FERNANDO LOPES-GRAÇA (1906-1994): Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2.
Catalogue Number: 06O012
Label: Naxos
Reference: 8.572817
Format: CD
Price: $11.98
Description: The second release in what appears to be a Lopes-Graça series brings us concertos from 1940 and 1950. As with the previous disc, containing his only symphony (06N009), the main characteristics are neo-classicism, in this case strongly influenced by Bartók, and Portuguese folk music although the latter is never used in a "soft", neo-romantic way: both concerto finales have folk elements transformed by bittersweet harmonies into mid-20th century perceptions of the material. Also important is the similar transformation of another historical epoch - the Iberian baroque and Scarlatti and Seixas - in the toccata-like writing in those finales. But the orchestral color, personal and atmospheric, is all Lopes-Graça's own. Eldar Nebolsin (piano), Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto - Casa da Música; Matthias Bamert.