MOSZKOWSKI Piano Concerto SCHULZ-EVLER Russian Rhapsody
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Moritz Moszkowski, Andrey Schulz-Evler
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Hyperion
Magazine Review Date: 07/2016
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 65
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDA68109

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra |
Moritz Moszkowski, Composer
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ludmil Angelov, Piano Moritz Moszkowski, Composer Vladimir Kiradjiev, Conductor |
Russian Rhapsody |
Andrey Schulz-Evler, Composer
Andrey Schulz-Evler, Composer BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ludmil Angelov, Piano Vladimir Kiradjiev, Conductor |
Author: Harriet Smith
And it’s quite a piece, lasting not far short of an hour. Moszkowski wrote it to launch his own career as a pianist and it’s given an unstintingly engaged and engaging performance by pianist, conductor and the BBC Scottish SO, who have been such stalwarts throughout this series. That doom-laden introduction proves to be deceptive, for once the piano enters much of the music takes on a sunnier bent. Angelov’s experience of Chopin serves him well, helping him make the most of writing that abounds in a sense of rhapsody and silvery filigree. Add to that an exuberant virtuosity and a penchant for spinning a good tune, and you have a very worthwhile addition to the series. And the orchestra is no mere accompanist here but a cheerful comrade-in-arms, Moszkowski delighting particularly in writing for woodwind.
The rolling lyricism of the Adagio is well brought out by Angelov (and the first clarinet), while the vivacious Scherzo, heralded by characterful pizzicato strings, unfolds as a deliciously playful conversation between soloist and orchestra. It’s the finale in which the weight of the concerto lies – at least in terms of length – and it demands from the soloist tremendous stamina, with little downtime and no fewer than two cadenzas. As in the first movement, the minor-key introduction gives little hint of the ebullience to come, by turns energised and graceful. It says much for the musicians here that it seems not a bar too long, ending in a blazingly affirmative burst of B major.
The Russian Rhapsody by Adolf Schulz-Evler, two years Moszkowski’s senior, is also making its recording debut. Based on a sequence of Russian-style melodies (the first a sombre one, faintly reminiscent of something a Russian male-voice choir might sing), it fairly swiftly becomes a blatant showpiece for piano, which at one point is surely imitating a balalaika. Subtle it ain’t, but again the performance from all concerned is compelling. However, from a pianophile point of view, it’s the Moszkowski that’s the bigger selling point here.
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