PCs by L.Grossman, V.Pukhalski & H.Bobinski

[eschiss1]

mispronounced Toyama? Anyway...

[Alan Howe]

No - vowels in wrong order.

[Gareth Vaughan]

That's enough messing around, boys. Settle down now, or I'll send for the headmaster.

[Alan Howe]

...ooh, ouch. I consider myself duly slippered.

[Christopher]

Yes. I think so. It is a full-blooded romantic piano concerto. Very enjoyable.

It would be good to know what else he wrote and if it is as good as (or better than) this piano concerto.

[Christopher]

Probably a subject for another thread - but regarding the commissioning of recordings by labels such as Hyperion - how does this work?  What's the process?  I would be fascinated to know.  I am sure all of us have unrecorded piano concertos in our heads that we would love to ask Hyperion and others to record (mine are Sokolov, Skorulsky, etc), and clearly some of us actually have the contacts to do that!  My question is - Hyperion must also have their own list.  What is the selection process?

[Alan Howe]

I imagine it starts with finding someone who'd be prepared to learn whatever might be on the list...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Absolutely correct, Alan.

[Mark Thomas]

... and then the conversation will turn to who's going to pay for it.

[Alan Howe]

...and the fact that there are more pianists than violinists presumably explains the comparative paucity of releases in the RVC series.

[FBerwald]

I don't necessarily agree with you Alan, because although you be on to something in approximating the ratio of pianists to violinists, it doesn't quite explain why other labels have been able to release quite a number of romantic violin concertos (without having any committed series of any kind)... I'm thinking Gernsheim, Holbrooke, Reznicek -  this only from CPO during the last 2 years but Hyperion released the last of its (sung but nevertheless wonderful) Bruch series in early-2017, recorded in 2015. This seems more a Hyperion issue rather than a lack of Violinists.

[Alan Howe]

You may well be right. Mind you, we are supposed to be getting Scharwenka and Lassen from Linus Roth on Hyperion.

And with that, back to the subject of the thread...

[eschiss1]

re Bobinski's 2nd concerto Op.12, I have no information about the score, but a reduction of its slow movement was published by Idzikowski, if I understand a catalog listing right. Even failing finding the full score/parts published or ms of Op.12, it might be that that slow movement reduction could also be a good piece to play (Worldcat anyway only lists, it seems, by Bobinski, the concerto, a few solo piano works (2 pieces Op.5, Pensée Op.14, Légende Op.4, Andante doloroso Op.15, Sérénade and Canzonetta from Op.17, that movement published as Op.12), and a number of works by Grieg and others edited/arranged by him.)

[Christopher]

My Ukrainian colleague has kindly sent me a translation of what is being said for 4 minutes at the start of the Pukhalski performance:

The history of our piano department began in 1868. The key figure who helped to establish musical and piano studies in Ukraine was composer, public figure, activist, musician Volodymyr Puhalskyy. Puhalskyy was said to be founder of 'Kyiv School' of piano. Volodymyr Horowitz is one of the famous students of Puhalskyy. To commemorate this famous pianist, who was born and educated in Kyiv, the most successful professional musical project in Ukraine was established in 1995 – the V. Horowitz International Competition for Young Pianists. Today Horowitz Competition is the only competition in Ukraine which participates in the World Federation of International Musical Contests and it's also part of the European Organization of Contests for Youth. One of the traditions of the Institute of Music is the opportunity to discover new pieces of musical culture. For example, Kyrylo Karabets (or Kirill Karabits) discovered a previously unknown symphony by Prokofyev written in his young age, and this piece has been performed by an orchestra. Vyacheslav Zubkov, who was one of the winners of the Horowitz contest, performed the Puhalskyy D Minor concerto in 2005 . This piece has been forgotten for many years , despite the fact that in the 1920s Puhalskyy himself played this piece at various venues in Kyiv and abroad. Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian musical historian, Yuriy Zilberman ... and thanks to the international charitable fund of Volodymyr Horowitz, which ordered the sheet music to be written by Viktoria Polyova – this great piece written by Puhalskyy has been brought back to life.
(And then she announces the piece: "Volodymyr Puhalskyy, Concerto for piano and orchestra in D Minor, 1st part".) 

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(SEPARATELY - does anyone know anything about this early previously unknown Prokofiev symphony? I wonder if it might be in late romantic vein before he went down another route.. I found a hint here - "​Ukrainian online radio to broadcast unknown Prokofiev symphony"  https://www.kyivpost.com/article/guide/music/ukrainian-online-radio-to-broadcast-unknown-prokofiev-symphony-384619.html - March 27, 2015: 

The Russian composer has written the symphony in 1902 when he was just 11-¬years-¬old and lived in Sontsovka, today's Donetsk Oblast. It is believed to be his first symphony.
The work was kept in a Moscow archive and has never been played for public. Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits has recently discovered the script of the symphony.
Karabits recorded it with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Glier Kyiv Institute of Music on March 21 during a concert dedicated to the 140th anniversary of Glier's birthday and consisted of his students' works.
The manuscript of the symphony found by Karabits was titled "To my teacher Reinhold Moritzevich Gliere." As a child, Prokofiev was taking music lessons with Gliere, another Russian composer, every summer.
"Imagine you found unknown recording of The Beatles which has never been published before. It's the same feeling", radio host of "Aristokraty" Yaroslav Lodygin says. "There are millions of Prokofiev fans around the world and now they have opportunity to listen to his first work. And it's weighty that it was recorded here in Kyiv".
The two¬-hour-¬long radio show will also include an interview with conductor Karabits and Yuriy Zilberman, deputy head of the Gliere Kyiv Institute of Music.
Karabits plans to record Prokofiev symphony in London and give it to BBC Three broadcasting. )

[Christopher]

(SEPARATELY - does anyone know anything about this early previously unknown Prokofiev symphony?

...answering my own question - it's on this CD - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prokofiev-Symphonies-Op-111-Movement-Symphony/dp/B015HNXTTI

Various amazon reviews say: "This final CD contains the composer's earliest attempt at a symphony, written in 1902 at the age of just 11. The surviving movement receives its world première recording on this disc... the main selling point of this disc is the fragment of a symphony from 1902. Don't get too excited; it lasts just over 3 minutes and doesn't sound like Prokofiev at all...An interesting fragment that was discovered by Mr. Karabits from a symphony Prokofiev wrote in 1902 is included. The symphony was dedicated to Rheinhold Gliere, who was one of the composer's teachers. The fragment is brief but highly interesting, and shows what Prokofiev's thought were at the time."