Release Date: 30 March 2014
Label: Chandos
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 095115181423
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: Scharwenka
Description
Alexander Markovich | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra | Neeme JärviThe 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. With Neeme Järvi and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Markovich has here recorded them together for the first time. The 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.
Tracklisting
Jonathan Aasgaard; Sinfonia of London; John Wilson
Sara Dowling; Aquarelle Guitar Quartet
Dame Sarah Connolly; Joseph Middleton
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Halle Choir; John Storgards
Chad Smith; Sinfonia of London; John Wilson
Barry Douglas
Iceland Symphony Orchestra; Eva Ollikainen
Madeleine Dring; Julius Drake
Rolf Gupta & Oslo filharmonien
Ketil Bjornstad & Sandra Lied Haga
Vox Urbane
Sophie Dervaux, La Folia Barockorchester
Sergio Vartolo
Robert Plane (clarinet); Elias String Quaret, Gould Piano Trio; James Gilchrist (tenor); Tim Horton
Nordic Affect/Marco Casonato/Massimo Marchese/La Spagna baroque orchestra/Alejandro Marias
Michael Foyle, Iain Burnside
