Hyperion: The Romantic Piano Concerto

[Kriton]

No use crying over spilled milk, I know, but the last postings in the RPC 50 thread gave me an idea. Although most of us love Hyperion's series, after 50 volumes there have been some strange (not to say dissapointing) decisions. I'm not talking about the recordings, or their musical value, but about the outlook/organisation of the series. I reckon everyone, like with vol. 50, has raised their eyebrows once or twice regarding specific cds, as well as thought of better ideas. A fantasy topic, I hope you don't mind!

Firstly, I am a staunch supporter of completeness (in the CPO philosophy), so I regret the exclusion of pieces that not necessarily constitute as concertos. Either way, the line between concerto & Konzertstück is very thin, especially in the late-romantic repertoire - the Vianna da Motta cd is a case in point. I would like to see one or two "bonus" discs released (numbered 1a & b, or something like that?), containing some (or preferably all) missing pieces. My comments on the series:

Vol. 1: I love it, but I miss the Paderewski Polish Fantasy

Vol. 3: ridiculous. Bad, uninspired and way to serious playing of Mendelssohn pieces that should be in the definition of the word "fun". But, if they're going down this road anyway, it would be nice to see other romantic concertos for 2 pianos & orchestra

Vol. 4: another one of my favourites, but a complementary Bortkiewicz disc with the rest of his piano & orchestra works would be nice

Vol. 6: can there ever be enough recordings of Dohnányi's Nursery Variations? They'd be perfect for a bonus disc!

Vol. 8: the Medtner quintet is one of my favourite pieces of chamber music, but there have been better recordings; anyway, it's a quintet. What happened to the concert pieces?

Vol. 11: another one of my favourites; owning the 2nd concerto on Danacord, I understand why they didn't go for the obvious coupling - I'd still like to see it, though!

Vol. 16: the sheer fun and playfulness of Schelling's suite made me hope for a recording of his Impressions of an Artist's Life...

Vol. 18: please, Hyperion, give us the Castelli Romani!!!

Vol. 20: don't we miss 2 Konzertstücke, or does anyone know of another recording of those?

Vol. 23: Holbrooke's 2nd concerto...

Vols. 35 & 40: why???     

Vol. 38: what's with the other Rubinsteins? What I have on Marco Polo I love, especially the 5th

Vol. 43: nice, since Lyrita already gave us Sterndale Bennett's other concertos. But does that mean Hyperion shouldn't do them? I mean, if they release Tchaikowsky...

Vol. 46: what I have on Dutton is amazing stuff, but I guess that's a reason for Hyperion not to bother with it anymore...

Of course, we're still waiting for rediscovieries of the 0th D'Albert concert, the 1st Litolff and the orchestral parts of Moscheles 8th. But wouldn't we love to have Hyperion record those beautiful variation sets for piano & orchestra by Moscheles?

Just to be clear: this was no Hyperion-bashing! I love the series (and learned from my parents to be satisfied with what we have). The price collectors pay (apart from those 13 quid) is that they have to know the series by heart, because otherwise they'd have a hard time finding specific items in their collection - vol. 11 near the cds of Scharwenka orchestral works or Sauer's piano music? - and of course that's a small price!

But, in conclusion, some complementary recordings of the stuff we (they) missed the first time around would be nice, wouldn't they? In any case think most costumers to be rather loyal to the series, so I can't imagine it being a financial risk.

[TerraEpon]

, so I regret the exclusion of pieces that not necessarily constitute as concertos.

It's weird, because they certainly ARE complete in the Saint-Saens 2CD set, yet in the Tchaikovsky they are missing the Andante & Finale (granted it's a completion by Tanayev, but it certainly FITS the series).

Vol. 8: the Medtner quintet is one of my favourite pieces of chamber music, but there have been better recordings; anyway, it's a quintet. What happened to the concert pieces?

What do you mean by that? Medtner, as far as I know (and listed on http://www.medtner.org.uk/works.html) only wrote the three concerti, and no other pieces with orchestra. Are you maybe thinking of Alkan or something?

[Kriton]

It's weird, because they certainly ARE complete in the Saint-Saens 2CD set, yet in the Tchaikovsky they are missing the Andante & Finale (granted it's a completion by Tanayev, but it certainly FITS the series).

I know, that's what I meant; sometimes it seems just a bit "random" what they're doing.

Medtner, as far as I know (and listed on http://www.medtner.org.uk/works.html) only wrote the three concerti, and no other pieces with orchestra. Are you maybe thinking of Alkan or something?

I've looked it up again, because I remember reading something about them once; it appears that both concert pieces by Medtner (D major and F minor) have not been completed by the composer, but I don't know how much there is - too bad Taneyev is not around anymore to complete them...

[JimL]

As far as some of those works you mention, they are confirmed lost, at least according to posts from the old Raff Forum.  The Litolff 1st Concerto Symphonique is confirmed as lost in the Allied bombing of Leipzig, which destroyed Litolff's Verlag.  Unless some extant manuscript or published copy is found (which is unlikely) it can be considered a total loss.  Likewise some of the other concertos mentioned were probably destroyed in a similar fashion.  I, for one, would certainly like to know the whereabouts of the 1st Moszkowski PC, as well as his two symphonies.  One would think that they would be somewhere in Paris, but where to look?  Some manuscripts may have been lost in the Blitzkreig, or in the buzz bombing of London, too.  And as far as Konzertstucke are concerned, there are plenty in the RPC series.  I believe that the Concert Allegro of Blumenfeld, the Weber Konzertstuck, the Goedicke Konzertstuck and a few other shorter works are tucked away here and there in the series.  The Mendelssohn solo piano concerto CD contained his complete works for piano and (full) orchestra, for example, including some underperformed works.  And believe it or not Herz was important once, and no survey of Romantic piano concertos would be complete without him.  Believe it or not!  

[TerraEpon]

And don't forget the 8th Moschles concerto...

[FBerwald]

I do wish they would record the Godard Piano concertos. Is their any plans by hyperion to record them anytime ? is it in the pipeline???

[Hofrat]

JimL;

The Allied bombings of Leipzig were quite extensive.  Not only did they destroy the Litoff Verlag but they also destroyed Breitkopf and Hartel too.  All my queries that I addressed to the director of the archives at Breitkopf and Hartel were answered the same way:  Lost in the fire!!

[chill319]

Regarding reply 2, I believe the exclusion of the Taneyev completions was the performer's call rather than the producer's.

[Ilja]

Then why include the execrable Siloti perversion of the 2nd movement of Op. 44?

[Gareth Vaughan]

I agree. What on earth we want 3 different versions of the 2nd movt. of No. 2 for I can't imagine.

[chill319]

If Mompou had completed the third concerto, this might be a very different discussion!

Seriously, we're talking about (relatively) infrequently played Tchaikovsky concertos rather than, say, the V-1. So I don't think it's necessarily perverse for a producer who wants to stay in the black to coddle a performer who is (a) a draw and (b) an adventurous and gifted musician, even though said musician may not always be at their very best when performing Tchaikovsky.

That being said, my comment was derived from a discussion with Mr. Hough. I don't speak for him, obviously, but I think he feels the third concerto draft didn't have the benefit of Tchaikovsky's full attention.

[Ilja]

That is, of course, if the draw of Mr. Hough's presence might make enough of a difference to separate his recording of the Tchaikovsky concertos from the umpteen alternatives on the market – and I don't think it does. Even so, the classical music business has changed dramatically over the past years, and artist's reputations are far less important than they used to be, particularly if the artists aren't 'superstars'. And although Stephen Hough is a fantastic pianist, I don't think he is in that category.

The other point is about the character of the series. The Romantic Piano Concerto series is known for releasing previously unknown or unfamiliar repertory. In that sense, Hyperion functions an explorer of sorts on behalf of its customers. Such a role breeds loyalty, but it is loyalty of a fragile nature and you need to be aware of that. I know that other labels (cpo, Sterling) are very aware of their responsibility towards their customers, and Hyperion has been most of the time.

But here I feel they missed the mark. The repertory isn't interesting enough to the series' core customer base, and I don't think the performer is interesting enough (publicity-wise, NOT musically) to make much of a difference vis-a-vis the competition.

[Jonathan]

Interestingly (or perhaps not!), I've just bought a CD of the original versions of the Tchaikovsky concerti on the Bridge label and played by Jerome Lowenthal.  I've not listened to it yet but I wonder if Hough had recorded these versions, the reaction here would have been more favourable?

[thalbergmad]

But here I feel they missed the mark. The repertory isn't interesting enough to the series' core customer base, and I don't think the performer is interesting enough (publicity-wise, NOT musically) to make much of a difference vis-a-vis the competition.

I agree with this and would add that I actually felt let down by it as a customer, especially as it was the half century issue and I was expecting something pretty incredible and unrecorded.

It was almost as if Hyperion were saying to me "thanks for buying the other 49, here is your reward".

It might well be a commercial winner and I hope it is so that it could fund other projects, but i will not buy it myself and there will remain a gap on my shelf.

Thal

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well the next release will be Rosenhain and Taubert (both PCs), so that should satisfy most people on this forum.