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COMPACT DISC ONE
FRANZ XAVER SCHARWENKA
(1850-1924)
Concerto No. 1, Op. 32, Scharw. 125 (1876)
30:13
in B flat minor - in b-Moll - en si bémol mineur
for Piano and Orchestra
Franz Liszt verehrungsvoll zugeeignet
1.
I
Allegro patetico - Più animato - Tempo I - Più animato -
10:39
2.
II
[Scherzo.] Allegro assai
7:06
3.
III
Allegro non tanto - Molto più vivo - Molto più lento -
12:21
Concerto No. 2, Op. 56, Scharw. 126 (1881)
38:19
in C minor - in c-Moll - en ut mineur
for Piano and Orchestra
4.
I
Allegro - Un poco meno mosso - Cadenza - Tempo I -
18:56
5.
II
Adagio
10:22
6.
III
Allegro non troppo - Più mosso
8:55
68:35
COMPACT DISC TWO
Concerto No. 3, Op. 80, Scharw. 127 (1889)
31:34
in C sharp minor - in cis-Moll - en ut dièse mineur
for Piano and Orchestra
Rafael Joseffy freundschaftlich zugeeignet
1.
I
Maestoso - Cadenza. Poco più animato -
14:06
Poco meno mosso -
2.
II
Adagio -
6:41
3.
Allegro non troppo - Meno mosso - Poco più lento, quasi Andante -
10:41
Concerto No. 4, Op. 82, Scharw. 128 (1908)
39:57
in F minor - F-Moll - en fa mineur
for Piano and Orchestra
Ihrer Majestät der Königin Elisabeth von Rumänien ehrfurchtsvoll zugeeignet
4.
I
Allegro patetico - Molto più lento - Poco meno mosso - Più lento -
19:46
5.
II
Intermezzo. Allegretto molto tranquillo -
6:51
Un poco più animato -
6.
III
Lento, mesto [Lento maestoso] -
6:41
7.
Allegro con fuoco [Allegro non troppo] -
6:32
71:35
Solo:Alexander Markovich piano
Conductor:Neeme Järvi
Orchestra: Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
6-8 May (Concertos Nos 1 and 4) & 10 and 11 June 2013 (Concertos Nos 2 and 3)
Notes
The Polish-born German composer Franz Xaver Scharwenka was a much lauded and beloved figure of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century music. His four piano concertos are central works among his small output. They have here been recorded together for the first time.
Piano Concerto No. 1 was dedicated to Liszt and brought Scharwenka great renown. Originally conceived as a solo piano Fantasy, it was reworked as a piano concerto which in its content, despite a seemingly conventional three-movement structure, reflects its origin as a fantasia. The Second Piano Concerto seems to represent a step back stylistically, echoing the conservative style of Brahms. However, the influence of his native Poland can also be heard in allusions to Chopin as well as in Polish dance elements in the finale. The Third Concerto, in C sharp minor, opens with impressively powerful music reflective of this key signature, but in its highly romantic way it also introduces delicate and lyrical passages. Perhaps the finest of the concertos, the Fourth was met with astonishing enthusiasm at its premiere in 1908. It is an enormously varied work, a quality typified in the ‘roller-coaster’ first movement which moves rapidly from one expressive world to another.
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Reviews
*** - Good
Benedetto Ciranna - Musica magazine (Italy) - December 2014-January 2015
"... it’s nice to finally have all four of his piano concertos together in an integral set; and in one as well played and recorded as this it’s surely recomended to all who find the Romantic piano concerto genre irresistable." Jerry Dubins
"...Markovich makes a persuasive case for this very underrated music; and he gets sympathetic support from Järvi, the orchestra, and Chandos’s engineers. Strongly recommended." - Peter J Rabinowitz
Fanfare - September/October 2014
“… Markovich’s stamina is astounding. Chandos has put us in its debt by making all these works so easily available. 50 years ago, there would have been no chance of hearing them at all.” ****
Michael Round – International Piano magazine – September/October 2014
"All Scharwenka’s Piano Concertos together for the first time, this ricochets with musical rewards. Echoes from Chopin to Rachmaninov are all brought out in Markovich’s prodigious pianism." ****
John Allison - BBC Music magazine (Brief Notes section) - September 2014
H-D Grünefeld - Piano News magazine (Germany) - July/August 2014
“This long-awaited Chandos set gathers the four piano concertos by Franz Xaver Scharwenka (1850-1924) together for the first time, in thrilling performances from Alexander Markovich and the Estonian National Symphony under Neeme Järvi… this new survey of Scharwenka’s piano concertos is a personal triumph for Markovich who consistently delivers titanic pianism that few can match these days. Recorded sound, from the Estonia Concert hall in Tallinn, more than lives up to the exacting standards we’ve come to expect from Chandos, and informative booklet notes by Adrian Thomas complete this invaluable and authoritative issue."
Michael Jameson – International Record Review – May 2014
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