Gernsheim cello and piano concertos

[Alan Howe]

When you wrote that Triendl surpasses himself, I'm guessing you literally meant that, of course..

I'm assuming that is friendly sarcasm  .
So, was it Triendl or Bäumer who was responsible for the more expansive performance on cpo? Answer: we don't really know. Perhaps it was a joint decision. All I know is that it works in the PC - magnificently. And the fact that everything on the new CD is slower than other recorded performances of the same pieces leads me to suspect that the instigator was in fact the conductor.

[eschiss1]

No, no, it was an honest question, when I noticed that the two recordings of the piano concerto both had Triendl... so if he was better in the more recent one, he was surpassing himself... probably together with the conductor and orchestra, imho (some pianists learn their concertos without collaborating with the orchestra, at least one once told me (can't remember who or when now), but I have always found that difficult to believe)

[Alan Howe]

All I can add is that this new performance of the PC has the potential to put Gernsheim more fully in the public eye.  It's that good.

[eschiss1]

Kudos to cpo and all involved, then!

[terry martyn]

This weighty and thoughtful piano concerto is a masterpiece,in my opinion. Does anyone else agree?

[Alan Howe]

Absolutely. 100%.

[Ilja]

Apologies for being a contrarian voice here, but I don't think this is prime Gernsheim. It is an excellent concerto containing beautiful music, don't get me wrong, but it also lacks the sophistication we see in his later works, particularly the last two symphonies, Zu einem Drama, and the B minor piano quartet. I mean this in terms of both instrumentation as composition. In a sense, I think the work is just a bit too formally unexceptional to lay claim to a term as lofty as "masterpiece".

[Alan Howe]

It's fine to disagree, of course. I'd simply say that the PC is the masterpiece of Gernsheim's early maturity. 

By the way, I note that the timpani are very well recorded here - it makes a big difference.

[semloh]

A spectacular recording and brilliant pianism but, for me, not a great masterpiece. But I've only listened a couple of times, and I respect the more positive opinions expressed here, so maybe increased familiarity will lead to a better appreciation.

[Alan Howe]

And I respect your view, Colin. I'm probably overestimating the PC's stature. My problem: I can't get the piece out of my head - it's so memorable...

[terry martyn]

I said that I thought this is a masterpiece, and I stand by my opinion.  I think it deserves a chance in the concert-hall.

But I did not reach that opinion overnight. The first time I played the concerto I was possibly as tepid as Ilya!

But Alan's advocacy persuaded me to persevere. It was on about the fourth or fifth time I played it that I began to say to myself: this is not a poor man's Brahms, but something of stature;moving,profound.

I have now listened to it about twenty times. I think my persistence has been well-rewarded.

[Alan Howe]

As I said before, I'm tempted to agree - and this recording certainly does it justice.

[Ilja]

I said that I thought this is a masterpiece, and I stand by my opinion.  I think it deserves a chance in the concert-hall.

For me, the bar for "deserves a place in the concert hall" is a fair bit lower than the one for declaring something a masterpiece (i.e, a work of a quality that knows few if any rivals in its category). This concerto absolutely deserves the former epithet, but I'm not sure about the latter.

[Alan Howe]

That's probably true, but I really rate the work. It's so memorable.

[eschiss1]

It's worth encountering wonderful works that meet the lower standard, they are not -that- thick on the ground. And even the (even) more subjective standard of being (happily, I mean) persistently earwormish (several unsung works , ones which have been criticized as unmemorable or worse, have had very substantial sections run through my head- and still do even now that I know what they are...)