Early d'Albert Piano Concerto in A found

[Rex Stultorum]

I hope this hasn't been posted already (I searched and didn't find anything, but I'm new to this forum):

Fans of Eugene d'Albert know that he has two published piano concerti, the first of which (in b minor) is listed as Op. 2.  If you look on his Wikipedia page, you'll note that there's another concerto he wrote in A major which is marked as lost.  Well, it appears that this "lost" concerto was found last year in the Library of Congress:

https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2017/05/re-discovery-the-two-opus-2s-of-eugen-dalbert/

Even though this is a piece of juvenalia (it was written when he was 16), I'd still love to hear it.  There is allegedly an "almost complete" fourth concerto in g minor - if anyone has information on this please let me know.  Thank you.

[FBerwald]

This is amazing news. Like the rediscovery of the Moszkowski Piano Concerto in B minor.

[Alan Howe]

Might Hyperion be interested in this? Martin E? Gareth?

[Gareth Vaughan]

I am sure they would. However, I am a little confused here as the concerto found in MS at the Library of Congress is clearly in A minor, not major. So what is this A major concerto?

[Rex Stultorum]

From what I can see of the article, the concerto begins in a minor, but by the end is in A major.  Wikipedia lists it as A major, but doesn't list a source.  If you read the article, it appears the author (David Plylar - I assume a library archivist) thinks that the piece is, overall, in A major.

[JimL]

If there is an introduction of some kind in the first movement that is in the minor, but the movement proper is in the major mode then A Major would be an appropriate description. However - remember the error on the premiere LP recording of Anton Rubinstein's Piano Concerto No. 1. That was said by the writer of the liner note to be in E Major, which it most decidedly is NOT (any more than Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto is.) This error was then promulgated in the subsequent recording (I particularly love the Marco Polo/Naxos CD by Banowetz, where it says it's in E minor in one place, E Major in another, and just plain E in another - talk about covering all your bases!) So the d'Albert concerto may have been mistakenly listed as being in A Major from the get-go. We'd have to give it a good examination to make sure.

[Rex Stultorum]

I agree.  We'd have to look at the whole score to make a call about a minor or A major.  Hopefully the whole score will be available for inspection soon.  Regardless, as a fan or d'Albert, I'm happy to hear about the discovery.

[Revilod]

Very exciting news. I'd love to hear it though it's obviously a substantial work and finding a pianist prepared to learn it may not be easy. Most concertos which start in the minor end in the major, of course, ( Mozart's K491 is an exception) so confusion can arise over the music's mode especially if a description relies on aural memory.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Ok. Well, key apart, as soon as the score becomes available I will show it to Hyperion. Meanwhile I will drop Simon Perry a line to alert him to its discovery.

[JimL]

The Bronsart is also an exception (although the 1st movement does indeed end in the major.) So are the Moscheles 3rd and 7th piano concertos, and the 2nd and 5th Concertos Symphoniques of Litolff. All have finales in the minor key, and don't brighten up at the end. Now that I think of it, the 1st and 3rd Scharwenka concertos are the same; in fact, the 3rd has a finale that starts in the major key, and ends up with a cyclic return of the opening movement's material in its initial guise, finishing up in the minor (with an almost verbatim reprise of the end of the first movement.) There are probably a number of additional Romantic piano concertos that end in the minor key, but I can't recall them at the moment.

[eschiss1]

You mean after their finales begin in the major, or just in general?  (If the latter: Does Ries count as Romantic in this connection, or Classical? Concerto no.3's finale briefly hints at C-sharp major, but only briefly... still, definitely ends in minor. Saint-Saëns 2 counts - finale begins and ends in the minor. Likewise Martucci 2. Looks like Dupont's F minor concerto does too, btw...)

[Revilod]

Virtually all the popular  "sung" Romantic/Classical concertos which start in the minor end in the major.  Beethoven 3, Tchaikovsky 1, Brahms 1, all Rachmaninov's, both Chopin's, both Mendelssohn's, Schumann's, Grieg's, Dvorak, Scriabin....Exceptions: Mozart 24, Saint-Saens 2. Unsung composers take note!

[Alan Howe]

And so, back to d'Albert...

[FBerwald]

Any updates re. this rediscovered manuscript? Can we expect a recording... I have been listening to the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B minor and cant get over the vast beauty. Sure, it's over indulgent at times but on the whole it's such a lush and beautiful work.

[FBerwald]

Has there been any development the the recording plans for this concerto? The lost A minor with the unrecorded G Major  would make a nice RPC volume.