Sigismond Thalberg - Piano Concerto in F minor; etc. (Francesco Nicolosi)

Information

Composer: Sigismond Thalberg

1. Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro moderato
2. Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5: II. Adagio
3. Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5: III. Rondo. Allegro
4. Souvenirs de Beethoven: Grande fantaisie sur la 7e symphonie de Beethoven, Op. 39
5. Nocturne, Op. 28
6. Canzonette Italienne, Op. 36 No. 5
7. Un soupir, Mélodie variée

Francesco Nicolosi, piano

Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra

Andrew Mogrelia, conductor

Date: 2000

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553701

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Don’t expect an undiscovered masterpiece in Sigismund Thalberg’s F minor Piano Concerto. Instead, let your ears revel in its quaint tunes and digital fireworks, served up with dash and flair by both soloist and conductor. Thalberg’s notey barrages pose no problems for Francesco Nicolosi, although some of the composer’s more taxing “three-hand” effects (middle-register melodies surrounded by left and right hand arpeggiated figures) leave the Italian pianist gasping for air. Still, Thalberg’s silly, grandstanding fantasia based on the Andante from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (with the Fifth Symphony’s finale thrown in for good measure!) is worth the disc’s modest asking price. The Nocturne, Canzonette Italienne, and Un Soupir, by contrast, showcase Thalberg’s attractive if somewhat naïve lyrical side. Understandably, some Romantic Revivalists will latch onto Michael Ponti’s venerable Thalberg Concerto on Vox. Naxos’ sonic and interpretive upgrade, however, sprints to the head of the queue.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

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Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was a composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century.  In the 1830s and the 1840s, his style was a major force in European piano-playing and was imitated by many others. Between the late 1830s and 1850s Thalberg toured the world over with artists such as Bernard Ullmann, Strakosch and Henri Vieuxtemps, traveling to the United States, Brazil, Belgium, Holland, Russia and Spain. Aside from his dozens of piano compositions, many with orchestral accompaniment, Thalberg wrote several Lieder and two chamber works.

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

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sigismund-thalberg-mn0001801365/biography

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Francesco Nicolosi (born December 7, 1954 in Catania) is an Italian pianist. He has lived in Naples, Italy since 1973 where he studied with Vincenzo Vitale. Nicolosi has played in recitals and as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, in some of the most famous concert halls of Europe. He has toured in the US, Argentina, Russia, Japan and China. Since 1996 Nicolosi is the president of the Sigismund Thalberg International Study Centre, as well as Artistic Director of the Sigismund Thalberg International Piano Prize. His recordings include works of Thalberg, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Clara Schumann, Scarlatti, and Paisiello.

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

https://www.naxos.com/person/Francesco_Nicolosi/549.htm

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