Search - Emil von Sauer, Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Lawrence Foster :: Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor; Sauer: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor

An outstanding achievment

G.D. | Norway | 06/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series, now in its late fourties in terms of volumes, is apparently a stunning success, and this award-winning disc is one of the highpoints. Not only are the performances superb, but the musical rewards are extremely high as well - no mere flashy virtuosic pyrotechnics here (though there's plenty of that as well), but actual substance. The Scharwenka concerto, probably his best, is an impressive achievement, full of spirit and energy. Stylistically it gives off the impression of being a mix between Saint-Saens and Brahms, and doesn't suffer much from a comparison with the former in terms of quality (admittedly some distance to the latter); memorable tunes, well-constructed formal landscape structures and dizzyingly powerful turns of the phrase.



The Sauer concerto is in many ways the surprise here, however. It sports an emotion-laden, turbulent and somewhat dark-hued first movement, contrasted with a light, fiery scherzo, an elegantly wistful and delightful Cavatina and an elegant, well-crafted Rondo; Tchaikovsky is the first composer who comes to mind in terms of style, but as with Sauer was his own man at least to the extent that the concerto here bears an unmistakenly personal stamp.



Performances are truly marvelous; Hough gives committed, brilliant and colorful renditions of the solo-parts and displays a dynamic range, rhythmic precision and variety of attack to rival any other famous pianist in any repertoire, and the City of Birmingham SO proves themselves to be a first-rate ensemble. Sound quality is excellent as well, and if you don't already own this issue, I think it's about time you obtained it."

Review

Music Lover | 04/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just love and enjoy those 2 piano concertos! Great music, real piano-orchestra dialog, beautiful developing harmonies, excellent performance. Well done. Highly recommended..."

More concertos which should really be much better known

rayray | 09/22/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aside from knowing that Mahler's apparently only concert appearance as a pianist was a performance of Scharwenka's first, his works, like Von Sauer's are for all intents and purposes completely unknown, and unjustly so. Can't recommend this disc any more highly. Two wonderful and unfortunately obscure concertos performed spectacularly. Now, go and order Medtner's piano concertos as well! Try Busoni!"