Stenhammar Piano Concertos

[Gareth Vaughan]

I have just played my Hyperion CD of the Stenhammar PCs (RPC No. 49) - Seta Tanyel with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Manze - and I must report that it is superb in every way. These performances are outstanding. Seta Tanyel gives a most intelligent interpretation of both concertos and the orchestra plays like a dream. Excellent recording as well.

[JimL]

Is the 1st the original version or the Atterberg orchestration?

[TerraEpon]

The webpage says it's the original.

Is the BIS recording not the original? That's the recording I have.

[JimL]

The BIS recording is the world premiere of the original.  I thought there were difficulties involved in obtaining the original from the guy who found it.  If I'm not mistaken, Martin was at a performance of the Atterberg orchestration a few years back, and he posted in the old forum that there was some sort of problem procuring the urtext from Dr. Ho, necessitating the use of the Atterberg.

[Gareth Vaughan]

The 1st PC is definitely the original version. There's a section in the sleeve notes about Prof. Allan B. Ho's discovery and his help with this recording.

[Syrelius]

This recording is excellent in many ways, but I still can't help being a bit disappointed. There is something lacking on the emotional side of Tanyels playing. Just compare the last movement of the 1st concerto to Widlunds on Chandos. I also prefer Ortiz' version of the 2nd concerto.

[Gareth Vaughan]

It was Tanyel's slightly cooler approach that I rather liked. It is all a matter of personal taste, however, and I do enjoy the Chandos performance very much too. I don't have Ortiz.

[Alan Howe]

This is one of Hyperion's less necessary releases, I feel. The best reason for the CD's existence may well be that it's good to have both PCs on the one disc. Otherwise, I'm not convinced that the CD offers much that you can't get elsewhere.

When I consider what RVCs are awaiting a first recording, I find this release verging on the superfluous.

[Syrelius]

This is one of Hyperion's less necessary releases, I feel. The best reason for the CD's existence may well be that it's good to have both PCs on the one disc. Otherwise, I'm not convinced that the CD offers much that you can't get elsewhere.

When I consider what RVCs are awaiting a first recording, I find this release verging on the superfluous.

On the other hand, the series also include the PC:s of von Weber, Mendelssohn and, soon, Tchaikovsky. There is hardly any lack of decent recordings of those, either... I can't see that there is less reason to include the Stenhammar concertos in the series. They are still, in my opinion, among the most underrated in the genre.

[TerraEpon]

Weber's concerti aren't exactly warhorses (Arkiv lists 7 recordings for each, though it's 7 different ones), though of course the Konserstucke is popular.

Saint-Saens though....which of course became a favorite recording of almost everyone.

I disagree that it's superfluous, and IMO it's MUCH better to have them (even Tchaik) in a series like this than a random single disc of Tchaik 1 and Rach 2, or some thing just because some new darling feels the need to put in HIS interpretation.

Actually, I'm surprised the Hough discs of the Rachmaninoffs weren't in the series, as they all certainly FIT.

[Alan Howe]

I was probably being over-grumpy at the stalled state of the RVC series. However, I must add that International Record Review, while generally positive about the release, has considerable reservations about the performance of PC2.

[Syrelius]

I was probably being over-grumpy at the stalled state of the RVC series. However, I must add that International Record Review, while generally positive about the release, has considerable reservations about the performance of PC2.

I haven't read that review, but I'm not surprised. The second concerto is an emotionally charged work, and I feel that a "cooler approach" simply doesn't work very well there (sorry, Gareth  ). Very much the same goes for the finale of the 1st concerto. I think the three first movements of the 1st concerto are the most successful on the disc.

[Peter1953]

Yesterday I received my copy and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of both concertos. The recording and booklet notes are in typically Hyperion's state-of-the-art quality. I like Seta Tanyel, who played all those Xaver Scharwenka piano pieces so wonderful (4 CDs), but I cannot compare both concertos with other performances. I used to had the 1st on an old tape and the 2nd is new to me. Both are very fine concertos, although the coda of the 2nd sounds like a war coming out of the speakers.
I'm very happy with this 49th of the RPC series, but I'm a bit disappointed that the jubilee issue will be filled with Tchaikovsky. I already have such fine performances of his 2nd and 3rd by Elisabeth Leonskaja.