Hermann Grädener - Piano Concerto in D minor op. 20

[Ilja]

I think that's how I'm going to play it in future, I think. The finale's not the worst, but the Adagio's utterly forgettable.

The first-movement-heavyness appears to have been anything but uncommon at the time; there are numerous concertos where the it surpasses the length of the other two movements by some margin: Tchaikovsky No. 1 of course (1875), Sgambati (1880), Urspruch and Scharwenka #2  (1881) and Vogrich (1888) to name a few.

[eschiss1]

... you mean the other two movements individually, yes? Because the Tchaik 1's first movement is often around the length of the other two movements combined, but not substantially greater than that. Likewise Martucci concerto 2. Maybe Jaëll's 2nd concerto?

[tuatara442442]

It is very common for 19th century concerti to have a very long first movement and, in comparison, very short latter movements, especially the Classically-formed kind with a "full-length" opening tutti.

[Ilja]

... you mean the other two movements individually, yes? Because the Tchaik 1's first movement is often around the length of the other two movements combined, but not substantially greater than that. Likewise Martucci concerto 2. Maybe Jaëll's 2nd concerto?

That may be true for some older recordings, most notably the classic Richter/Karajan (22/11/11 minutes), but modern Tchaikovsky PC1s typically seem to have the first movement at 20-24 minutes, and the other two combined around 14-16 minutes. And both Cliburn/Kondrashin and the much newer Hough/Vänskä (in the Hyperion RPC series) have it at 20/6/7. That's a pretty substantial gap.  

[semloh]

Regarding the 1st mnt.yes...

Perhaps it would have been more successful as a stand alone, single-movement, Konzertstück?

especially since, as you say Ilja, the 2nd mnt. is quite forgettable and the 3rd so-so. That said, I really enjoyed the journey, and I agree that it showcases some impressive musical creativity, albeit rather out of control. It sounds like an excellent performance, too. So. I'll be back for more.

[tuatara442442]

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9874886--mathilde-kralik-von-meyrswalden-hermann-gradener
The Gradener PC and Kralik Symphony in this broadcast will be published by Haenssler on August 21st.