# SS 31.03.18 - Raff #7 "In The Alps"



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening! 
_*
*_For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Joachim Raff (1822 - 1882)*

Symphony No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 201 "In Den Alpen_ (In The Alps)"_

1. Wandering in the High Mountains: Andante, Allegro
2. At the Inn: Andante quasi allegro
3. On the lake: Larghetto
4. At the wrestling contest - Farewell: Allegro

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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm posting this one a little early because of the Good Friday/Easter holiday. This weekend is Swiss composer Joachim Raff's Seventh Symphony. I always enjoy hearing Raff's symphonies so I'm looking forward to hearing this one again. I hope everyone will give this one a listen! Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

There aren't a lot of recordings of this so I'll post a YouTube link for those without a recording.

I will be listening to:




Hans Stadlmair/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra


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## Templeton (Dec 20, 2014)

Great choice and a real grower. Here's my choice. Are there many others?


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Templeton said:


> Great choice and a real grower. Here's my choice. Are there many others?
> 
> View attachment 102479


Easy choice, as this boxset is the only source of Raff for me


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I have some detailed notes for this symphony, which include:

“It is amongst the longest of Raff's symphonies and in the wrong hands it can seem a diffuse work. In contrast to his two earlier explicitly programmatic symphonies, the four movements here have short descriptive titles but no detailed programmes - as in his 6th. Symphony, Raff was relying upon the music to convey impressions and feelings to the listener. There is a wealth of incident contained within each movement but it is only hinted at by the constantly shifting textures and recurring thematic references. It is a deceptively subtle piece.

“The first movement Andante-Allegro "Wandering in the high mountains" has a grandiose opening depicting the Alpine massif, as a prelude to its general Alpine scene painting in which the characteristic sound of the alpenhorn is often heard. The following Andante quasi Allegro "In the Inn" is a gentler dance movement portraying a (rather restrained) evening of merry making, whilst the slow movement Larghetto "On the lake" is a tranquil piece, with just a hint of distant thunder. The Allegro finale "At the Schwingfest; Departure" portrays a Swiss wresting contest and concludes with a return to the opening material of the whole symphony.”


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

realdealblues said:


> . There aren't a lot of recordings of this so I'll post a YouTube link for those without a recording.
> 
> I will be listening to:
> 
> ...


Ditto this recording for me too.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Just listened to this symphony and heard a familiar theme in the first movement, reappearing near the end of the finale. Couldn’t figure out what it was. Then it came to me: The first movement of Rott’s Symphony in E, written about five years later.

Is it just my imagination?


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I'll be listening to the same recording as everyone else. Never heard this work before.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​
Philharmonia Hungarica, Werner Andreas Albert

This one for me.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I listened to this symphony twice today. I don’t remember ever listening to it before. But it reinforced the impressions I’ve gotten from other Raff symphonies.

Easy to listen to. Plenty of tunes. But nothing that seems original or striking or even memorable. A clear structure. But the structure supports little in the way of drama or musical tension.

Overall, it seems like pretty low-grade ore. It’s very much lacking in what a contemporary reviewer of Beethoven’s music called “expressive force.”

I have the complete Stadlmair Raff cycle, purchased in the days when I was determined to become a Raff fan. Sadly, that hasn’t happened yet. He molders with Simpson in my “might have been” locker.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I shall try this version


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Anybody interested in learning about Raff, including concert performances and recording reviews, should check out the site *raff.org*. This is from that site's _Introduction to Raff_:

"Joseph Joachim Raff is probably the most extreme example in musical history of pride coming before a fall. Here was a self-taught musician of world renown, ranked by his colleagues, critics and audiences alike as one of the foremost composers of his day with acknowledged master works in most of the main musical forms.

"He had struggled tenaciously over many years to overcome the disadvantages of his youth eventually to achieve a reputation equal to those of Brahms and Wagner. He was amongst the most performed of living composers, not only in concert halls but also in homes throughout the music loving world.

"An esteemed teacher and musical administrator, Raff was director of a prestigious conservatory and, by his teaching and his innovations influenced composers as diverse as Mahler, Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky.

"Yet….despite all Raff's acclaim and the recognition afforded him in his lifetime, almost from the moment of his death in 1882, his reputation slid into a rapid and seemingly irreversible decline. Within thirty years his music was hardly ever performed and he was ridiculed in critical and academic circles as a writer of mere salon music, whose more ambitious works were of negligible worth. If his name was known at all by music lovers it was for a comparative trifle - "Raff's celebrated Cavatina". Sic transit gloria mundi!"


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

KenOC said:


> I listened to this symphony twice today. I don't remember ever listening to it before. But it reinforced the impressions I've gotten from other Raff symphonies.
> 
> Easy to listen to. Plenty of tunes. But nothing that seems original or striking or even memorable. A clear structure. But the structure supports little in the way of drama or musical tension.
> 
> ...


First listen for me and although I can understand the criticism, I think it a bit harsh.
Yes, I might categorise this as 'solid citizen' rather than 'star performer' material but I finished wanting to listen again.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Haydn man said:


> First listen for me and although I can understand the criticism, I think it a bit harsh.
> Yes, I might categorise this as 'solid citizen' rather than 'star performer' material but I finished wanting to listen again.


I thought KenOC's description was on target; the 1st movement was particularly disappointing.


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

Raff is a particular favorite. I'll also go with the Philharmonia Hungarica /Werner Andreas Albert recording


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Not a piece I know, will check it out on YouTube. I'll admit the Raff I have heard has been perfectly pleasant and enjoyable, but not hugely memorable. I have a couple of Neeme Jarvi CDs of other Symphonies. 

I'll listen out for the Hans Rott quote (sic) too!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

This one for me too. I like Raff's symphonies.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

A little note fact about Raff is that he dabbled in the electric guitar and developed some licks that were later copied by Mississippi delta Blues Guitarists in the early twentieth century, who would refer to these choice parts as "Raffs Riffs"


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

Merl said:


> This one for me too. I like Raff's symphonies.


My choice also.................


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pugg said:


> ​
> Philharmonia Hungarica, Werner Andreas Albert
> 
> This one for me.


I am glad this turned up this week, very fine music and melodic too.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Finale was definitely a highlight here, very adventurous, humorous and lively. Raff at his best.


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