late romantic concertos, and this one doesn't disappoint, although the performance is not top rate (once again, perhaps Hyperion's Cello Concerto series could be kick-started with this one!). There is also a rather poor recording of his first symphony, which is probably the least interesting work I've heard to date, and certainly seems to be more of a student exercise.

However, the piano concerto is surely a must!

This is the 3rd time i have listened to this and the third time I didn't care for the Polonaise, which rather detracts from the power & lyricism of the first 2 movements. Perhaps a high quality commercial recording will change my mind.

Parts of the andante bring a tear to my eye and it does make one wish to pay a visit to Castro's solo works, which admittedly I have not yet done.

For a commercial release, I guess it needs a South American partner, so perhaps if it is coupled with something like the concerto by Enrique Soro, it would be viable.

Thal

Yes, Thal, I do agree that the 3rd movement is the weakest, but surely no weaker than those of a number of concerti that have appeared in the Hyperion series!

I also agree that the Soro would be an ideal coupling, but this would still leave us woefully short at around the 50 minute mark which would be totally unacceptable today. I have suggested to Mike that he considers adding a third composer to this hypothetical project - something which I know he would rather not do, but it hasn't been discounted out of hand yet. The obvious third choice would be Ernesto Drangosch IMHO!

Do try the solo works that are available on IMSLP - I am sure they will live up to expectations! But it would be great to establish some sort of contact with a knowledgable Mexican source to obtain the rest - easier said than done though! Perhaps some of our frinds in the US may be able to help....?

Having listened to the clips on YouTube, I agree with Thalberg in his assessment of the concerto - beautiful work, rather let down by its finale. However, in the hands of a good conductor I think it could be made to work better than the YouTube performance would suggest. A disk containing the concertos of Soro and Drangosch as well would be most attractive. I don't know either, I'm afraid, but what I've read about them indicates that they are full-blooded "romantic" works in the Tchaikovsky vein with good tunes and fine pianistic writing. What a pity it is that Teresa Carreno wrote nothing for piano & orchestra!

Judging by her treatment of Bellini's Norma, perhaps a concerto by Carreno would have been along the lines of an enjoyable display piece.

If we are looking at a partner for Castro, one of my nice American friends sent me the score for the Concerto by Jose Rolon who was also a Moszkowski pupil, so perhaps that is a possibility.

It appears our South American unsungs have much to offer, but I have not played or listened to a great deal of their music. One of my friends speaks very highly of Ponce, but i have yet to listen to any of his works.

Too many composers, too many compositions and not enough time.

Thal

Quote from: thalbergmad on Friday 25 June 2010, 17:42
Judging by her treatment of Bellini's Norma, perhaps a concerto by Carreno would have been along the lines of an enjoyable display piece.

If we are looking at a partner for Castro, one of my nice American friends sent me the score for the Concerto by Jose Rolon who was also a Moszkowski pupil, so perhaps that is a possibility.

It appears our South American unsungs have much to offer, but I have not played or listened to a great deal of their music. One of my friends speaks very highly of Ponce, but i have yet to listen to any of his works.

Too many composers, too many compositions and not enough time.

Thal

I believe Carreno's string quartet has been recorded also, by the way.
Eric

"...One of my friends speaks very highly of Ponce, but i have yet to listen to any of his works..."

And rightly so, Ponce is an excellent composer.  The piano concerto is a full-blooded Romantic work, and if memory serves, you can listen to 2 versions of it on Youtube (one uses reduced orchestration, though)

David

The PC by Manuel Ponce has been recorded on ASV and is available here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/M%C3%BAsica-Mexicana-Vol-6-Manuel-Ponce/dp/B0000030VL/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1277537678&sr=1-47
and here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ponce-Three-Concertos-Manuel/dp/B0000030W9/ref=sr_1_37?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1277537678&sr=1-37

Thanks that is a bargain.

I see the Concierto Romantico is also on you tube.

Thal

Martin,

Having just been sent the link to this wonderful web-site by Giles Enders, I have had a look/listen to the Castro piano concerto as a 'first' sampler.  As you say, pity it's a bit disjointed but still marvellous music.  I found four YOUTUBE clips for this, of which the second longest (8mins+) was a duplicate I think of the longest (mostly the 3rd mvt).

In case anyone is interested/doesn't know, the web site for the soloist Rodolfo Ritter (www.rodolforitter.com) indicates he will be recording this concerto, and also the PONCE 2nd, 'at some future date' (not given).

You mention the cello concerto - do you have a link or other details I could follow up?

Carlos Prieto, the dean of Mexican cellists, has recorded it:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Centuries-Concertos-Cello-Orch/dp/B002ED6VPY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1277580467&sr=1-6

David

David,

Many thanks for the link to the CD details.  I ordered that CD and it has now arrived from USA and is a much better sound than the youtube clip I'd heard.

Richard

 
The recording of the Castro cello concerto by Carlos Prieto is quite good. I received this as a gift from his son, Carlos Miguel Prieto, who conducts the Heras concerto on the same CD. Carlos Miguel Prieto is the conductor of the regional orchestra where I lived for 5 years. It was my great pleasure to get to know him and his family, including his father Carlos. The elder Carlos, his son (trained as a violinist) and his uncle (a violist), were frequently persuaded to play impromtu trios during our social evenings, and Carlos senior played concerts with our very decent orchestra regularly over the years, with Carlos Miguel conducting.

The elder Carlos Prieto performed the European premier of Shostakovich's 1st cello concerto and plays it quite often in concert. His fame as a cellist is greater in Europe and Russia than in the U.S., perhaps because of his ties to Russia during the cold war. That's unfortunate, since he is a fine cellist.

I've not yet heard the Castro piano concerto. I'll have to track that down.

Thanks for the tip, Amps.  Just picked up a copy off your link for a steal. 

Re: The Castro Pno Conc.

This thread had previously given the link to Youtube extracts (played by Rodolfo Ritter) and his web site says he is going to record it 'some time in the future' (with Ponce PC2??), however no date given.  If you manage to track down any CD of this work already available or released sooner, I think many of us would appreciate the details.