Henselt Piano Concerto

[mbhaub]

Recently I discovered some previously unknown recordings from Japan from King Records. Among them, a 2-disk set with a fine performance of the op 16 piano concerto of Adolf von Henselt. The set also has a recording of the Miaskovsky 24th and Schmidt's 4th! Quite unexpected. The catalog includes things we all love on this site: Glazunov, Atterberg, Taneyev for example. The site is in Taiwan: www.cdbanq.com and is English-friendly. Worth a look.

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately the 2-CD set including the Henselt PC appears to be currently out of stock:
http://www.cdbanq.com/Hiroshi-Nagao-Hiroshi-Kodama-Kiyotaka-Teraoka-Osaka-Symphony-Orchestra--Myaskovsky-Henselt-F-Schmitt-no-Sekai-2CDS-Japan-CD-KICC-1004_p_77140.html#sthash.dVQdVBc5.dpbs

[adriano]

Don't forget the old, and premiere (slightly cut, but genius) version of the Henselt Concerto with Michael Ponti, which is available today in that Brilliant Box full of Romantic Piano Concertos reissues!
To me, Ponti is one of the gretaest pianist of the 20th century. Listen to his complete Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Scriabin - and to all those forgotten Concerti. Also his interptetation of the Raff Concerto (although with cuts, again), is insurpassable.
And there was also an LP version of the Henselt Concerto by Earl Wild (am I right, was it on Columbia?).
The latest version is on an RCA CD box with Schumann's complete works for Piano and Orchestra by pianist Lev Vinocour - in which we learn that it was "corrected" by Robert Schumann.

[edurban]

I think the old Columbia version you mean was played by Raymond Lewenthal, a stylish but more fallible pianist than Wild.  A Wild version would have been heaven.

David

[jerfilm]

I agree with Hadrianus - Ponti was so good and so dedicated, apparently, to forgotten romantic concertos.  Maybe the orchestras weren't first rate - who cared?  It was the pianism that counted.  For me, those recordings couldn't have been timed better - I had just finished reading Schoenbergs The Great Pianists - and voila - there they were. I was so excited.

As to Earl Wild, he was a great pianist but it seemed to me that he often took tempos a bit faster, at least faster than i cared for.  Perhaps he couldn't resist showing off his amazing ability.......  It brings to mind, and I've probably told this before, we were in Berlin some years ago and went to hear Lazar Berman play the Scriabin PC.  It was an exquisite performance.  Then his son, a violinist, proceeded to destroy the Tchaikovsky VC.  Zipped through it like a robot.  Not an ounce of feeling.  He knew the notes perfectly but he sure didn't know Peter Ilyich......  i expect all of us have been to a concert like that at one time or another.

Sorry to be off track here.....

[thalbergmad]

The thought of a recording of the Henselt by Wild is enough to give me goose bumps.

A concerto of this calibre surely must be due another outing, but the amount of pianists that could do it justice is probably in single figures. I certainly would not relish another Hamelin type Midi.

Thal

[eschiss1]

Hamelin gets no respect, ah well... maybe he just sounds better in live concert than on recording.

[Alan Howe]

Hamelin's a piano great, There: I've said it. But then I didn't grow up with Ponti, poor orchestras and cuts. There: I've said that too (ducks!)

[Rob H]

I agree, Hamelin is my one of my favourite living pianists. I grew up with Ponti and, although I am forever grateful to him for introducing me to this vast world of the unsung I did find him quite charmless and straightforward though undoubtedly brilliant. By comparison I love the way Hamelin turns a phrase and can dance within a section and have never found him Midi-like. Different strokes eh?
Returning to Henselt I adore the Lewenthal version (and the other concertante on those discs, especially the Scharwenka). Hamelin's piano is too far back in the mix and the Vinocour is too careful (and Schumann has cut out the gorgeous chord sequence in bars 382-3 of the finale!).

[edurban]

The fistfuls of wrong notes at the end of the Lewenthal create a kind of excitement that I'm pretty sure would have horrified the composer, perfectionist that he was.

David

[adriano]

Oh yes, of course, Lewenthal; thanks. And there was a little bonus disc with explanations included. Golden age of Columbia!

[chill319]

And there was a little bonus disc...

The little bonus disc that came with Lewenthal's Alkan album was almost the main course!

Earl Wild ... was a great pianist but it seemed to me that he often took tempos a bit faster...

I'm not a fan of speed per se, but the fast performance of the Rachmaninov 3 finale by Wild and Horenstein is sensational if only because Wild makes it all sound like child's play.

[JimL]

Wild did Scharwenka 1 on RCA.  I don't think he ever did the Henselt.

[adriano]

Yes, JimL - and Wild did the best performance so far of the Paderewski Piano Concerto!

[JimL]

My only quibble with the Wild Paderewski is that according to the liner notes of the old LP, he took some liberties with the score.  I don't recall exactly what they were (its been a while since I've heard that performance, and I really had nothing to compare it with back then) but I'm assuming that the Lane release was of the ur-text of the concerto and is the best performance of the score as written that we have.