Whilst reading this very interesting article in Interlude (https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-paul-wee/), I was delighted to come across Paul's mention of plans for a recording of Henselt and Bronsart PCs (he also mentions a Beethoven/Liszt – Mozart/Alkan disk).
Although these are just in the planning stages, on the strength of his previous two releases both disks will certainly be on my want list.
4c
Wee is a tremendous pianist and the prospect of him playing the Bronsart, and indeed the Henselt, is an exciting one. Thanks for the news.
He is indeed a formidable talent. This planned CD will be a must-buy for me.
Good to know another pianist and record company are exploring these wonderful, too much ignored works. Let's nudge Bis to give us a complete set of Rubinstein concertos!
I'd be more interested in the piano concertos of Eduard Schutt (2 + a piece for Left Hand & orchestra) actually, or Halfdan Cleve (5), or those by Jakob Gyula Major (2 + 3 Fantasies for piano & orchestra). But very glad that BIS is giving Wee the opportunity to take up these two splendid examples of the genre.
with the exception of most of Cleve's, though, have those been recorded (commercially or otherwise)? The Henselt and Bronsart have, anyway... at least Kalmus published the full score of Schütt's Op.47, so someone may have a copy besides Pancras and Fleisher (which would make an accurate sample rendering more -possible- than if only the reduction were available, etc. The parts and score seem not to be online for these works except for some of Cleve's.)
To my knowledge, none of the concertos I mentioned have had commercial recordings, though some of the Cleve are available on YouTube in recordings of varying quality. Hyperion had the Schutt in their sights at one time but the rumour was that Klaus Heymann of Marco Polo was going to record them. But in the end neither project has materialised.
The two Schütt concertos (Op7 & Op47) would be the most desirable, even if it means foregoing the 'other' piece, which would seem to be of lesser importance - and, of course, not available outside Heymann's sphere of activity, certainly for the time being. I still feel that the Schütt concertos together with that of Borowski would still be the most attractive proposition, and Hyperion were still interested to some degree last year when I had confirmation of the availability of the orchestral material for all three concertos, which, from the indicated timings as well as some more basic investigation myself with the relevant scores, should all fit nicely onto one CD! I hope that Hyperion don't get pipped at the post, but would welcome any decent recording of these concertos which should have been recorded years ago!
Op.7&47 are listed as rentable through Zimmermann @ Worldcat - which is bloody expensive, of course- but again. -Why- should they? No recording (of any kind) to hear, I as record company exec would -pass-.
An excellent collection for a CD, Martin. And, as you say, all the performance materials are available. Both Schutt concertos from Fleisher - so relatively cheaply. The Borowski from the publisher (I forget who that is now, and I am not near my computer so I can't check my files) - I had a hire quote from them years ago. Would have to look it up. That's if I made a note at the time. It was a commercial rate, I seem to recall but not prohibitive.
Cleve's pc3 has been released on CD in a version for piano sextet (Joachim Carr, pf; Grand Piano 757) and his pc4 both on CD (Joachim Carr/Norwegian Radio O/Leo McFall; Grand Piano 757) and LP (Einar Steen-Nøkleberg/New SO of London/Roy Wales; NKF 30038). Nevertheless, it would be good to have a new recording of the complete set along with the other works mentioned by Gareth.
I didn't know about the Grand Piano disks (thanks for letting me know) and had forgotten about the NKF recording which was a very long time ago.
I can't find a mention of the Cleve on Grand Piano. Not listed on the Naxos website under that label, and Carr's website says only that he is in the process of recording piano concertos by Cleve for Naxos.. Can you provide a link, please?
The Grand Piano recording of Cleve's PC4 seems only to be available on Spotify (and other streaming services):
https://open.spotify.com/album/3mZ06pnpdPHDUbr4xTSVEk
Thanks, Alan. A fat lot of use that is.
Quite. Why on earth they should keep this recording from 2016 hidden away like that in a 'Norwegian special edition' is beyond me.
Should there be a new thread on the Cleve PCs, perhaps?
I took one look at this release and thought: 'Oh, no - it's with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra; I hope this isn't some misguided HIP project!"
Oh dear! So do I.
I may be wrong, but why use a chamber orchestra in this repertoire?
Well, quite. Let's hope we are both wrong and our fears prove unfounded.
Judging by an official photo, the orchestra is 30-strong. Hmm....
...but the coupling and the prospect of Wee as soloist are beguiling. My fingers are crossed.
Well, the Henselt is scored for an orchestra of: 2.2.2.2 / 2.2.3.0 / timp / strings
The Bronsart calls for an orchestra of: 2.2.2.2 / 4.2.0.0 / timp / strings
So the string section might sound a bit lean. I don't know. We must wait and see.
Dausgaard did the Schumann symphonies with this orchestra - some really liked them, finding them lean and athletic; others (like me) hated them as too insubstantial by half. It all depends what the conductor does with the strings...
MacKerras did the Brahms symphonies for Telarc with an orchestra of 50 players, a cycle that was greatly acclaimed and have long since become my favorites. This allowed for 30 strings, however. If the SCO is only starting with 30 players total...hmmm indeed.
Sometimes a chamber orchestra fills out with extras for a recording. Let's hope.
make no mistake, I too despise HIP travesties of Romantic repertoire, but here I am a little more hopeful.
I have a few recordings with this orchestra (including the Dausgaard Schumann, which I like very much, finding it refreshingly vigorous).
While interpretive choices could and will be a matter of taste, the Norwegians never sounded undernourished (not too much at least) screechy, or in any way grating to the ear. (in the releases I have..)
Cross fingers.
Excerpts available here. The finale oF Bronsart's concerto is taken at quite a lick. The orchestra sounds lean but perhaps more on its toes than a full symphony orchestra might be.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9615307--henselt-bronsart-piano-concerto
Well, I've been doing some comparisons (using headphones at Presto) between this new release and the two Hyperion CDs which feature the piano concertos involved - and I have to say that I really don't think the Swedish Chamber Orchestra are up to the job, especially in the slow movements where the strings in particular sound (to me) undernourished by comparison to the BBCSSO. Mind you, Paul Wee is an astonishing pianist and I can certainly see what Revilod means by his treatment of the finale of the Bronsart.
Anyway, for me this would be a pointless repeat purchase. But maybe piano-fanciers will feel differently. And to be honest, I don't think this was ever going to be a release for me as I tend to avoid HIP-influenced recordings if alternatives are available. A sign of my age and prejudices, no doubt...
I do agree that the SCO sounds underpowered, particularly so in the Henselt excerpts. I may buy the Bronsart download for Paul Wee's pianism but it'll be a whim if I do and Wee seems to have full albums on his YouTube channel, so there'll probably be the opportunity to hear the whole recording before deciding.