Stenhammar Concertos Together
Hegelian | Concord, MA USA | 01/04/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Stenhammar's two piano concertos are delightful, especially the beautiful and melodic Number 1. This is the first recording I am aware of to put both concertos on a single disc.
Turkish pianist Seta Tanyel, whose reputation rests chiefly on an outstanding series of recordings of Polish romantic piano works and concertos. These new recordings were made in November, 2008.
Ms. Tanyel has the technical and emotional depth to tackle these works and she does a fine job. Unfortunately, there are two problems. The orchestra, while it makes a good effort, is just not a first-rate ensemble. The melodies in the first concerto call for lush string sound that isn't there. Tempos seem slow--as though the orchestra couldn't handle anything faster. From an orchestral standpoint, then, these are merely acceptable performances. Things do improve in the second concerto, and I think I prefer this performancve overall to Ortiz on BIS.
Second, the overly reverberant recording sometimes makes it hard to hear what's going on.
This disc can be recommended as an introduction to these works. But if you want the best performance and recording available of the first concerto, stick with Widlund on Chandos. We can only hope, however, to hear more from Ms. Tanyel."