Customer Reviews

Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor; Sauer: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You owe it to yourself to get this record. I had never heard Scharwenka until I chanced to hear this release on my local classical station. It is the only time I ever have, and I got lucky. I immediately got pen and paper and ordered this masterpiece. The first movement will bring you to your feet. The last evokes memories of Prokofiev's first. There is a Rachmaninoff flavor throughout that will seduce. Click "add to cart" right now. You'll never regret it. I can listen to this concerto all night long and so will you. Gets at least 5 tears of joy. Why this work is not heard more often is a mystery to me.

This recording marks the first time the Scharwenka Fourth and Sauer First Piano concertos have been recorded. The works date from 1908 and 1900 respectfully and are virtuoso works that are brilliant and charming. Both concertos are cast in four movements and follow in the Lisztian tradition of romantic concertos. Schwarenka wanted to be remembered for this concerto so it is particularly fortunate that we have such an excellent recording.

Once heard, it seems impossible that this happened to two works that were once very popular. In fact, both composers, Xavier Scharwenka (1850-1924) and Emil von Sauer (1862-1942) were beloved and respected musicians in their time. This pair of concertos is brilliant and scintillating works. Stephan Hough plays them with a tone and phrasing that one reviewer described as "a model for singers as well as pianists." The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, under Lawrence Foster, perform as a full partner, and play the concertos with great affection.

This recording won not only the Gramophone Best Concerto award but was named Best Record of the Year. This is a must have disc for anyone interested in romantic piano concertos.

This superb CD is part of Hyperion's excellent Romantic Series, most of which are worth seeking out if you want to hear something different from the normal piano fare. The Scharwenka concertos, of which this is the last, have rarely been recorded, but this is one of my all time favorite recordings of any Piano Concerto. Steven Houghs playing is exceptional and I marvel whenever I hear it. With the Michelangeli's Rachmaninov 4 and Ravel G and the Richter's Liszts these are my favorite Piano Concerto's recordings. Scharwenka may be regarded as a second rate composer, but he was a great pianist in his day and like the Rachmaninov 4, which is generally rated behind 2 & 3, it is the playing that really elevates these pieces into the realm of the ecstatic.

This recording won just about every piece of awards hardware available in the world of Classical music. It is not hard to figure out why. Just listen to this wonderful music.

Stephen Hough is a great pianist. His playing is reliably insightful. Here his talents are in full bloom. These pieces are not easily negotiated. Neither are they unlovely. Hough plays will skill and beauty (a rare and impressive feet).

The Scharwenka concerto is full of Lisztian majesty and mysticism. The opening bars are amongst my favorites in any piano concerto. Hough and the CBSO (under the direction of Lawrence Foster) work together as a seemless organic unit.

My favorite piece here is the third movement of the Sauer concerto. Rarely have I encountered music of such feeling. The sweetly lush strings of the CBSO are especially to be praised. Again, Hough is amazing.

Words come up short when discssing works of this magnitude. One could discuss the history of these pieces. They were shamefully unrecorded for far too long. One could lavish all too feeble praise on the musicians involved (as I have attempted).

In the end, all such efforts are a waste of time. Such time is better spent being swept up in this music. Get this CD!

For a while, I thought I was the only one who was tired of the 182nd recording of Beethoven's Moonlight or the 500th version of Eine Kliene Nachhmusic or yet another CD of Schubert. These relatively unknown findings continue to delight and impress with their Romanticism, bravura and lushness.

Both Concertos should be included in the rather tired concert rounds that make up the bulk of the modern orchestral season. They are alive with passion and demand a great deal from the soloist. I loved the melodies and the recording was absolutely gorgeous. I am constantly on the outlook for quality, out of the main stream, Romantic works and they continue to keep popping up like daisies. Bring them on!

This is a wonderful recording, very pleasing, even with some very dramatic moments in the score. Every time I have this on, and someone is listening they remark how lovely it is-- especially Sauer's concerto, which I had never heard before until I happened to catch it on USC's classical station here in Los Angeles. I purchased it as soon as I could and I listen to it frequently and never tire of it.

Some music from the past has been consigned to oblivion for very good reason but how these two charming and charismatic concertos have fallen into negelect is harder to explain.Certainly the technical demands of the Scharwenka seem extreme but the rhythmical energy and melodic beauty of the piece would seem to justify the labour.The barnstorming tarantella finale is every bit as scintillating (try 00:55) as the famous Littolf Scherzo but the entire concerto commands ones attention.More consistently satisfying than the Scharwenka's slightly better known 1st concerto.
Emil Sauer's concerto is lighter,slightly less original but equally enjoyable.The slow movement is particularly gorgeous,almost improvisatory in mood.This concerto along with the 2nd,3rd and 4th movements of the Scharwenka would make a delightful ballet.
Stephen Hough is the outstanding soloist,richly deserving all the accolades heaped upon him and the orchestral accompaniments are totally idiomatic.
Come on,all those concert promoters,competition organizers and choreographers:show some flair and imagination.Either of these pieces would make a change from the umpteenth outing of one of the warehorses.

Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series, now in its late fourties in terms of volumes, is apparently a stunning success, and this award-winning disc is one of the highpoints. Not only are the performances superb, but the musical rewards are extremely high as well - no mere flashy virtuosic pyrotechnics here (though there's plenty of that as well), but actual substance. The Scharwenka concerto, probably his best, is an impressive achievement, full of spirit and energy. Stylistically it gives off the impression of being a mix between Saint-Saens and Brahms, and doesn't suffer much from a comparison with the former in terms of quality (admittedly some distance to the latter); memorable tunes, well-constructed formal landscape structures and dizzyingly powerful turns of the phrase.

The Sauer concerto is in many ways the surprise here, however. It sports an emotion-laden, turbulent and somewhat dark-hued first movement, contrasted with a light, fiery scherzo, an elegantly wistful and delightful Cavatina and an elegant, well-crafted Rondo; Tchaikovsky is the first composer who comes to mind in terms of style, but as with Sauer was his own man at least to the extent that the concerto here bears an unmistakenly personal stamp.

Performances are truly marvelous; Hough gives committed, brilliant and colorful renditions of the solo-parts and displays a dynamic range, rhythmic precision and variety of attack to rival any other famous pianist in any repertoire, and the City of Birmingham SO proves themselves to be a first-rate ensemble. Sound quality is excellent as well, and if you don't already own this issue, I think it's about time you obtained it.

Aside from knowing that Mahler's apparently only concert appearance as a pianist was a performance of Scharwenka's first, his works, like Von Sauer's are for all intents and purposes completely unknown, and unjustly so. Can't recommend this disc any more highly. Two wonderful and unfortunately obscure concertos performed spectacularly. Now, go and order Medtner's piano concertos as well! Try Busoni!

I just love and enjoy those 2 piano concertos! Great music, real piano-orchestra dialog, beautiful developing harmonies, excellent performance. Well done. Highly recommended...