Ten (unsung) Romantic Piano Concertos to hear before you die

[Gauk]

Huge thanks to mjkFendrich for pointing me in the direction of a recording of the Nikisch Piano Concerto. I will be amazed if I hear a better work this year.

And this would be where, exactly?

[thalbergmad]

http://www.sedina.de/assets/s2dmain.html?http://www.sedina.de/noten/mitjanikisch/mitjanikischklavierkonzertsolisthshelley.html 

Here is the link as given on page 1 of this thread.

Thal

[JollyRoger]

Ralph Vaughn Williams - Concerto for 2 Pianos

[DennisS]

I am interested in buying the CD of the Mitja Nikisch PC available from Sedina.de as per link provided by MjkFendrich/thalbergmad. I have done some research on this company and am unsure about the site i.e. is it safe to buy from them? Has any member bought a CD from this company? The CD of the Nikisch PC does not seem to be available from anyone else.

[Martin Eastick]

The Nikisch piano concerto is also available from Amazon.de - I have just obtained my copy from them!

[thalbergmad]

I am well into double figures with listening to this now and each time I am more impressed and depressed.

Amazing what a man can produce on his deathbed.

Thal

[DennisS]

Thank you Martin for letting me know the Nikisch PC is available from Amazon.de. I have just put in my order. Strange that the Cd was not mentioned on either Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. Must be a German thing! Thanks again.

[jani]

Ilmari Hannikainen's piano concerto (1919) is also one to listen. It is sad that there is still not a decent recording of the piece. All the performances make some cuts, the most complete one is the latest one from 2004, Juhani Lagerspetz as a soloist and Helsinki Philharmonic conducted by Tuomas Hannikainen. I think this concerto could be one for the Hyperion's The Romantic Piano Concertos series.

[DennisS]

Thank you UC for mentioning Mitja Nikisch's piano concerto. I obtained my copy from Amazon.de and have since listened to it quite a few times now. The music is indeed very beautiful, especially the first movement, which, as is mentioned in the liner notes, owes a huge debt to Rachmaninov. I can see why some members of the forum have spoken in glowing terms about this PC. I too rate this PC highly.

[thalbergmad]

The Nikisch has haunted me since I first heard it and its effect on me has not diminished since.

Perhaps a fresh recording might bring it to the fore. Anyone who loves Rachmaninoff will love this, although it is somewhat darker.

Thal

[PaulRx4]

I cannot imagine life without the Bortkiewicz either, his solo piano is also outstanding

[LateRomantic75]

Sorry, old thread, but I couldn't help it:

Atterberg
Bortkiewicz 1
Alnaes
Medtner 2
Scharwenka 4
Marx Romantisches Klavierkonzert
Rozycki 1
Palmgren 2
Giannini
Hannikainen

I love all these concertos for basically the same reason: they are lush, richly tuneful, and emotionally melancholy which are all influenced by Rachmaninov to differing degrees. For example, the big-boned Giannini PC has the Russian master's name written all over it, while the Marx is more eclectic and boasts some colorful orchestration more akin to Respighi or Scriabin than Rach. Had I been allowed to include a dozen concertos, I would have added Mathieu's Fourth and von Dohnanyi's Second.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I see the recording of the Nikisch is coupled with a symphony by Graunke. What is this piece like, please? Is is Romantic and tonal or is it the sort of stuff we on this forum are unlikely to enjoy?

[LateRomantic75]

I see the recording of the Nikisch is coupled with a symphony by Graunke. What is this piece like, please? Is is Romantic and tonal or is it the sort of stuff we on this forum are unlikely to enjoy?

I've heard Graunke's Symphony no. 9 on YouTube and it is definitely not "romantic" in any way.

P.S. I enjoy a lot of modern music, so am I in the minority here (according to your generalization)?

[eschiss1]

I worry about opening up such a thread, myself, given some of the side responses and swipes it already opens from time to time (though yes, I do. And the fact that the kinds of shifts that 20th-century music underwent were often unprecedented doesn't change the fact that the kinds of responses they invoked were, well, often oddly similar to those that were heard from composers, musicians and critics 2 centuries ago for whom the same Romanticism we celebrate here and now, was an attack on a dear Classicism rather than a continuation of its and music's life. But then, those are arguments that won't be anywhere near to settled here, of course...)