Louis Glass

You know, we live in a world in which there is so much talk about the need for greater "transparency", in which government secrets are revealed through various and multiple leaked documents, yet there is one area where continuing and absolute secrecy remains: the release plans and schedules of certain record labels ::) Given that a recording of an orchestral work of substance will involve around 100 individuals-orchestra, conductor, recording engineers etc etc-it is astonishing that we are left floundering around on sites like this endlessly speculating about whether and when certain companies will finally get round to recording or issuing music which we have been told to expect or suspect might already have been recorded.

Perhaps it is indicative of a situation in which the market for classical music is so small that record companies live in terror that their rivals may release an alternative recording in the interim. If so then I would suggest it is ridiculous paranoia. The type of music we are talking about does not in most cases have orchestras or conductors or record companies lining up to put it on disc.

What therefore is precisely wrong about a company saying that they have already recorded a.b, c and d and will issue these over the next year or two ??? ???

Three examples (and they are each in respect of CPO I admit): you are right-the Louis Glass cd was issued in 2014 as Volume 1 of "The Complete Symphonies" but it was recorded in September 2009. So it took the company five years to get the recording onto cd and commercially available. Why ??? And....have the other symphonies been recorded ??? If so, when will they be released ???

The Symphonies Nos. 1 and 6 by Johann Nepomuk David were recorded by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Johannes Wildner in March 2011 but not released until 2014. According to Wildner's own website he has recorded Nos. 3 and 7. However, according to Mike Herman's National Discographies on Musicweb Nos. 2 and 4 have also been recorded. In fact Mike has provided us with the cd information: Nos. 2 and 4 are on CPO 777 577-2 and Nos. 3 and 7 on CPO 777 964-2. Have we had any indication from the company when these "advertised" discs will be released ??? Absolutely not :( Mike thought they would be released in 2015, yet here we are in August 2016.

My third example is the relatively recent release of the Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5 by Henk Badings. After the considerable hiatus following the previous release of Badings symphonies I wrote to the company a couple of years ago expressing the hope that they would go on recording Badings. They replied saying that they had no plans to do so. I told them that I regretted that decision. Then....up pop the Fourth and Fifth symphonies-recorded in Bochum in August 2012 ::) I was therefore given information which was........"misleading".

Do these companies not appreciate that their loyal customers, whose immense admiration and everlasting gratitude for neglected repertoire being recorded is repeatedly expressed, also just perhaps merit some consideration in being given at least some indication of perhaps just the YEAR we might actually get to hear the music they put on disc for us ??? ???