 |  | One of the best in the series |  |
To date, I've bought nine of the CDs in Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series, and this one is still my overall favorite. It's true that these concerti aren't masterpieces in the Mozart/Beethoven vein, but they're still well constructed and bursting with musical ideas. You can tell two music teachers wrote these concerti, in fact, because both are filled with passages that don't sound hard (thanks to Piers Lane's amazing technique) but are, in reality, nightmarish challenges. Of the two works, the Kullak is probably more "profound," in that its scope is broader and the orchestra is more heavily involved. It's very Beethovenian in both its structure and the musical ideas it puts forth, although the muted brass punctuation in the second movement sounds much closer to something Hummel might have done. The first movement is a stentorian, clipped march, and the final movement starts off blazing and finishes with a huge bang. The Dreyschock, in contrast, is lighter and more Mendelssohnian, but paradoxically no less intense; in fact, it arguably gives the pianist a greater workout. The outer movements are runs and movement from beginning to end; the slow movement, however, is a tenderly lyrical song--almost a "song without words," in fact. Like Beethoven and Mendelssohn, Kullak and Dreyschock pull an amazing compositional sleight of hand, bottling Romantic intensity and improvisation inside a clear, almost Classical structure. Piers Lane does an admirable job bringing these two neglected works to life with fervent ardor and unfailingly precise technique. The BBC Scottish Symphony does its usual admirable job, never overpowering the soloist but pulling out all the stops when the music demands it. These concerti aren't unchallenged masterpieces for the ages, but they're solidly constructed, well played, and just plain thrilling to listen to, and sometimes those are the only criteria you need.
December 12, 2004Several reviewers have commented that Kullak sounds like a cross between Chopin and Beethoven. The same is often said of Hummel, and that I think is the real comparison, although Hummel's concertos require more from the pianist.
August 18, 2004| | | One of my favorites of the series | |
These two concertos are two of my favorites in the series. The Kullak is a large work, very well written, and deserves an occasional hearing in the concert hall. The Dreyshock is not what I would call great music, but it is highly enjoyable.
Recommended! August 3, 2003
This was the first "Romanctic Concerto" series I bought from Hyperion, and it still remains one of the best. The Kullak concerto especially is lush and very moving, so much so, I wonder why it has been shunned from the repertory. The Dreyschock is excellent also. Highly recommended.
September 3, 2002| | | One of the Best in the Series | |
This CD - 21st in the series - is one of Hyperion's best. It includes two interesting and enjoyable concerti by artists that were once taken very seriously. First up is Theodor Kullak (1818-1882). Kullak was a student of Karl Czerny (who was himself a student of Beethoven and the teacher of Franz Liszt), and one of the most respected teachers of the 19th century. Julius Reubke, Moritz Moszkowski, Amy Fay, and Xaver Scharwenka were all students of his. Many of his students went on to study with Liszt. The Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 55, which was composed around 1850, is (as one of the previous reviewers has indicated) a curious amalgam of Beethoven and Chopin. While not a masterwork, by any stretch of the imagination, it is enjoyable. The last movement gambols along in a spirited Allegro moderato con fuoco that tolerates no frowning. Our second composer is Alexander Dreyschock (1818-1869). Dreyschock was something of the Gyorgy Cziffra/Vladimir Horowitz of his day. Kullak - who would have know, if anyone did - said that Dreyschock's technique was better than Liszt's. He was best known for playing Chopin's C minor study Op.10, #12 with octaves in the left hand as opposed to the original single notes! Dreyschock did this all over Europe. Musicians of the calibre of Johann Baptist Cramer and Felix Mendelssohn testified that Dreyschock pulled this off. Dreyschock's Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 137 is a very Mendelssohnian piece. It comes across as something like Mendelssohn on crack: that is to say Mendelssohnian melodies punctuated with lightning octave passages, skipping chords and skittering scales. The effect is quite bracing. Perhaps alone among the posted reviewers I prefer the Dreyschock concerto to the Kullak. It is well written, both for the piano and orchestra, and is great fun. I'll take a souffle like this over more portentous fare any day. Both pieces are played with impeccable finish and brio by Piers Lane, who is given yeoman support by Niklas Willen and the BBC Scottish Symphony. If you like virtuosity, and the piano, then you will enjoy this.
April 1, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
