Julius Röntgen - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 (Matthias Kirschnereit)

Information

Composer: Julius Röntgen

1. Piano Concerto No. 2 in D major, Op. 18: I. Allegro
2. Piano Concerto No. 2 in D major, Op. 18: II. Larghetto espressivo
3. Piano Concerto No. 2 in D major, Op. 18: III. Finale. Allegro con brio
4. Piano Concerto No. 4 in F major: I. Allegro
5. Piano Concerto No. 4 in F major: II. Larghetto espressivo
6. Piano Concerto No. 4 in F major: III. Finale. Allegro con brio

Matthias Kirschnereit, piano
NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
David Porcelijn, conductor

Date: 2011
Label: cpo

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Review

Play spot-the-influence in the well-crafted music of Röntgen

It would not be entirely fair to pigeonhole Julius Röntgen’s Second Concerto (1879) as only a paraphrase of Brahms’s First but only because there are passages here and there that paraphrase Schumann’s Concerto instead. As an apprentice piece (Röntgen was only 24 at the time) this would get top marks, but any signs of an artist with something of his own to say are few and far between. Nor are they much more in evidence 27 years later in the Fourth Concerto, even if the actual sources of the ideas are here rather less obvious (though Brahms’s E minor Cello Sonata in the finale is impossible to miss). Sincerity and polished craftsmanship radiate from this score but there is no escaping the fact that while the world had moved on, Röntgen had not.

Matthias Kirschnereit deserves all the acclaim coming to him these days (just a few months ago I was highly impressed by his Shostakovich and Weinberg quintets – Hänssler Classic, 6/11). The first two phrases of the Second Concerto are enough to announce a player of uncommon discernment, and thereafter he treats every tarnished roulade as a sparkling jewel. The slow movements are not merely euphonious but have almost tangible intimacy. His accompanists also sound thoroughly attuned to the idiom.

The 21 Röntgen symphonies and seven piano concertos are quite a project, even for the indefatigable explorers at CPO. Bravo to them for lavishing such dedicated performances and first-rate recording quality on this impeccably turned-out oeuvre, which is hard to dislike yet harder still to get excited about.

-- David Fanning, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Dec11/Rontgen_PCs_7773982.htm
http://www.classical-cd-reviews.com/2011/12/rontgen-piano-concertos-kirschnereit.html
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roentgen-Piano-Concertos-No-2-Major/dp/B005B6HVA0

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Julius Röntgen (9 May 1855 – 13 September 1932) was a German-Dutch composer of classical music. Born a gifted child in Leipzig, Röntgen's first piano teacher was Carl Reinecke. He move to Amsterdam in 1877, and became a naturalized Dutch citizen in 1919. Röntgen's works include 25 symphonies, concertos (7 piano concertos, 3 violin concertos, 3 cello concertos, other concertos), as well as numerous chamber, piano and vocal works. He also completed Grieg's unfinished String Quartet No. 2. Röntgen also harmonized and arranged traditional Dutch melodies used as hymn tunes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_R%C3%B6ntgen

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Matthias Kirschnereit (born 1962 in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German pianist. Kirschnereit grew up in Namibia and later studied at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold with Renate Kretschmar-Fischer. He was a prizewinner at renowned competitions such as the German Music Competition in Bonn, the Concours Géza Anda in Zurich and the International Australian Piano Competition in Sydney. Kirschnereit has made more than 20 recordings, including a recording of all Mozart piano concertos with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra on the label ARTE NOVA.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Kirschnereit
https://www.matthias-kirschnereit.de/en/biographie/

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