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Friday, March 24, 2017

Ferdinand Hiller - Piano Concertos (Howard Shelley)


Information

Composer: Ferdinand Hiller
  1. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5: 1. Allegro moderato
  2. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5: 2. Adagio
  3. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5: 3. Allegro moderato e con grazia
  4. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 69: 1. Moderato, ma con energia e con fuoco
  5. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 69: 2. Andante espressivo
  6. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 69: 3. Allegro con fuoco
  7. Piano Concerto No. 3 in A flat major "Concerto espressivo", Op. 170: 1. Allegro con anima
  8. Piano Concerto No. 3 in A flat major "Concerto espressivo", Op. 170: 2. Andante quasi adagio
  9. Piano Concerto No. 3 in A flat major "Concerto espressivo", Op. 170: 3. Allegro con spirito

Howard Shelley, piano & conductor
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Date: 2008
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67655

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Review

Ferdinand Hiller (1811-85), one of the most revered and influential musicians of his day, is now quite forgotten. Of his more than 200 works, the present recording brings to a total of nine the number currently available on disc.

History can be a cruel judge, for it is hard to dismiss such a confident, superbly crafted piece as the F sharp minor (Second) Concerto of 1843. Once a staple of the repertoire, it has been recorded before (twice by Michael Ponti) though I doubt whether any concert hall has heard it in many a long year. It is one of the gems of the genre, the first to be written in that key and with many surprising features such as the soloist kicking off proceedings fiercely and without any introduction, the written-out cadenza opening with a subsidiary rather than principal theme, and the birdsong figuration and unusual left-hand rhythmic accompaniment in the andante espressivo.

No 1 (1831) is a brilliant display vehicle in the Parisian manner of the day which, however, owes more to Chopin and Moscheles (its dedicatee) than Herz or Kalkbrenner. In No 3 (1874), presumed lost until recently, Hiller again strives to be innovative in terms of structure and handling of material, keeping his soloist fully occupied despite the work's subtitle and dominant character. Inferior they may be to No 2 but, especially in performances like these, well worth hearing.

Once more, one has to take off one's hat to Howard Shelley for leading such exuberant performances while simultaneously tackling demanding keyboard writing with amazing agility, innate elegance and complete stylistic empathy.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/May09/Hiller_Piano_Concertos_CDA67655.htm
http://www.classical-music.com/review/hiller
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-hiller-0308.shtml
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-romantic-piano-concerto-vol-45-hiller-piano-concertos-1-3-mw0001867146
http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Concertos-Nos-Ferdinand-Hiller/dp/B0014WSVX6

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Ferdinand Hiller (24 October 1811 – 11 May 1885) was a German composer, conductor, writer and music-director. Hiller was a pupil of Johann Nepomuk Hummel in Weimar. He is perhaps best remembered as the dedicatee of Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Chopin's Nocturnes, Op. 15 while Hiller’s vast musical output is now more or less forgotten. He made innumerable friends and his very extensive correspondence with all the leading musicians in Europe, still only partly published, is an important source for the musical history of his era.

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

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6 comments:

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