Search - Raff, Aronsky, Bamert :: Ode to Spring

Assimilation Rather Than Experiment

John D. Pilkey | Santa Clarita, CA USA | 02/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The one valid point made in the negative Music Guide critique of Raff's Symphony No. 7 is that his music does not deliver surprises. I doubt that surprise was ever part of his aesthetic intention. Surprise became a standard element in the works of composers given to bold experimentation like Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and later Strauss, Sibelius and Bartok. These composers are analogous to the Renaissance sculptor Donatello, whose works all seemed different, some forcefully crude and others elegant but always original. Raff's music is analogous to Donatello's contemporary Lorenzo Ghiberti-- consistently elegant and beautiful and deeply satisfying to persons attuned to his biblical subject matter and smooth, advanced gothic style. Raff's "Spring Ode" and Piano Concerto in C minor are consistently beautiful from start to finish. Surprise would be out of place in such works. The appeal is to anyone who really enjoys the 19th century romantic style, which Raff assimilated so well. The "Spring Ode" begins with a slow section and sounds like the second two thirds of a piano concerto. A solo piano passage early in the work sounds like Chopin. A cello passage to follow shows off the beauty of that instrument. The originality of the Piano Concerto in C minor may not be obvious but is quite genuine. I have listened to romantic piano concertos for forty years; and every note of this work stands out as a distinctive contribution to the tradition. Any dismissal of Raff as dull reveals an insentivity to and dislike of the romantic style in general. I admire and enjoy Bartok and Shostakovich; but tastes formed on these composers will crave a "shock value" Raff never intended to deliver."

The most romantic CD with Works of Piano and Orchestra

Dr. P. Schulte | Recklinghausen, Germany | 12/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I here it again and again and its getting better . For me its

the most beautiful Works ever made for Piano and Orchestra.

The only works I have baught from 4 different Pianists , this is the best i think , yet ! Real romantic. Its a short review,

i think its a Must Have !!! --- In Europe its still avaible !"