25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very pleasant surprise, September 11, 2005
This review is from: Nápravník: Concerto symphonique; Fantaisie russe; Blumenfeld: Allegro (Audio CD)
The main dish here is Eduard Napravnik's Piano Concerto. Napravnik was a prominent conductor, and a main figure in the late-nineteenth century music scene in Russia, well-known to composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimski-Korsakov. The concerto is fairly modern-sounding for its time (1877), with a prominent use of rhythms and not as virtuoso a piano part as you might think. Still, it succeeds in keeping a fairly light touch. The 'fillers' are Napravnik's own Fantasy on five Russian folk tunes (it starts out with the famous 'toilers of the Volga') and countryman Felix Blumenfeld's Allegro de concert. Of these especially the Russian Fantasy makes you long for more of Napravnik's works to be recorded (there are, for instance, four symphonies). All in all, a worthwile addition to the Hyperion Romantic Concerto series.
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2 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A PIANO LOVER'S DREAM, August 20, 2007
This review is from: Nápravník: Concerto symphonique; Fantaisie russe; Blumenfeld: Allegro (Audio CD)
I HAPPEN TO OWN ALL THE AVAILABLE RECORDINGS--42 AS OF THIS DATE--OF HYPERION'S THE ROMANTIC PIANO CONCERTO, AND HAVE STARTED ON THE COMPANION SERIES, THE ROMANTIC CELLO AND THE ROMANTIC VIOLIN CONCERTOS. I'D SAY THE PERFORMERS IN ALL THREE SERIES ARE UNIFORMLY EXCELLENT--NOT ONLY THAT, THEY GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO PIECES THAT HAVE EITHER NEVER BEEN RECORDED OR HAVE FALLEN OUT OF THE STANDARD REPERTOIRE.
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