The Romantic Piano Concerto - 58

JOHANN PETER PIXIS (1788-1874): Piano Concerto in C, Op. 100, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra in E Flat, Op. 68, SIGISMOND THALBERG (1812-1871): Piano Concerto in F Minor, Op. 5.

Description: World Premiere Recordings of both Pixis works, the Concertino from c. 1824 and the concerto from 1829. These are glittery, showy pieces designed solely for the display of the soloist and the gratification of his admiring audience and collectors of that kind of concerto will get everything they expect. What's in short supply here is slow music: the Pixis concerto's second movement is 3:57 and the Thalberg's 3:21 (oddly, the overall much shorter Concertino's slow movement is 5:43, almost the same length as its first movement). But Thalberg's c. 1830 concerto is from a more modern era. The textural and pedalling innovations which changed concert pianism are not around yet but early Romanticism à la Weber is the motivating force behind this equally rousing and virtuosic work. Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Howard Shelley (piano).