# Gottschalk



## 8j1010 (Aug 29, 2020)

I've recently found a piece called Ojos Criollos by Gottschalk. I've never heard of this composer, but I really like a lot of the pieces that I've heard so far. Im interested in what people think about his music.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Great fun (and often highly demanding technically). Not the deepest music ever written, but not all music has to be.


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## 8j1010 (Aug 29, 2020)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Great fun (and often highly demanding technically). Not the deepest music ever written, but not all music has to be.


That's very true, most of his pieces are very fun to listen to.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I do enjoy the music I've heard from Gottchalk. One of my favorite pieces is Bamboula.

My understanding is that he was so busy performing to make money for his family that he never had much time to compose, and many of his compositions were never properly scored and were just sketches.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

"Le Banjo - Grotesque Fantaisie" is a charmer, with its references to "The Camptown Races". Quite a finger-bender to play though!


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Gottschalk is one of a kind. I love his upbeat music representing a young nation eager to expand its territory and influence. The best recrording, by far, comes from Cecile Licad on Naxos.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Gottschalk has been a hobby of mine for some 50 years now - America's first great musician. There is a superb complete edition of the piano music on Hyperion, but that may be more Gottschalk than most people need - or want. My favorite one-disk collection was made by Leonard Pennario.

But there are two works that are just delightful that are so easy to love: The First "Symphony" (A Night in the Tropics) and the Grand Tarantelle. The symphony has been recorded a surprising number of times, but never in the original orchestration. The Hot Springs Festival recording on Naxos is as good as any, better than most. The disk also has the Grand Tarantelle, but I have to be honest - even though it's not authentic Gottschalk (interesting history behind it) I really prefer it in the arrangement made by Hershey Kay. The best recording of that has never reached CD, but the Telarc version is nearly as good. Then, if you really like the Gottschalk, Hershey Kay also made a ballet out of the piano music, Cakewalk that is a delight! It was good enough for Arthur Fiedler to record with the Boston Pops


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Entertaining and colourful. I especially like the orchestral works but from what I gather most of the arrangements aren't Gottschalk's own.


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## Holden4th (Jul 14, 2017)

If you want a really good selection of Gottschalk's piano music which is superbly played then see if you can get hold of the recording Ivan Davis made in the 60s

https://www.amazon.com/Souvenir-Por...words=gottschalk+davis&qid=1601798855&sr=8-10

Not sure how to copy an amazon image


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

elgars ghost said:


> Entertaining and colourful. I especially like the orchestral works but from what I gather most of the arrangements aren't Gottschalk's own.


In the case of the Hershy Kay Cakewalk, no, they clearly aren't Gottschalk's orchestration. And several other people orchestrated some music that's on the Naxos disk. But what he did orchestrate: the two "symphonies", the scenic-cantata "Cuban Country Scenes". The first symphony, Night in the Tropics has been re-scored many times because of the impossibility of playing the second movement as written - 650 musicians and 120 of those percussionists! Then the scoring calls for ophicleides, saxophones, baritones and other instruments normally associated with wind bands. Howard Shanet, Gaylen Hatton, Gunther Schuller, Richard Rosenbaum, and a few others rescored it so a normal orchestra with a few additions can play it. Only Igor Buketoff tried to record it in the original, albeit not with 650 players. It's sloppy as heck, and noisy. I've rescored it twice myself. 40 years ago I transcribed the entire symphony for wind band. Two years ago I revisited the second movement and rescored it for orchestra with triple winds - but all band instruments gone and only used five percussionists. After the All-American Concert that work got more comments from the audience than anything else.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I'm a big fan of Gottschalk. It's true his music lacks sombre profundity, but sometimes I just want a good tune superbly arranged for the piano.
There is another aspect, too. Gottschalk brought into 'art' music for the first time a range of forms deriving from Caribbean and South American folk music. Remember he was of the generation of Brahms and Schumann, not Joplin. For all his showmanship and dissolute lifestyle, Gottschalk was quite an innovator. And his music makes me feel better.


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