A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Carl Czerny - Piano Concertos (Howard Shelley)


Information

Composer: Carl Czerny
  • (01) Piano Concerto in F major, Op. 28
  • (04) Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 214
  • (07) Rondo brillant in B flat major, Op. 233

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Howard Shelley, piano & conductor

Date: 2020
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68138

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Patience can be a virtue. When I reviewed Rosemary Tuck’s version of Czerny’s A minor Piano Concerto, Op 214, last June my conclusion was ‘save your money and wait’. And here it is, the 71st volume in Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series and every bit as fine as I’d hoped. Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra are, by now, firm friends, and it’s thanks to his intimacy with every note of the orchestral score, as well as that of the piano part, that makes these readings so rewarding.

Two of the works are recording premieres, and the F major Piano Concerto, Op 28, gets the best possible airing. But there’s a mystery here as it has recently come to light that this music is identical to the Third Guitar Concerto of Mauro Giuliani. Which came first? Who knows, though if Czerny transcribed the guitar concerto it would explain why his later A minor Concerto was published as ‘No 1’. Whoever wrote it, there are deft touches of orchestration in the opening tutti – be they a timpani line or a solo oboe phrase – and these are duly enjoyed; when the piano finally arrives it bounces in with great effervescence. The sheer energy and fecundity of ideas are irresistible. The slow movement of the F major, whose theme begins disconcertingly like the opening of Mozart’s A major Piano Sonata, K331, is aptly poised, while there’s a palpable sense of fun in the finale, a romp with just enough moments of introspection not to appear vapid.

The A minor Concerto (which certainly is by Czerny), somewhat stolid in Tuck’s hands, is much more compelling here. This is in part because Shelley takes the finale at a significantly faster pace, dispatching its filigree with élan, even if the top end of the piano is a touch dry-sounding. But he’s also simply more imaginative, beautifully shaping Czerny’s moments of Chopinesque fantasy (for example 12 minutes into the first movement).

The Rondo brillant is another first on record and if you don’t exactly come away humming the tunes, Shelley & co do at least keep you absorbed over its 15 minute length – even through the overblown build-up to the final bars. A fascinating booklet by Jeremy Nicholas completes a fine addition to this series.

-- Harriet Smith, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/May/Czerny_PCs_CDA68138.htm
https://www.classicalsource.com/cd/the-romantic-piano-concerto-71-carl-czerny-howard-shelley-tasmanian-symphony-orchestra-hyperion/
https://www.ft.com/content/35ac4dd4-2e08-11e7-9555-23ef563ecf9a
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/14/czerny-piano-concertos-howard-shelley-review-tasmanian-symphony-orchestra
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/czerny-piano-concertos-howard-shelley-tasmanian-symphony-orchestra/
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-romantic-piano-concerto-vol-71-czerny-mw0003033874
https://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Piano-Concerto-Vol-71/dp/B01N4RHP4P

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carl Czerny (21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin. Born into a musical family and a child prodigy himself, Czerny began playing piano at age 3 and composing at age 7. He was one of Beethoven's numerous pupils and was the one who premiered Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 5. As a composer, Czerny composed a very large number of pieces (more than a thousand pieces and up to Op. 861). His books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. Czerny had a very successful teaching career; his most famous pupil was Franz Liszt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Czerny

***

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks
Links in comment
Enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Skip Ad' (or 'Get link').
    If you are asked to download or install anything, IGNORE, only download from file hosting site (mega.nz).
    If MEGA shows 'Bandwidth Limit Exceeded' message, try to create a free account.

    http://fumacrom.com/2SDhJ
    or
    https://uii.io/KjoxlrE6
    or
    https://exe.io/Itu844U6

    ReplyDelete