Henselt: Piano Concerto, Op. 16; Variations de Concert, Op. 11; Alkan: Concerto da Camera, Op. 10/1; Concerto da Came

A Brilliant Concerto. Bravo!

Henselt's Piano Concerto Op.16 is one of the most beautiful that I ever heard. The romantic melody makes me recall the style of a concerto composed by Chopin, specially the slow second movement. Despite the coincidence, this piece is quite original in elements and musical structures. The solist Marc-André Hamelin gives us a brilliant performance of what a real romantic concerto is. Also I'd like to metion the two concertos da camera by Alkan. So, I strongly recommend this CD. November 30, 2003

Excellent!

First of all, if you like piano concertos by chopin, schumann, brahms etc. don't miss this one. You'll be on your toes the whole time (not a dull moment)

Secondly, i read an above review from a person who did not like this recording. And usually I'd say - "in the eye of the beholder" but i cannot do that right now.
I've heard many other recordings of this concerto. And non came close to this one. This one is simply FIREY!!!!!
You will not regret this CD.
And if you have the chance, try rudiger steinfatt recordings of Henselt's impromptus and you'll never listen to chopin again!
I recorded some henselt for anyone who wants to get a "taste"
...
bye January 19, 2003

The minor league on in prime time.

After having had so much fun listening to Piers Lane's performances of the d'Albert, Parry and Stanford piano concertos on two other issues from Hyperion's treasure trove, I decided to pull this member of the family from the shelves for a re-evaluation.

Comparing notes with the previous reviewers, I agree with many of the comments made. Let's be honest these are not the best among the lesser known piano concertos. Henselt clearly was not in the same league as d'Albert and his works miss the charm of the afore mentioned concertos by Parry and Stanford. I rate Alkan's Quatre Ages Sonata among the best romantic piano works, but his two chamber concertos don't belong in that stratosphere. Yet, I do think all four works on this cd deserve at least one top notch performance in a catalog that contains a 100+ (re)issues of the likes of Beethoven 5.

The performances on this disc, indeed, are so good that I felt no reservation in giving this disc my full 5-star endorsement. Henselt's concerto is considered notoriously difficult, but even in the most difficult passages Hamelin has so much torque and horsepower left, that things remain smooth and creamy.

The Henselt Variations de Concert are an entirely decent representative of this once so popular genre. The performance is stellar again. To all those who keep on harping about Hamelin's lack of musicality/musical character I advise a listen to track 11, for a level of playing that the likes of Bolet only reached at their very peak.

The Alkan chamber concertos are short and pleasant, but lack true substance and grandeur. Yet, I believe that Charles-Valentin deserves this level of over-compensation after almost a century of neglect.

The recording is good. No problems there.

I once saw Cherkasky perform an Anton Rubinstein concerto in concert and hope that that complete set may one day also find it's way into Hyperion's excellent series. April 19, 2002

A Disappointment in a Series That Mostly Thrills

Generally, I find Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concertos series one of the most revelatory and entertaining in the catalog. But I'm afraid I can't warm to this release. I can't fault Hamelin's playing; he's an expert in such out-of-the-way repertoire, and along with his sympathy for obscure Romantic piano literature goes a prodigious virtuosity that's heard to advantage especially in the Henselt.

While the recorded sound is somewhat dim--highly unusual for Hyperion, which usually produces crystal-clear though resonant sound characteristic of a good concert hall--the main problem here is the music. I'd heard the Henselt long ago and was not impressed then, though I thought the recording and performance might have been at fault. But the music IS undistinguished--derivative of an unhappy mix of composers (Field, Chopin, and Schumann, I think) and without memorable melodies or a strong emotional profile. The Alkan is somewhat more interesting, especially in terms of the highly individiualistic keyboard writing, but compositionally, the pieces are scrappy, it seems to me.

Given the lack of enjoyment I had, two stars is in order, though for Hamelin's playing I've grudgingly given this CD three stars. I'd pass on it if I were you. November 15, 2001

(No title).

This disc is among the finest, if not the finest, of Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series. (Most) all credit, of course, is due to the pianist, Marc Andre Hamelin, who, in his phenomenal technical abilities and superb musicianship, delivers astonishingly dexterous, breathtaking, highly persuasive, commited performances of each of these compositions staggeringly unforgiving and formidable difficulties, written to be so well concealed that they become almost transparent to the ear... A thoroughly enjoyable disc! December 7, 2000

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