Cipriani Potter on CPO

[guest822]

It does, rather, doesn't it? And, as Albion observes, "...perhaps they're not "masterpieces", lol, who cares?"

I don't know about you but, I suspect like most folks, I don't want to listen to masterpieces (howsoever you define the word) all the time. As the Duke of Dunstable asks in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, "toffee in moderation is a capital thing. But to live on toffee - toffee for breakfast, toffee for dinner, toffee for tea - to have it supposed that you care for nothing but toffee, and that you would consider yourself insulted if anything but toffee were offered to you - how would you like that?"

For 'toffee' read 'masterpieces' and there you have it! A surfeit of masterpieces is not any better for you than a surfeit of lampreys.

 ;D

Yes, I totally agree. I remember reading an article some years back which considered the "masterpieces only" approach to music in the context of other artistic fields. How poor our museums and galleries would be if we only displayed paintings by the great masters in any particular period! I'll have to see if I can find it again and post a link if I can.

A couple of evenings ago I spent a happy hour or so listening to septets by Alexander Fesca. There was nothing ground-breaking in them, no great depths of emotion were plumbed - they were altogether Biedermeier, altogether charming, played extremely sympathetically, and they fitted my mood perfectly. From a listener's point of view I couldn't have been happier by the end of the disc. It was 60-odd minutes extremely well spent.

One word for what you describe when repeated over and over and over again is "dilettantism".

That's the flip side of what happens with the ongoing deluge of new recordings being issued.

You flit about from flower to flower with great pleasure and entertainment in the immediate effects.

But meaningful absorption never occurs, which demands a clear choice of commitments.

I couldn't disagree more. For a start, the word 'dilettantism' is perjorative. You seem to be positing the notion that music has to be profound, or such that it only gives up its pleasures after in-depth study or, at least, repeated hearings. If I wanted to, I could sit here and analyse the five-part invertible counterpoint in the finale of the Jupiter Symphony, but would that enhance the sheer visceral excitement I derive from listening to it? In a word, 'no'. To disparage 'deriving pleasure and entertainment' in immediate effects seems to me to smack of musical snobbery.   

[Albion]

One word for what you describe when repeated over and over and over again is "dilettantism".

No, it means thinking outside the box.

That's the flip side of what happens with the ongoing deluge of new recordings being issued.

Are you bothering to personally fund any of them?

You flit about from flower to flower with great pleasure and entertainment in the immediate effects.

So what, will it kill anybody in the process?

But meaningful absorption never occurs, which demands a clear choice of commitments.

I use an excellent kitchen-roll.



 :)

[JP]

I finally got my copy of this disc from Presto last weekend and the music, performances and sound quality are all first class. Griffiths has a real ear for Potter's spirited symphonic invention and you'd think these works were all repertory staples listening to the music-making here.

I did a bit of detective work and, although there wasn't anything I could see on the conductor's website, following the link to his public Facebook page revealed that he had never heard of Cipriani Potter until Bernhard Schmilgün introduced him to the composer's music, so this is very much a CPO driven project it would seem.

In the comments under his post about the disc, Griffiths also says: "We hope to record more of his music!" and later on "Yes we will carry on with the journey of discovery" - all of which sounds very promising!  :)

He posted a link to a very positive review of the disc as well. It's in German, which I don't speak, but I was able to read it by copying and pasting it a paragraph at a time into Bing!

https://magazin.klassik.com/reviews/reviews.cfm?TASK=REVIEW&RECID=37440&REID=19457&fbclid=IwAR22fp0YQf9dWJPZAZTM6BBiFBxJARHpmGLopPoidAaPChfzpxpl2wMhfxg

[Albion]

Griffiths has a real ear for Potter's spirited symphonic invention and you'd think these works were all repertory staples listening to the music-making here.

I think that Howard Griffiths is an incredibly talented conductor and, as he's not based here, it's a shame that he's not celebrated in this country. Anybody who can turn out splendid recordings of Ferdinand Ries and Joseph Holbrooke commands the highest respect! Potter is right in his comfort zone.

 ;D

In the comments under his post about the disc, Griffiths also says: "We hope to record more of his music!" and later on "Yes we will carry on with the journey of discovery" - all of which sounds very promising!  :)

That's a truly wonderful prospect indeed! One symphony down, only eight more to go...

 :D

How does the performance of the symphony compare with the one conducted by Rumon Gamba that was broadcast last April on Radio 3 (and which is in the British and Irish Music Archive)?

 :)

[Albion]

Cipriani Potter or Bela Lugosi? Those eyebrows are alarming, to say the least...

 :o

It was my previous avatar.

 ;D

[JP]

I think that Howard Griffiths is an incredibly talented conductor and, as he's not based here, it's a shame that he's not celebrated in this country. Anybody who can turn out splendid recordings of Ferdinand Ries and Joseph Holbrooke commands the highest respect! Potter is right in his comfort zone.

 ;D

Yes, I agree entirely - always a guarantee of excellent musicianship when you see his name on a CD cover.

I didn't know about the Gamba performance. Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out.

Poor Cipriani does look a little vampiric there. The painting would make a nice cover for a gothic novel.

[Albion]

I didn't know about the Gamba performance. Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out.

Sorry, I just checked and it was Howard Griffiths, not Rumon Gamba in the April 2020 BBC broadcast.

 :-[

If this is indeed the same performance, I will delete it from the the archive. Perhaps a member (JP?) could compare the two and let me know...

 :)

[guest822]

Griffiths has a real ear for Potter's spirited symphonic invention and you'd think these works were all repertory staples listening to the music-making here.

I think that Howard Griffiths is an incredibly talented conductor and, as he's not based here, it's a shame that he's not celebrated in this country. Anybody who can turn out splendid recordings of Ferdinand Ries and Joseph Holbrooke commands the highest respect! Potter is right in his comfort zone.

 ;D

In the comments under his post about the disc, Griffiths also says: "We hope to record more of his music!" and later on "Yes we will carry on with the journey of discovery" - all of which sounds very promising!  :)

That's a truly wonderful prospect indeed! One symphony down, only eight more to go...

 :D

It would be wonderful if Howard Griffiths would record more Potter and more Holbrooke. Apollo and the Seaman, anyone?

[Albion]

It would be wonderful if Howard Griffiths would record more Potter and more Holbrooke. Apollo and the Seaman, anyone?

All nine Potter symphonies plus the overtures Antony and Cleopatra (1835) and The Tempest (1837)...

 :o

...Holbrooke's Les Hommages (1900-04), Queen Mab (1902), The Bells (1903), Apollo and the Seaman (1907), the dramatic choral symphony Homage to E.A. Poe (1902-08) and Piano Concerto No.2 L'Orient (1920-28)...

 :o

...pretty please.

 :-*

[Grandenorm]

I heartily applaud this Potter disk and agree that Howard Griffiths does a marvellous job. I am very, very pleased to read the hints that a complete symphonic cycle may be on the cards.
As to Holbrooke, John (and anyone else on this forum), if you were to write to Herr Schmilgun at CPO asking for more Holbrooke from Howard Griffiths, particularly the works mentioned, it would help the cause. I shall be writing myself, later in the year, but the more requests CPO get the more they are likely to respond positively.

[Albion]

As to Holbrooke, John (and anyone else on this forum), if you were to write to Herr Schmilgun at CPO asking for more Holbrooke from Howard Griffiths, particularly the works mentioned, it would help the cause.

Hi, Gareth - great idea. Is there a contact email address? I've never dealt with CPO directly.

 :)

[Grandenorm]

Here we are:  cpo@jpc.de

Mark for the attention of: Burkhard Schmilgun, Director Artists & Repertoire.

The postal address is:
cpo – classic production osnabrück
Lübecker Straße 9
49124 Georgsmarienhütte

They seem to be nice people there. Good luck, everybody!

[Albion]

Here we are:  cpo@jpc.de

Mark for the attention of: Burkhard Schmilgun, Director Artists & Repertoire.

The postal address is:
cpo – classic production osnabrück
Lübecker Straße 9
49124 Georgsmarienhütte

They seem to be nice people there. Good luck, everybody!

Thanks, Gareth. That's one of my jobs for today! I'll press for the Potter series to continue and plead for more Holbrooke...

 ;)

[Albion]

That's one of my jobs for today! I'll press for the Potter series to continue and plead for more Holbrooke...

 ;)

Duly done...

 :)

[Albion]

Another excellent review for this superb disc -

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Jul/Potter-sy1-5552742.htm

 :)