Casella Triple Concerto Concerto For Piano

The three composers represented here do not stand at the forefront of the history of Danish music, but all three of them have in at least one respect secured themselves a position for which they will be remembered. As the first and only Dane, Otto Malling wrote a textbook on orchestration (1894), Ludvig Schytte published the collection ì45 Sonatinas and Execution Piecesî, which has been a sine qua non for anybody learning to play the piano in Denmark, and Siegfried Salomon wrote the opera Leonara Christina (1926), which includes one of the greatest hits in Danish opera, ìThere are Three Cornerstonesî, for many years a regular feature of Radio Denmarkís request programs, sung by Tenna Kraft. The romantic virtuoso concerto has never been highly thought of in Denmark.

Shelley is outstanding in this music, blending classical and Romantic elements perfectly.
These two concertos are wonderfully infectious. The E major occupies a kind of bridge between Mozart and Chopin, although Mozart's depth and subtlety are in a different vein. Hummel is more of a show-off, and his music almost smiles at you, its charm and sparkle eschewing any pretentiousness. Throughout, Shelley conveys the music's joie de vivre, revelling in the figurative passagework. The Double Concerto may have been inspired by Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, K365; it doesn't have the same harmonic or lyrical variety as the E-major Concerto, but it's a charming work, especially when so persuasively played. Shelley's well-proportioned piano part is perfectly complemented by Hagai Shaham's sweet-toned violin.

Although each significant players in the Russian School of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the piano concertos of Pavel Pabst, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Scriabin have been largely neglected by comparison to the other titanic piano concertos to come from the likes of Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. Unlike their contemporaries, each of these three composers wrote but one piano concerto and in one way or another were writing outside of their comfort zone. Rimsky-Korsakov, for example, was a fine orchestrator, but had little experience writing for the piano. By contrast, Scriabin was a brilliant pianist and writer for his instrument, but his concerto represents his first attempt at writing an orchestral work.

The third album on The Cleveland Orchestra’s label follows the ‘old-new’ pairing of their previous release, showcasing recordings of Prokofiev and Schnittke that cover both pre- and post-pandemic music making.

A marquee name among classical pianists since the 1970s, Maurizio Pollini has been noted for performances of some of the most monumental of contemporary music, and for pairing such works with standard repertory of the 19th century. Pollini's decades-long relationship as a recording artist with the Deutsche Grammophon label has been among the most stable in years.

Howard Hanson is one of America's great mid-century composers. His music, like that of Roy Harris, draws its character from the plains, from the pioneer blood that settled that part of the country. Here we have two major symphonies, a piano concerto, and a tone-poem, "Mosaics". These works are at the heart of American Romanticism; his melodies are distinct and tonal, his writing formal.

He is one of the "superstars" of the piano world. An exceptional teacher – his pupils include stars such as Arcadi Volodos or Claire-Marie Le Guay – Dmitri Bashkirov’s debut with Claves combines a most original programme with orchestra. Face to face; we have: Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous son; Carl Philip Emanuel; forbearer of the great Romantic composers; and an unusual Ludwig van Beethoven. This particular Concerto op. 61a is indeed very rarely played; copying almost note for note the original score of the Violin Concerto op. 61.

Yefim Bronfman has a special affinity for these two concerti, a nearly selfless approach to the scores that keeps in mind that while the piano may be the solo instrument and provide key lines for the 'accompanying' orchestra to elucidate, the same relationship belongs to the orchestra when Rachmaninov introduced melodies in the orchestration that are then embraced with ardor by the piano soloist.

A fascinating selection of pieces by one of the twentieth century’s most original and perplexing figures. Constant Lambert is perhaps better known today for his strident views on his contemporaries, but was also as a composer of delightful, anarchic music, influenced particularly by Stravinsky and Ravel. A distinguished line-up of performers presents these works in the clearest light. This recording is a must for anyone interested in twentieth-century music. Many of Lambert’s other works are also available on Hyperion.

Noriko Ogawa and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra return to the works of Rachmaninov with a disc featuring his first and fourth piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninov’s first concerto was written while he was a student at the Moscow Concervatory, but underwent considerable revisions up to 1917. His fourth piano concerto was written after a considerable break from composition as he was kept busy as a touring performer in the USA. The unsuccessful first performance again led to considerable revisions.