I'm pleased to say that Unsung Heroes Recital III is a go!

The recital date will be August 20, 2012. You are invited to submit your own mp3 recording of a piece by a composer who you feel deserves more recognition. This recital was established 3 years ago to commemorate the passing of Australian pianist, Geoffrey Tozer.

Once again, many thanks to our patron and tech wizard, gerg, whose generous donation of time, talent, and finances makes these recitals possible. You rock, gerg!

Please post the title of your piece here so I can maintain the list. I realize it's 5 months away, but it's never too early to start browsing scores.

Yes!!

I didn't do the Alkan Sonate de Concert 3rd movement last year (I'm sorry), so put it back on for this year.

Poems of the Sea - Bloch

As always, I think this recital is a fantastic idea. I've stickied the topic and encourage all to participate!

Couldn't manage it last year, but I'm in this year! Pieces by Margaret Sutherland (Australian composer).

Steve Chandler--"Consolation"

Steve is a PW member. His compositions that resonate with me remind me of a cross between Bach and Scriabin. They are, however, fully Chandler.

I might have a few more from VERY OBSCURE unsung heroes, too. Yes, that is a tease.

--Andy

I might look into contributing some Heller. Not sure exactly what yet, I'll find something and post again soon.

Great!!

I'll try to complete the set of Twelve Esquisses by Koechlin that I started last year. And who knows, there might be some other things, too.

Wow! What a great response in just a few hours. Thank you for the sticky, Kreisler. Perhaps you will submit your own recording this year?

Participants

Orange Soda King -- Sonate de Concert, III. (Alkan)
mingusmonk -- Poems of the Sea (Bloch)
currawong -- Margaret Sutherland
Cinnamonbear -- Consolation (Steve Chandler)
Jolteon -- Heller
wr -- Twelve Esquisses (Koechlin)
heidiv -- tbd

As a reminder, anyone is welcome to participate. Don't be shy, now! You're among friends. Recordings will be accepted starting about 2-4 weeks before the recital date. If you'd like to post any biographical info on your composer, feel free to post it here. We love those types of discussions!

Thanks,
Heidi

Thanks Heidi and Greg.

Please put me down for:

1) Otto Nicolai, Etude in D flat "Gruss an Liszt" Op.40 No.3

2) York Bowen, Reverie d'Amour Op.20 No.2


Mel

Well I've got quite a number of selections from American composers in the 1930 - 1960 era. To be specific:

Roy Harris American Ballads
Morton Gould Guaracha
William Flanagan Sonata
Paul Bowles El Bejuco and El Indio
Irving Fine Variations, from Music for Piano
Gail Kubik Sonatina
Vincent Persichetti Sonata No 5
Norman dello Joio Salute to Scarlatti, Nos 1, 2, and 4
Leo Smit Rondele

In addition, I'm thinking of recording

Quincy Porter Sonata
Ross Lee Finney Sonata, withdrawn, but subsequently revised as Sonata 3
Everett Helm Sonata Brevis

I've already recorded everything in the 1st set, but have never used the MP3 to share this. So you may see some of these or none of these, depending upon whether I get help in learning how to post.

Hi Mel! So nice to hear from you. I'll put you down for those. I'm hoping to contribute some of the great pieces that you introduced me to.

Tim Adrianson, wow! You have enough material there for your very own recital! Quite impressive. I'll put you down for the first set for now. What format did you use for your recordings? I'm sure we can help you figure out how to convert them to mp3.

Participants
Orange Soda King -- Sonate de Concert, III. (Alkan)
mingusmonk -- Poems of the Sea (Bloch)
currawong -- Margaret Sutherland
Cinnamonbear -- Consolation (Steve Chandler)
Jolteon -- Heller
wr -- Twelve Esquisses (Koechlin)
heidiv -- tbd
dannylux -- Otto Nicolai, Etude in D flat "Gruss an Liszt" Op. 40, No. 3; York Browne, Reverie d'Amour, Op. 20, No. 2
Tim Adrianson -- Roy Harris, American Ballads; Morton Gould, Guaracha; William Flanagan, Sonata; Paul Bowles, El Bejuco and El Indio; Irving Fine Variations, from Music for Piano; Gail Kubik, Sonatina; Vincent Persichetti, Sonata No. 5; Norman dello Joio, Salute to Scarlatti, No. 1, 2, and 4; Leo Smit, Rondele

I might be doing Lekeu's violin sonata which is a brilliant work not given its due credit with the biggies like Franck, Faure, Debussy. I'll let you know if I am doing it in some time.

This sounds very interesting.
Sechs Lieder ohne worte (Songs without words)- Mendelsson.

I haven't performed in ages!

Welcome to the forums, arpan70 and RandomPianist!

arpan70, that sounds interesting. I hope you are able to do it!

RandomPianist, while we don't like to quarrel about what constitutes an "unsung hero," I feel compelled to reply that Mendelssohn is a very mainstream composer. His "Songs Without Words" in particular are practically required repertoire. We would love to have you participate in the recital. In the spirit of the "Unsung Heroes" e-cital, could you choose a piece by an obscure composer?

Ah, oops seems I have rushed into things. Sure I would, I shall go and look up a piece very soon. Could you suggest any composers that are not 'mainstream'?

Heidi, I'm greatly looking forward to hearing your contributions to the Unsung Recital.

Please note that Reverie D'Amour is by York Bowen, not York Browne. Thanks.



A good place to start would be the Unsung Composers website:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=ddfe1b657922d5541b97060d3277ddf2&

and pianophilia:

http://www.pianophilia.com/phpBB3/index.php

If you like Mendelssohn, there are a lot of obscure composers who wrote Songs without Words. One of my favorites is the 'Romance sans Paroles' Op.56 by Mélanie Hélène Bonis, which you can find at IMSLP:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Romance_sans_paroles,_Op.56_%28Bonis,_Mel%29

Also, since you are from China, any Chinese composer would be considered unsung.


Mel

Mel, sorry about that! Sometimes spell check is a blessing and sometimes it's not!

RandomPianist, please do research other composers. We'd love to have you join us.

Participants
Orange Soda King -- Sonate de Concert, III. (Alkan)
mingusmonk -- Poems of the Sea (Bloch)
currawong -- Margaret Sutherland
Cinnamonbear -- Consolation (Steve Chandler)
Jolteon -- Heller
wr -- Twelve Esquisses (Koechlin)
heidiv -- Rêverie, Op. 10, No. 4 (Catoire); selections from Six Fantasy Pieces, Op. 17 (Dora Pejačević)
dannylux -- Otto Nicolai, Etude in D flat "Gruss an Liszt" Op. 40, No. 3; York Bowen, Reverie d'Amour, Op. 20, No. 2
Tim Adrianson -- Roy Harris, American Ballads; Morton Gould, Guaracha; William Flanagan, Sonata; Paul Bowles, El Bejuco and El Indio; Irving Fine Variations, from Music for Piano; Gail Kubik, Sonatina; Vincent Persichetti, Sonata No. 5; Norman dello Joio, Salute to Scarlatti, No. 1, 2, and 4; Leo Smit, Rondele

Heidi, I've reviewed both box.com and soundcloud.com as vehicles for uploading my recordings and sending to you. From your perspective, is one better than the other -- can you use one, but not the other? To me, soundcloud looks to be more music-specific, but in either case I'll need to register into the site in order to utilize the programs. Thanks for your advice!

Hi Tim,

There's actually no need to upload your recordings to either site because our techie Greg graciously lets us use his site for the Unsung Heroes e-cital, so you'll be uploading directly there. Easy as pie!

We won't actually be ready for submissions until 2-4 weeks before the recital date, depending on when the site is ready. Again, many thanks to Greg for his time and effort. Without him, this wouldn't be possible.

I've been practicing. How about everyone else?

Heidi

Heidi please add to my list:

Sergei Bortkiewicz, Lyrica Nova Op.59 No.3

Thanks very much.


Mel

Sure Mel! I'm looking forward to hearing all of your pieces. I love the music of Bortkiewicz especially.


Participants
Orange Soda King -- Sonate de Concert, III. (Alkan)
mingusmonk -- Poems of the Sea (Bloch)
currawong -- Margaret Sutherland
Cinnamonbear -- Consolation (Steve Chandler)
Jolteon -- Heller
wr -- Twelve Esquisses (Koechlin)
heidiv -- Rêverie, Op. 10, No. 4 (Catoire); selections from Six Fantasy Pieces, Op. 17 (Dora Pejačević)
dannylux -- Otto Nicolai, Etude in D flat "Gruss an Liszt" Op. 40, No. 3; York Bowen, Reverie d'Amour, Op. 20, No. 2; Sergei Bortkiewicz, Lyrica Nova, Op. 59, No. 3
Tim Adrianson -- Roy Harris, American Ballads; Morton Gould, Guaracha; William Flanagan, Sonata; Paul Bowles, El Bejuco and El Indio; Irving Fine Variations, from Music for Piano; Gail Kubik, Sonatina; Vincent Persichetti, Sonata No. 5; Norman dello Joio, Salute to Scarlatti, No. 1, 2, and 4; Leo Smit, Rondele

This sounds like an excellent idea and it would be fun to contribute. I´ll think of repertoire in the nearest future. Just one question though - should it specifically be a piece by a lesserknown composer or could it be the other way around as well, as in a lesser known piece by a wellknown composer?

Strangeness of Heart -- Harry Somers

I'm working on some of Persichetti's poems so they are a possibility as well.

fnork - We'd really like to keep on topic by featuring lesser-known composers, although your idea has the potential to fill an entire other recital! Please consider submitting something. We'd love to have you.

LadyChen - Welcome! I'll put you down for the Harry Sommers piece. If you are able to submit the Persichetti as well, let me know and I'll add that to our list too.

I think I'll sign up for Scarlatti, Sonata K13/L486 in G Major, and Granados, "El Pelele" from Goyescas Book II.

I understand Scarlatti is a very well known composer but personally I feel as though he is somewhat overshadowed by other more popular baroque composers. Similarly, although Granados is well known not a lot of his music is in the standard repertoire and I'm a very big fan of his Goyescas.

jackbirdy412

Hello! I think I'll sign up for this recital too,
how can I make a great recording of a piece, and who
do I send it to?

Here's Mine, NOTE: They are still alive today!, lol

Jean-Michel Damase: Sonatine
Nikolai Kapustin: Toccatina Op. 36

We'll be ready for submissions August 1.

We'll try to give the site a little bit of a facelift in the meantime - no promises!

gerg, HeidiV indicated that I can send the Files of my various recordings directly to you -- is that correct? Every File is posted on my private computer as "TASCAM...", with a number. I don't know much about uploading or transferring Files, and so at least for me, you're going to have to "spell out" how to send these recording Files to your attention. Thanks!

Add Alkan's "Andante Romantique in C# Major" Op. 13 No. 2 for me also.