Clara Schumann - Piano Concerto (Howard Shelley)

Information

Composer: Clara Schumann; Ferdinand Hiller; Henri Herz; Friedrich Kalkbrenner

1. C. Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7: I. Allegro maestoso -
2. C. Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7: II. Romanze꞉ Andante non troppo con grazia -
3. C. Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7: III. Finale꞉ Allegro non troppo
4. Hiller - Konzertstück, Op. 113
5. Herz - Rondo de concert, Op. 27
6. Kalkbrenner - Le rêve, Op. 113

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Howard Shelley, piano & conductor

Date: 2019
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68240

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Review

By coincidence, I am reviewing this new recording of Clara Wieck Schumann’s Concerto in A minor as the city of Leipzig begins a year-long celebration of her bicentennial and having just heard news of the death of her great biographer, Nancy B Reich, in upstate New York.

One of the best-known portraits of young Clara depicts her at the age of 15, elegantly clad in an off-the-shoulder gown, her face the epitome of relaxed composure, with her left hand resting on a piano keyboard and a copy of the Op 7 Concerto open on the music desk. Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra offer a compelling account of what would remain the young composer’s most ambitious work. Succinct though the concerto may be, with three linked movements totalling 21 minutes, the technical challenges of the solo part are considerable. Shelley meets these with characteristic aplomb, including an especially nice collaboration with cellist Sue-Ellen Paulsen in the slow movement’s cello obbligato. The alla polacca finale, the concerto’s first-composed and most developed movement, is imbued with the appropriate dash and hauteur.

This 78th instalment of Hyperion’s ‘Romantic Piano Concerto’ series includes what might be considered three addenda to previous releases. Hiller’s rather wooden Konzertstück supplements Vol 45 of the series, consisting of that composer’s three concertos; Vols 41 and 56 are extended by Kalkbrenner’s somewhat less than dreamy Le rêve. Herz’s Rondo de concert, supplementing the composer’s eight concertos in Vols 35, 40 and 66, exudes a period charm and grace in a bouquet of musical and pianistic imagination. It makes a striking pendant to Clara’s Op 7.

-- Patrick Rucker, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/May/SchumannC_PC_CDA68240.htm
https://www.classicstoday.com/review/howard-shelleys-clara-schumann-concerto-and-more/
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=16330
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/romantic-piano-vol-78-howard-shelley-tasmanian-so/

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Clara Schumann (née Clara Josephine Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era. She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann, and together they encouraged the young composer Johannes Brahms. She was the first to perform publicly any work by Brahms, and also instrumental in getting the works of Robert Schumann recognized.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Schumann

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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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