The Reger Collection on Brilliant Classics: If At First You Don't Succeed...

[@guillaumechabason3165]

Mildred and Uncle Dave are the best Christmas present ❤😊

[@rudigerk]

I must admit, i am a sucker for the abstract Reger Sludge, i can listen for hours to his Organ Music and i never get tired of it. Actually it was Reger's Fantasy and Fugue in d-minor op.135b that impressed me like nothing else during my late teens that i became an Organ Music Nerd. Since then J.S.Bach, Reger & Messiaen are my holy Trinity.

[@Xingqiwu387]

WOW!! It's so nice to see Midred again! Big hugs, Mildred, from all your fans, and have a very happy and healthy New Year!

[@tedwilson2805]

You sold me. I love some of those East German orchestral recordings. This seems a one stop shop, maybe Brilliant has nailed it this time.

[@alanmcginn4796]

Absolutely hilarious. Your face Dave. Jeesh.

[@marksebastianjordan1985]

Satan: "Welcome to hell, here's your 18-disc Reger box."

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Never really got into Reger but I'd buy that set for a dollar for sure. Happy New Year to Mildred and the other feline homeowners, and also you Dave.

[@1-JBL]

I've got 12 hours of his orchestral stuff on DGG. Bamburger Symphoniker, Horst Stein, for the most part. And there's some good stuff in there -- I found I liked the symphonic choral pieces and songs pretty well! Surprising! -- but I was drawn to him because Stravinsky said he looked like a beetle. Not a Beatle, alas. I don't have ANY of the organ music, and since that's pretty much his claim to fame, I probably should try some. I have no aversion to organs -- my first exposure to Hindemith was his organ sonatas, which Made Me A Fan.

[@PhilipDaniel]

His sludgiest works are my favorites, but I have a deviant ear.

[@Cesar_SM]

The Hiller Variations contain some of his best orchestral music (the glorious final fugue is perhaps my favorite part, just tremendous), much more colourful and inviting than his dense and overlong Sinfonietta (a real symphony in all but name).

[@OperationPhantom]

Happy Catmas Dave! Reger does intrigue me somewhat but I've never really dipped into his music. Maybe I should just try your recommendations first.

[@geniusrepairman1]

I find I have to be in the mood for Reger. When I am I can really follow his contrapuntal, chromatic wanderings, and respond to it, but when I am a bit tired or feel like ordinary serious music I get lost very quickly and it can just sound like mud

[@michaelhartman8724]

His organ music has the reputation for having more notes on each page than any other composer.

[@rudigerk]

Try his op.57 Symphonic Fantasia and Fugue in d-minor

[@owlcowl]

Its ironic that Reger is probably best known for his uninhibited reply to a negative review than for anything he wrote on a score. I never listened to enough of his output to judge his work fairly, precisely because i was allergic to all that "chromatic sludge" (such a brilliant description for so much late German Romanticism!) and what little i heard struck me as flatulent pomposity, but im always willing to revise my opinion with broader exposure. I do know that my reaction is shared by many more qualified listeners. Stravinsky for one: "I remember meeting Reger in those years. He and his music repulsed me in about equal measure."

[@andresgunther]

Reger's compositional output is GIGANTIC - only comparable to Bach, Mozart and Schubert.'s As such, some of his works leave us in awe, and others, eh, would be better forgotten or left to hard core enthusiasts, scholars and connoisseurs. In a nutshell, Reger was Schumann's and Brahms' successor (with occasional Chopin and Liszt in the mix), and the first notable polyphonist since Johann Sebastian Bach. In one word: German Engineering in Reinkultur. And accordingly difficult to learn, play, and understand. This collection seems to offer a cross-section of his work, and I concur that some of the works listed here range from hard to understand to deadly boring to "better forget 'em". For neophytes who want to get familiar with this sadly underrated, misunderstood, and half forgotten but still controversial genius I recommend to start with his SMALL works (of any genre and instrument(s) he wrote for), instead of diving head on into his big 20-30+ minutes opusses with huge tonal masses. His piano concerto is one of my top favorites- but it needs an orchestra, conductor, and pianist who get it right; and that's hard to find, even in our 21st century post- Rachmaninov (who was his contemporary) and Prokofiev times. I have the luck to own Rudolph Serkin / Ormandy's 1959 recording, both in LP and remastered CD; and after listening to other versions, it's, as you say, the only one so far that has been played as intended. (Second: Ulrich Urban's, whose Reger piano work interpretations I really, really like). -- Since I'm on it, I had the luck that my first piano / organ teacher was a graduate from several former Reger students at the Leipzig Conservatory in the late 1920s, who introduced me to his works. The organ works are standard repertoire in the USA, but have to be played on "symphonic style" late 19th / early 20th century or later "American Classic" or "eclectic" instruments in order to sound right. Baroque / neo-classic style organs from the 1950s- 1980s simply won't cut the mustard in this case, and unfortunately there are many recordings of performances on these out there... oh well.

[@benjamingreenfield9569]

Executive Cat? What does Finster think of that?

[@jeffheller642]

I have a bunch of questions for the New Year which is doubtless an indication of my listening level. I'd love to hear what y'all think but will understand if this gets deleted. And so, 1. Is Vaughan Williams symphony cycle the next best post-Beethoven set after Mahler and Bruckner? 2. Why have Auber and Meyerbeer, who were so monumentally influential and loved in their time, been virtually ignored on record and on the contemporary stage? 3. Is Bernstein a great classical composer in his own right or is he too derivative for that distinction? 4. Do the early instrumental works (symphony, string quartet, piano sonata) of Schubert and Dvorak merit getting to know, as those of Mozart and Mendelssohn (arguably) are? 5. French songs (Berlioz to Ravel) are generally so much more lovable than the German tradition (Schubert to Strauss). Why is that? 6. If Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are the Mt. Rushmore four of classical music, in terms of quantity of quality, who if anyone is eligible for the fifth spot?

[@UlfilasNZ]

1. Yes along with the Russians. 2. Take a guess. 3. The latter, mostly. 4. More so, in fact! 5. This needs fact-checking. 6. Schubert.

[@bbailey7818]

1. Since I prefer Vaughan Williams to Bruckner and think he's the greater symphonist, it's hard for me to say, but I mention Shostakovich. I also think that Brahms' four, though short in quantity are inestimable in quality and also easily surpass Bruckner. 2. Both are underrated but they composed in what are today less popular genres. Neither consistently transcended those forms. 3. Bernstein is probably less derivative in his "popular" works. He's much like Sullivan, best in generally lighter music though Trouble in Tahiti and Age of Anxiety are both great 20th century American works. 4. Yes, absolutely, though I personally think Mozart's earliest symphonies, concertos (except the Jeunehomme) and sonatas aren't very interesting at all. 5. I disagree with the premise. 6. I would put Handel beside any of those other four without hesitation.

[@markfarrington5183]

6….Handel?

[@gregorystanton6150]

I don’t think I need a whole box, but I do love the solo violin sonatas. I also love Arnold Böcklin, so I’m going to check out those tone poems.

[@eddiegreschak9995]

So Dave one should have a full pot of strong coffee ready to drink as we listen to this box set is what I gather to stay awake. You continue to make my day. Thanks.

[@murraylow4523]

Reger falls into the category of composers I’d like to like, but then I try and.. I very much like his orchestral serenade (which Joachim did a bit annd doesnt sound lime it’s in this collection) and his chamber music for clarinet and strings etc. I quite like organ music but yes, you need a gin and tonic or three to get through it. But there is something amiable and skilled about him that keeps you at least trying…

[@murraylow4523]

Not Joachim, Jochum

[@lawrenceh1405]

MIldred the Cat looks like she *does not* want to be on camera.... or she just isn't a fan of Max Reger's music! 🤷‍♂🤣

[@dmntuba]

Always great to see the sweet girl ❤