Romantic PCs from Brilliant Classics

[JimL]

Litolff CS 3 is indeed a repertory-worthy work.  It is indeed a shame that Vox (or some earlier editor) hacked off a sizeable chunk of the slow movement (it actually has an orchestral introduction).

[thalbergmad]

I was not aware of any cuts as i was not following the score. I was lying on the sofa with a large Scotch and a packet of Twiglets which is the most civilised way of listening in my experience.

Any cuts did not detract from my enjoyment.

Thal

[JimL]

The opening is primarily of interest because the return of the first theme after the central episode is essentially a recapitulation of the theme as it first appeared in the introduction with Litolff's characteristic "brilliant obbligato" accompaniment in the piano.  To hear the whole concerto uncut (along with the unjustly neglected and highly ambitious CS 5) try the Hyperion RPCS release with Peter Donohoe.  He has iron fingers in velvet gloves, which is what you need for works like these.

[thalbergmad]

I have heard the Donohoe recording, but it was some time ago and yes, the 5th is unjustly neglected when compared to the more oft recorded 4th.

Tis a shame the 1st appears to be lost and that Litolff did not appear to hit the same artistic heights with his solo works.

Yours concertingly,

Thal

[Steve B]

Hi everyone, all agog for my box; which boyfriend said hasnt arrived yet, but will soon; so something to which to look forward.

Thalberg, i like ur healthy attitude; not sure re the twiglets and Scotch(prefer "pringles"), but, occasional cuts or not, these(the Ponti ones anyway) are inspirational; and am glad that you Alan, like the "vim and vigour" of MPs re-creation of the Raff PC(the Dante, later, version is not quite so on the edge-of-seat).

Though I have nearly all these Vox/Turnabout/Candide recordings on much-treasured LPs, it will be ecstatic to have all together, probably for the last time, as they are now somewhat elderly recordings

By the way, Thalberg, Brilliant are fairly well known for careless packaging(there is stuff on various forums re this); I got a free set with a "Gramophone" subscription a couple of years ago, and 2 discs(the same disc in each set) were gouged out in the same place, and i have heard of the duplicate problem previously. If its only Cramer or Czerny i won't be too bothered, but this shoddiness does annoy me.

So, a lovely tribute to poor Mr. Ponti in his 70th year(and to his fellow and fellowess pianists) in an excellent venture. DO try his Rach 3 on Dante(both first movt cadenzi, end to end):pyrotechnics AND passion; mad tempi, but it works. I think it was his last recording before the stroke, which meant he can only play left-hand. But, good luck to him, he still, plays the occasional concert and Paul Theissen(conductor of most of the Dante re-recordings)has written a LH concerto for him which my hero performed in the US fairly recently.

I wish he had recorded the Sgambati PC: the first movement of that would have been a riot.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas/holiday period.

Best wishes

Steve

PS the Ponti re-recording, on Dante, of the Raff Piano concerto has a very unfair review on the Raff site, complaining of the faintness of the orchestra, causing an alleged "Music Minus One" impression. This is, IMHO, TOTALLY misleading; the orchestra plays well and is perfectly audible.

[JimL]

So, a lovely tribute to poor Mr. Ponti in his 70th year(and to his fellow and fellowess pianists) in an excellent venture...I think it was his last recording before the stroke, which meant he can only play left-hand. But, good luck to him, he still, plays the occasional concert and Paul Theissen(conductor of most of the Dante re-recordings)has written a LH concerto for him which my hero performed in the US fairly recently.

I thought his right hand was almost completely recovered.  In any event, what I wouldn't give to hear him in Bortkiewicz 2!  That's right up his alley!

[Steve B]

Where did u get that information rom, Jim; that Ponti's Rh was almost wholly recovered?
Thanks Steve

[JimL]

Thought I caught something about it online a while back.  I could be confused, though.  Unless he had another stroke...

[Peter1953]

Steve, you must be a very happy man with this box, full of Ponti performances. What an excellent pianist indeed.
And what a performance of my favourite (unsung) piano concerto, the Von Henselt. I prefer Ponti's interpretation above the totally different, almost academic virtuoso show Hamelin has made of it.

[Peter1953]

Wow... what a trouvaille... the Bronsart is a brilliant piece of music! How is it possible that Bronsart has been so neglected? I wonder what else he composed and if anything else is available on CD.

[thalbergmad]

Well, I have listened to the lot now and it was mostly very pleasing indeed.

I have no idea why some of them were included (Mayr & Clementi) and there were a couple that I rather wish had not been included (Roussel & Pierne), but a thoroughly enjoyable experience it was.

I rather hope this series encourages further releases of rarely or never played romantic concerti, but i still don't think we have seen the last Grieg/Schumann CD.

Concertingly

Thal

[thalbergmad]

Wow... what a trouvaille... the Bronsart is a brilliant piece of music! How is it possible that Bronsart has been so neglected? I wonder what else he composed and if anything else is available on CD.

I have never heard anything else by Bronsart, but I have heard a Waltz Caprice written by his wife that was sufficiently awful to have warranted divorce.

Thal

[Peter1953]

Ingeborg must have been a talented pianist, with Von Henselt as one of her teachers, which  doesn't mean that she was a good composer as well. But maybe she had other qualities.

What do you think of the Stavenhagen? Also a quite obscure composer.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Bronsart's Op. 1 is a piano trio in G minor - and very good it is too. His wife is also credited with having written a piano concerto - but I have not managed to find it. Maybe on the strength of the Waltz Caprice it is not worth looking for!!

[thalbergmad]

Ingeborg must have been a talented pianist, with Von Henselt as one of her teachers, which  doesn't mean that she was a good composer as well. But maybe she had other qualities.

What do you think of the Stavenhagen? Also a quite obscure composer.

If I remember correctly, Henselt was an awful teacher who spent most of the lesson swatting flies

I have fond memories of the Stavenhagen Concerto as it was my first ( and worst) attempt at turning a paper score into a pdf. For some unknown reason, there is something about the first movement that makes me think of the film "Rebecca". I have no idea why as I cannot imagine there are similarities in the music.

Thal