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I listen to lots of underplayed romantic piano concertos lately. Somehow the famous orchestras and pianists often perform only the most famous now days. I mean these:
Rachmaninoff 2,3 Grieg Tchaikovsky 1 Saint-Saëns 2 Chopin 1,2 Liszt 1,2 Schumann Brahms 1,2 Gershwin Mendelssohn 1 Shostakovitch 1,2 Prokofiev 3,5 Beethoven (all of them)
A year ago I head from someone almost all romantic piano composers had written piano concertos (with some strange exceptions like Schubert). There is also a CD compilation of underplayed piano concertos on the Hyperion label. It's more than 50 albums already. Over this year I heard lots of unknown piano concertos by unknown romantic masters. These Piano Concertos I like the most and I recommend to you all.:
Are there any underplayed "Romantic" (plz no Mozart/Haydn) piano concertos that you could recommend to me and this forum? I've not the time or the money for the whole Hyperion set
Get the complete Saint Saens set. I got it for Christmas and it's awesome. Even though he's a fairly known composer and not obscure, you really don't hear much else besides the 2nd (occasionally you'll hear 4, maybe the 5th if you're lucky).
To the list thusfar provided, let me definitely add the Alexander Glazunov Concerto #1 (Op 93). This is a two movement concerto written in 1911 -- it's the one concerto that I played with a community orchestra, and IMO is a knockout. I understand that Glazunov wrote a 2nd concerto (Opus 102 or so) which is supposedly better yet. Certainly include him in your consideration of neglected romantic repertoire.
Are there any underplayed "Romantic" (plz no Mozart/Haydn) piano concertos
Something tells me you wouldn't find either on a "romantic" piano concerto list. Just sayin'.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
Get the complete Saint Saens set. I got it for Christmas and it's awesome. Even though he's a fairly known composer and not obscure, you really don't hear much else besides the 2nd (occasionally you'll hear 4, maybe the 5th if you're lucky).
Do you mean you got the complete set of scores or recordings and if it's recordings you mean who is the pianist? My guess is Collard.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
Chopin's: Variations on a Theme by Mozart 'La Ci Darem la Mano' Liszt: Concerto Pathetique Liszt: Fantasy on Hungarian Themes Hummel: Piano Concertos (all) Scriabin: Piano Concerto
Get the complete Saint Saens set. I got it for Christmas and it's awesome. Even though he's a fairly known composer and not obscure, you really don't hear much else besides the 2nd (occasionally you'll hear 4, maybe the 5th if you're lucky).
Do you mean you got the complete set of scores or recordings and if it's recordings you mean who is the pianist? My guess is Collard.
Recordings. And it's actually Stephen Hough, although I've heard Collard's and they're great.
Has anyone mentioned the Busoni concerto? Not that I'm in love with it or even closely familiar with it, but you might want to look into the piece. It's massive!
Has anyone mentioned the Busoni concerto? Not that I'm in love with it or even closely familiar with it, but you might want to look into the piece. It's massive!
Calling argerichfan...
And YES, I LOVE that concerto! The beginning is sooooo beautiful! And of course, the other 70 minutes is amazing too.
This is the "standard" recording to buy. It's like $6 for mp3 download from Amazon. I prefer it to most of the others I've heard, including Hamelin, although I like Kun-Woo Paik's.
Last edited by Orange Soda King; 01/12/1112:53 AM.
Has anyone mentioned the Busoni concerto? Not that I'm in love with it or even closely familiar with it, but you might want to look into the piece. It's massive!
Calling argerichfan...
And YES, I LOVE that concerto! The beginning is sooooo beautiful! And of course, the other 70 minutes is amazing too.
You rang? When I see a thread such as this, the Busoni never comes to mind. This magnificent and endlessly fascinating work just seems to stand outside of the realm of an underplayed/ unknown work. It is a whole world unto itself, incomparable to any other work, the landscape of a precious soul, a sunken treasure, a musical equivalent (in a certain secret respect) of C.S. Lewis's writings.
The piece shouldn't be well known. It is for the very few to love and cherish.
Jeez, it's snowing like crazy. Supposed to turn to rain by tomorrow morning, hope so!
My big underplayed Romantic concertos are:
Rimsky-Korsakov (unaccountably neglected) Scriabin Moszkowski Henselt (probably impractically difficult) Korngold Left Hand Scharwenka 1 Tchaikovsky 3
I've heard tonnes of other 'neglected' piano concertos, but in general I have found that they make fun listening for one run-through, but don't really 'wear 'well. Basically they just recycle a lot of technically well-trodden territory, and after a while there is a feeling of interchangeability.
Symptomatic of this was listening to the 2nd concerto of Hermann Goetz last Friday evening. (With score.) Yeah, some great tunes in the grand romantic style -quite delicious- but then a rather distressing feeling of predictability started to assert itself. Frankly, by the end of the concerto, Goetz's piano writing had become tiresome on the ear.
I so much appreciate Hyperion's efforts -good on you guys!- but in the realm of Romantic piano concertos, there are very few undiscovered masterpieces. Herz and company have been well served, and anyone who gets off on that stuff... well by all means! But don't compare that to the Liszt Eb.
I need to buy a recording and get busy!