Bortkiewicz Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3

[Revilod]

Yes. I spotted that.  It's surprising that the Bortkiewicz disc should be issued by two companies at the same time, though. The Boris Tchaikovsky/Mossolov disc seems out of place too. Also Khrennikov.

[Christopher]

whilst I'm sure that the great Polish nationalist Paderewski, although certainly a Russian citizen until 1918, would also have bristled at being described as Russian!

He was Polish prime minister wasn't he?  Blimey!

[Ilja]

whilst I'm sure that the great Polish nationalist Paderewski, although certainly a Russian citizen until 1918, would also have bristled at being described as Russian!

He was Polish prime minister wasn't he?  Blimey!

One of the first, even (2nd or 3rd, depending on how you count). There is always something quite preposterous about assigning modern nationalities to pre-1918 central European people. Just look at individuals like Reznicek (Austrian from Moravian stock, working in Berlin), Bortkiewicz (Imperial Russian Ukranian working mostly in Vienna and Berlin). The more so since often these people's attitudes were inconsistent: Smetana, for instance, drifted from support for the Austrian Empire to Bohemian nationalism by way of pan-slavism - and during his lifetime faced a fundamental re-structuring of his native "country".

[raffite33]

Piano Classics, who re-issued the Bortkiewicz concertos, is owned by Brilliant Classics who issued the "Russian" concertos box set.  They did the same thing with their Alkan box;  two of the discs from that were issued separately, although I think those were new recordings.

[eschiss1]

Thanks- I keep getting them confused with the label Grand Piano & shouldn't!!