Johann Peter Pixis; Sigismond Thalberg - Piano Concertos (Howard Shelley)

Information

Composer: Johann Peter Pixis; Sigismond Thalberg

1. (01) Pixis - Piano Concerto in C major, Op. 100
2. (04) Pixis - Piano Concertino in E flat major, Op. 68
3. (07) Thalberg - Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5
   

Howard Shelley, piano & conductor
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Date: 2012
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67915

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Review

Shelley in Tasmania with Germanic Romantic concertos

Hyperion’s ‘The Romantic Piano Concerto’ celebrates is 58th issue with these concertos including a first recording of Pixis’s Concertino in E flat, Op 68. And here, surely, is the ultimate in chandelier music, perfectly geared towards what one eminent literary critic once called ‘the extant social world’. One can almost see aristocratic heads nodding and feet tapping as one virtuoso charm follows another. Of the two composers, Thalberg is the more opulent, with enough double notes, octaves and skips to remind us that he was once considered a rival pianist to Liszt (Liszt later dismissed such presumption with characteristic 19th-century invective: for him, Thalberg’s playing was as profound as the diamond studs he wore on his shirts). And if the material remains unmemorable, the treatment is coruscating in its tireless elaboration.

Pixis is a more modest voice, though with a second movement in his Concertino where something more original cautiously peeps out. But what is surely unarguable is that neither Pixis nor Thalberg could have rivalled Howard Shelley’s immaculate taste and dexterity. Time and again he makes it difficult to imagine another pianist with such nonchalant ease and elegance. Hyperion’s recording is beyond criticism and this is a disc very much for those who like music that is easy on the ear, enriched with lavish sparkle and acrobatics.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/15/pixis-thalberg-shelley-tasmanian-review
http://audaud.com/2012/11/the-romantic-piano-concerto-vol-58-pixis-piano-concerto-in-c-major-concertino-in-e-flat-major-thalberg-piano-concerto-in-f-minor-tasmanian-sym-orch-howard-shelley-p-and-cond-hyperio/
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-romantic-piano-concerto-vol-58-pixis-thalberg-mw0002436153
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Romantic-Concerto-Tazmanian-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B0097LP16G
http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Piano-Concerto-Vol-58-Johann/dp/B0097LP16G

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Johann Peter Pixis (10 February 1788 – 22 December 1874) was a German pianist and composer. Born in Mannheim, he lived in Vienna from 1808 to 1824, then in Paris to 1840, during which time he was among the city's most prominent pianists and composers. In 1840, Pixis's compositional and performance career largely behind him, he moved to Baden-Baden and taught piano there until his death. As a composer, the opus numbers of Pixis's published works run to about 150, including compositions in a variety of genres but especially chamber music, as well as music for piano solo and piano four-hands. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Peter_Pixis

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Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was a composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century.  In the 1830s and the 1840s, his style was a major force in European piano-playing and was imitated by many others. Between the late 1830s and 1850s Thalberg toured the world over with artists such as Bernard Ullmann, Strakosch and Henri Vieuxtemps, traveling to the United States, Brazil, Belgium, Holland, Russia and Spain. Aside from his dozens of piano compositions, many with orchestral accompaniment, Thalberg wrote several Lieder and two chamber works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigismond_Thalberg

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sigismund-thalberg-mn0001801365/biography

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Howard Shelley (born 9 March 1950) is a British pianist and conductor. He was educated at Highgate School and the Royal College of Music. As pianist he has performed, broadcast and recorded around the world with leading orchestras and conductors. He made many recordings for Chandos, Hyperion and EMI, including Rachmaninov's complete piano music and concertos. As a conductor, he has held positions of Associate and Principal Guest Conductor with the London Mozart Players in a close relationship of over twenty years. He has appeared regularly on television and on the soundtrack of several films.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Shelley

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