Weber: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor; Piano Concerto No. 2 in E flat major; Koncertstück in F minor [IMPORT]

Carl Maria von Weber (Composer), Charles Mackerras (Conductor), Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Nikolai Demidenko (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Nikolai Demidenko
• Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Charles Mackerras
• Composer: Carl Maria von Weber
• Audio CD (March 21, 1995)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZUK
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,209 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best in Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto Series, May 16, 2003

By A Customer

There are several reasons this is one of the best in a series that has unearthed a number of gems (and some real clunkers, too): First, Demidenko seems the perfect soloist for the assignment. He relishes Weber's Biedermeier grace and really throws himself into the whirlwind last movements. Second, the redoubtable Sir Charles proves the ultimate accompanist, his Scottish orchestra as responsive an instrument as the Philadelphia under Ormandy.

Third, there is the music. Weber was a virtuoso but also a composer of great skill, which can't be said of many of the composer-pianists of the 19th century. His Konzertstuck is an acknowledged classic of Romanticism. Despite the fact that its program--dealing with a knight's departure for the war, rumored death, and triumphant return to his beloved--is provides pretty threadbare storyline, the music is anything but threadbare, the first movement brimming with minor-key drama and the last, a fantasia on a march theme, a tour de force for both pianist and orchestra. But Weber's two concertos are pretty wonderful stuff, too, with infectiously bouyant fast movements (especially the Second Concerto's last movement) and slow movements full of proto-Romantic innigkeit.

Go for this one.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weber Piano Concertos, May 27, 2000

By	Jason Loke (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

With amazing technical vituosity, Demidenko carries us excitingly through these rarely performed works. His technique is boundless in it's breadth, and his firey interpretation makes us wonder why these pieces are so neglected. Such pieces are child's play under the command of this unforgettable artist. For anyone serious about piano, this CD is a must!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Great Piano Concertos, April 9, 2008

By	Ralph B. Latchaw Jr. (Rio Rancho, NM, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Weber's piano music is not well known. Most people know of one opera and some of the overtures. I have enjoyed Weber's piano concertos and Konzertstuck for years in record format and I wanted them in CD format. This CD with Sir Charles Mackerraas, conductor, and Nikolai Demidenko, pianist, is every bit as good as the old record I have, scratches and all. Of the three pieces, Concerto No 2 is a more exciting work than Concerto No 1, but Konzertstuck is a close second. All three pieces are wonderful, romantic pieces that should be known to a lot more people than know of them now. I recommend that classical music lovers get acquainted with these wonderful pieces of music and enjoy them as much as I do.