I love all four Scharwenka concertos and am as excited as Al Harris and Ed Urban about the impending release of these new recordings. I think they embody the very best of the romantic piano concerto (my favorite genre). They share the same features--grand gestures, melting melodic lines, virtuosic piano writing, and powerful orchestral accompaniments. The fiery and impetuous 1st, the powerful 2nd (which contains my very favorite piano entrance in the 1st movement), the plaintive and soulful 3rd (which is in my favorite key, c# minor), and the magisterial 4th, the capstone of Scharwenka's output, comprise a body of work that is unmatched by other composers in the late 19th century.
I will always regret the fact that I missed seeing a live performance of the 4th concerto with Stephen Hough in 3/96 in Indianapolis as I had to move to Pennsylvania 2 weeks earlier. I remember what a reviewer had said in a review of the Earl Wild recording of the 1st concerto in 1970--this was music so good that it will bring tears to your ears. Later on, another reviewer likened Scharwenka's music to "Chopin on steroids". Perhaps these new recordings will initiate a Scharwenka renaissance, with more performances around the world (particularly in the US).
I disagree with LateRomantic75's assessment of the 2nd and 3rd concertos. To me, they're just as full of blazing passion and epic sweep as their companions. I find them both incredibly exciting and like the other two, unjustly neglected masterworks that deserve to be resurrected and played again and again instead of the zillionth performance of the usual warhorses.
BTW, has anyone else noticed the "wrong note" in the only recording of the 3rd concerto (Seta Tanyel)? In the score, it opens with 2 French horns playing the main theme in unison starting on the first beat of the first bar. The rest of the orchestra then comes in on the third beat with a G# major dominant seventh chord. In the recording, the violins play a high G# just before the French horns play the opening melody. I though it was an odd way to start the concerto until I saw the score and realized that it was wrong.
I will always regret the fact that I missed seeing a live performance of the 4th concerto with Stephen Hough in 3/96 in Indianapolis as I had to move to Pennsylvania 2 weeks earlier. I remember what a reviewer had said in a review of the Earl Wild recording of the 1st concerto in 1970--this was music so good that it will bring tears to your ears. Later on, another reviewer likened Scharwenka's music to "Chopin on steroids". Perhaps these new recordings will initiate a Scharwenka renaissance, with more performances around the world (particularly in the US).
I disagree with LateRomantic75's assessment of the 2nd and 3rd concertos. To me, they're just as full of blazing passion and epic sweep as their companions. I find them both incredibly exciting and like the other two, unjustly neglected masterworks that deserve to be resurrected and played again and again instead of the zillionth performance of the usual warhorses.
BTW, has anyone else noticed the "wrong note" in the only recording of the 3rd concerto (Seta Tanyel)? In the score, it opens with 2 French horns playing the main theme in unison starting on the first beat of the first bar. The rest of the orchestra then comes in on the third beat with a G# major dominant seventh chord. In the recording, the violins play a high G# just before the French horns play the opening melody. I though it was an odd way to start the concerto until I saw the score and realized that it was wrong.