Vox - The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol.2

Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885)
Carl Reinecke (1824-1910)
Henry Litolff (1818-1891)


Label: Vox, CDX 5065 (2 CDs)
UPC: 047163506529
ASIN: B000001K3D
CD Release: August 22, 1994
Recording Type: ADD, Stereo, Studio
Recording Date: 1968-1978
Venue: see each work details
Running Time: 2 15' 31''



Ignaz Moscheles'piano concert is a hit. I still wonder since the first day I listened why its an underrated work? This concert is loaded with a lyricism , expressiveness , and honest spirit : Its a romantic concert , but it's much more than simply that issue. You feel a sense of hidden majesty and dignity , that you'll be wonder how it's possible this concert has been less than ignored by the most of the piano players. The Hiller concert os a tour de force concert ; it's energic and filled with histamine , very brief but deeply expressive. Carl Reinecke is the other winner concert. You may feel the influence of Brahms , but is Brahms looking to the Baltic Sea. It owns commitment and sensuality! The other works are OK , but if you're really interested in the genre of piano concerts in the second half of the XIX century and you stoll think there wasn't anything new iunder the sun ; then you must acquire these lost and forgotten concerts. And the presence of this superb pianist, Mr. Ponti give the exact balance to these piano works. They are more than simple fireworks!





Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
Concerto for piano & orchestra No 3 in G minor, Op 60 (c.1818)
Michael Ponti, Piano • Philharmonia Hungarica • Othmar Maga, Conductor
Recording date: 1968, venue not given
1.01 I. Allegro moderato
1.02 II. Adagio
1.03 III. Allegro agitato

Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885)
Concerto for piano & orchestra in F-sharp minor, Op.69 (1856)
Michael Ponti, Piano • Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg • Louis de Froment, Conductor
Recording date: 1974, venue not given
1.04 I. Moderato, ma con energia e con fuoco
1.05 II. Andante espressivo
1.06 III. Allegro con fuoco

Henry Litolff (1818-1891)
Concerto Symphonique for piano & orchestra No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 45 (c.1846)
Michael Ponti, Piano • Berlin Symphony • Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Conductor
Recording date: 1978 in in Südwest Tonstudio, Stuttgart
1.07 I. Allegro
1.08 II. Scherzo
1.09 III. Andante
1.10 IV. Furioso

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910)
Concerto for piano & orchestra No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 72 (1879)
Michael Ponti, Piano • Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg • Pierre Cao, Conductor
Recording date: 1973, venue not given
2.01 I. Allegro
2.02 II. Adagio ma non troppo
2.03 III. Finale: Allegro con brio

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Capriccio brillant for piano and orchestra in B minor, Op. 22 (1825)
Michael Ponti, Piano • Berlin Symphony • Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Conductor
Recording date: 1978 in in Südwest Tonstudio, Stuttgart
2.04 Capriccio brillant

Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Concerto for piano & orchestra in A flat, Op 94
Michael Ponti, Piano • Berlin Symphony • Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Conductor
Recording date: 1978 in in Südwest Tonstudio, Stuttgart
2.05 I. Moderato
2.06 II. Adagio pathetico
2.07 III. Finale: Allegro energico





This set contains rarely recorded works of the lesser-known composers who provided a valuable contribution to the development of music through the 19th Century. The notes make interesting reading and give useful historical information. Descriptions of the works could have been fuller and more detailed. Michael Ponti plays with considerable dexterity, and handles both powerful and sensitive passages with considerable skill. The orchestras play competently under knowledgeable conductors.The analogue recordings of the '70s are clear without the extraneous noise that can show up in CD transfers of this period. They are pleasantly balanced for concerto recording with the piano placed nicely forward on the sound-stage. In the Reinecke concerto, a slight metallic timbre is noticed with the piano. A slight lack of dynamic range causes some detail of the orchestra to be hidden but this is not an obtrusive problem. There is no obvious mismatching in the acoustics or microphone placements between the different venues.

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