Georgy Catoire; Percy Sherwood - Piano Concertos (Hiroaki Takenouchi)

Information

Composer: Georgy Catoire; Percy Sherwood

• (01) Catoire - Piano Concerto, Op. 21
• (11) Sherwood - Piano Concerto No. 2 in E flat major

Hiroaki Takenouchi, piano
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Martin Yates, conductor

Date: 2012
Label: Dutton
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7287

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Review

Yates and Takenouchi revive Russian and British concertos

The modern rediscovery of Georgy Catoire’s modestly proportioned oeuvre was kick-started by Marc-André Hamelin’s 1999 Hyperion recital (1/00 – soon to reappear on Helios). Since then the chamber music has been quite well served, leaving just the songs and orchestral works in search of modern champions.

The Piano Concerto was composed in 1906-09, according to most catalogues, though its first performer, Alexander Goldenweiser, gave 1911 as the date of completion. Dutton do not claim theirs as a first-ever recording; though if Anna Zassimova’s lavish documentary study (Berlin, Verlag Ernst Kuhn: 2011) is to be trusted, it would seem to be so. Like all Catoire’s instrumental works, the Concerto bears the mark of his close encounters with Tchaikovsky, Taneyev and Scriabin. Accomplished pianist and thoroughly trained composer that he was, the music always falls gratefully on the ear, though in terms of surprise, delight or individuality it lags far behind the likes of, say, César Franck, whose Symphonic Variations loom large behind the 19-minute first movement. Any limitations in the music’s effect are surely no fault of Hiroaki Takenouchi, however, who is impeccable in his pianism and unfailing in his idiomatic grasp.

The adventurous spirit of this young Japanese-born, London-based pianist also gives us the Second Concerto (1932-33) of Percy Sherwood (1866-1939), a German-born pianist-teacher-composer who settled in Hampstead at the onset of the First World War and whose manuscripts now reside in the Bodleian Library. This is music still solidly rooted in the 19th-century Germanic tradition, with some imposing Rachmaninovisms grafted on. Never less than accomplished, it is never much more than that either. Once again finely played by Takenouchi, this too is a must-have for anyone interested in the post-history of the Romantic piano concerto. With decent orchestral support and recording, and excellent documentation, it all adds up to a more than welcome issue.

-- David Fanning, Gramophone

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Georgy Catoire (Moscow, April 27, 1861 – May 21, 1926) was a Russian composer of French heritage. Catoire studied piano in Berlin with Karl Klindworth (a friend of Richard Wagner) and later with Anatoly Lyadov (counterpoint). Today Catoire is very little known, although a few recordings of his piano and violin music exist. His music has a certain semblance to the works of Tchaikovsky, the early works of Scriabin, and the music of Fauré. Catoire's compositions demand not only high virtuosity but also an ear for instrumental colour. Georgy Catoire is the uncle of author and musician Jean Catoire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Catoire

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Percy Sherwood (23 May 1866 - 15 May 1939) was a German-born composer and pianist of English nationality. After his studies with Theodor Kirchner, Felix Draeseke and Herman Scholtz, Sherwood became a major figure in the music life of Dresden before the First World War. He was first a teacher, then professor, at the Dresden Conservatory from 1893 and 1911 respectively. His own students included Dora Pejačević. Shortly before war broke out in 1914 he and his wife abandoned their Dresden villa and returned to England where he was almost unknown. Thereafter he made a living as a private teacher in London.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Sherwood

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Hiroaki Takenouchi is a pianist of vast repertoire, ranges from the music of Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin to Medtner, lesser-known British composers such as Sterndale Bennett and Parry, and the contemporary repertoire. As a soloist, Takenouchi has appeared on many concert platforms including Wigmore Hall, Tokyo Opera City and the South Bank Centre. He has also performed at festivals in Bath, Cheltenham and Salzburg. Takenouchi teaches piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow). He also returns every summer to give masterclasses at the Ingenium International Music Academy (UK).
http://hiroakitakenouchi.com/

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