d'Albert PC2 on Berlin Classics

[Alan Howe]

I recently decided to take a punt on a Berlin Classics reissue of d'Albert's PC2, featuring as soloist Siegfried Stöckigt with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra under Günter Herbig. The coupling is d'Albert's fine Cello Concerto. Anyway, I hadn't realised how dull and drowsy Piers Lane's performance with Alun Francis (Hyperion) sounds by comparison. Lane makes much of the music sound very beautiful, but Stöckigt and Herbig give it the full romantic treatment, with the East Berlin Orchestra sounding wonderfully rich and opulent (it's now renamed the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra). I'm convinced this is how this magnificent work, pitched somwhere between Liszt and Rachmaninov, should sound. I was, frankly, blown away.
The recording appears to be deleted (and the CD is short measure overall), but copies are still to be had, e.g. at Amazon here in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Concerto-Piano-2-Cello/dp/B0000035U3/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1530911083&s

[Martin Eastick]

Thanks, Alan, for the reminder about this fabulous recording of d'Albert's Op12, which I originally obtained many years ago as an LP. At the time it's only competition was Ponti, but even then I had to acknowledge the sheer brilliance and excitement of this performance from the former East Germany which IMHO was far superior to the Vox version.  I have just ordered a copy of the CD reissue and would certainly recommend it as THE definitive performance to date!

[adriano]

Don't forget that both D'Albert Piano Concertos were first issed on CD by the Swiss Pan Label in 1996 - on a wonderful recording with soloist Karl-Andreas Kolly and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ronald Zollman. On the same disc: The Overture "Der Improvisator".
The same label also published three more D'Albert CDs:
1) Cello Concerto (with Antonio Meneses and the Basle Symphony, cond. Zollman), coupled with Symphony op. 4 - another super CD!
2) Two String Quartets (Sarastro Quartet)
3) Piano Sonta op. 10 and Piece opp. 5 and 16 (Kolly)

[Revilod]

Yes. I've got this disc and I couldn't fail to disagree with you less, Alan. It's definitely superior to Piers Lane's disc. He makes really heavy weather of much of it.

[eschiss1]

Why not just say "I disagree completely" and save the servers, bandwidth the space (and my poor head the trouble of figuring out the quintuple negative), an it please you? ...

[Revilod]

Sorry! I was just hoping to make you smile....and keep the brain cells ticking over! Actually, if you figure it out, it means "I agree completely"...

[Alan Howe]

a wonderful recording with soloist Karl-Andreas Kolly and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ronald Zollman

I've often wondered about those recordings. How good is the Barcelona orchestra, for example? Does it really compare with the superlative BerlinSO?

[adriano]

On this particular disc, the Barcelona Orchestra is excellent. One can hear this already on the Overture, whioch is a rather difficult piece.

[Alan Howe]

That's good to know. Thanks, Adriano.