Mendelssohn Piano Concertos

Stephen Hough - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 17) (1997)

Stephen Hough - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 17) (1997)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 75:13 | 323 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Hyperion | Catalog: CDA66969

With Stephen Hough's Mendelssohn we enter a new dimension. The soft, stylish arpeggios that open the first work here, the Capriccio brillant, announce something special. But this is just a preparation for the First Concerto. Here again, 'stylish' is the word. One can sense the background – especially the operatic background against which these works were composed. The first solo doesn't simply storm away, fortissimo; one hears distinct emotional traits: the imperious, thundering octaves, the agitated semiquavers, the pleading appoggiaturas.
Lars Vogt, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos; Capriccio brillant (2022)

Lars Vogt, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos; Capriccio brillant (2022)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 204 Mb | Total time: 51:34 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Ondine | # ODE 1400-2 | Recorded: 2021

This new release is pianist-conductor Lars Vogt’s debut album together with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. Lars Vogt started his tenure as the new Music Director of the orchestra on 1 July 2020. This album release continues Lars Vogt’s discography of recordings of cornerstone works within the classic piano concerto literature conducting from the keyboard. Previous album releases include the complete piano concertos of Beethoven and Brahms with the Royal Northern Sinfonia. In 2021, Lars Vogt won the OPUS Klassik award for the best solo piano album release of year from his recent Janácek solo album release (ODE 1382-2).
Howard Shelley, London Mozart Players - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (1993)

Howard Shelley, London Mozart Players - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (1993)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 219 Mb | Total time: 55:04 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 9215 | Recorded: 1992

Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto is much more popular, and more frequently played, than his Second. When you listen to this disc, you'll find out why. The First is an inspired piece with memorable themes, enjoyable but not ostentatious display for the piano, and a great sense of fun. The Second has unmemorable themes and a similar style without conveying the sense of fun. For those who like lesser Mendelssohn better than I do, this disc is very well played throughout, although the piano takes Howard Shelley's attention away from conducting and the orchestral playing isn't as distinctive as the piano playing.
Ronald Brautigam, Lev Markiz, Amsterdam Sinfonietta - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (1995)

Ronald Brautigam, Lev Markiz, Amsterdam Sinfonietta - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (1995)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 254 Mb | Total time: 72:09 | Scans included
Classical | Label: BIS Records | # BIS-718 CD | Recorded: 1994, 1995

Ronald Brautigam's piano playing throughout the concertos for piano and orchestra has all the vitality, expression and nimble finger work you would want. Conductor Lev Markiz keeps his players in check during the soloist's star-turns yet responds with verve when required.
Martin Helmchen, Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos, Rondo brilliant (2010)

Martin Helmchen, Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic - Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos, Rondo brilliant (2010)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 209 Mb | Total time: 55:02 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Pentatone | # PTC 5186366 | Recorded: 2010

All Helmchen’s recordings for the PentaTone label have been award winners. The romantic and virtuoso piano concertos by Mendelssohn never became as popular as his violin concertos but are of just as high a calibre. Helmchen regularly works with Philippe Herreweghe and this collaboration has resulted in a very special album.
András Schiff, Charles Dutoit, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (1985)

András Schiff, Charles Dutoit, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (1985)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 151 Mb | Total time: 41:13 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 414 672-2 | Recorded: 1982

Mendelssohn's concertos are often denigrated as unworthy of serious consideration compared to the major warhorse concertos of the 19th Century. While they certainly don't compare favorably to, say, the Beethoven concertos, they were never meant to. Mendelssohn wrote them as a young man to demonstrate his clearly remarkable musical talents as composer and pianist in public performance. And they made quite a splash indeed. They literally bubble over with youth, enthusiasm, delight, virtuosity and bravado. They tell me more about the young Mendelssohn than any dry biography could.
Louis Lortie - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Symphony No. 5 "Reformation" (2009)

Louis Lortie - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Symphony No. 5 "Reformation" (2009)
WEB | FLAC (tracks) - 250 MB | MP3 (CBR 320 kbps) - 162 MB | 01:04:10
Genre: Classical | Label: ATMA Classique

This recording from Quebec's ATMA Classique label is a mixed bag in terms of both repertory and quality. The former aspect is a plus: the program of two Mendelssohn piano concertos plus the Symphony No. 5, Op. 107, "Reformation," is a natural mix that covers several phases of Mendelssohn's career and might easily show up on a live symphonic program, but CD marketers do not so often mix concertos and symphonies in this way. Montreal-born pianist Louis Lortie plays and conducts throughout, which Mendelssohn himself might have done, and the results are generally enjoyable.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Herbert Blomstedt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (2001)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Herbert Blomstedt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (2001)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 196 Mb | Total time: 57:45 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 468 600-2 | Recorded: 2000

In order to expand the breadth of his performance career, Thibold has been actively exploring repertoire that is less popularly recorded in recent years. These two piano concertos by Mendelssohn are crystal clear and graceful under Thiebaud's skillful hands. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is the oldest orchestra in the world. Mendelssohn was invited to be the fifth conductor of the orchestra in 1835. Therefore, this episode invites them to take on the important responsibility of concerto, which is particularly meaningful.
Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (2019)

Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (2019)
WEB FLAC (tracks) | Tracks: 10 | 74:08 min | 290 MB
Style: Classical | Label: BIS

This is the ninth installment in Ronald Brautigam's series of the complete piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As on previous discs, Brautigam whose 'muscular yet sensitively nuanced command of Mozartian discourse' (BBC Music Magazine) is supported by Die Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens. The opening work on this installment is the C major concerto, K 415, which was first performed on 23rd March 1783 in the presence of Emperor Joseph II. K 415 was composed in conjunction with the Concerto No. 11 in F major, K 413, which in contrast is a more intimate creation, especially in its Larghetto middle movement, in which Mozart achieves some of his most memorable writing, with the various textures of the orchestra providing a cushion of sound for a delicious cantabile aria for the piano a model that was to become almost a trademark of his later concerto slow movements. The disc closes with Concerto No. 8 in C major, K 246, composed some six years earlier. Mozart wrote it for Countess Antonia Lützow, one of his father's pupils, and in terms of technical difficulty, it is among the least demanding of his piano concertos which nevertheless didn't stop Mozart from performing it himself on several occasions.
Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (2019)

Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos (2019)
FLAC (tracks) | 01:14:02 | 290 Mb
Genre: Classical / Label: BIS

This is the ninth installment in Ronald Brautigam's series of the complete piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As on previous discs, Brautigam whose 'muscular yet sensitively nuanced command of Mozartian discourse' (BBC Music Magazine) is supported by Die Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens. The opening work on this installment is the C major concerto, K 415, which was first performed on 23rd March 1783 in the presence of Emperor Joseph II. K 415 was composed in conjunction with the Concerto No. 11 in F major, K 413, which in contrast is a more intimate creation, especially in its Larghetto middle movement, in which Mozart achieves some of his most memorable writing, with the various textures of the orchestra providing a cushion of sound for a delicious cantabile aria for the piano a model that was to become almost a trademark of his later concerto slow movements.