(The) World 's First Piano Concertos
Delightful early works, beautifully played and on just the right scale
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: James Hook, Carl Friedrich Abel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Christian Bach, Philip Hayes
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Avie
Magazine Review Date: 7/2003
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 80
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: AV0014
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(6) Concertos for Keyboard and Strings, Movement: E flat |
Johann Christian Bach, Composer
David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie Johann Christian Bach, Composer |
(6) Concertos for Piano and Orchestra |
Carl Friedrich Abel, Composer
Carl Friedrich Abel, Composer David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie |
(6) Concertos for Keyboard and Strings, Movement: G |
Johann Christian Bach, Composer
David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie Johann Christian Bach, Composer |
(6) Concertos for the Harpsichord or Forte-Piano |
James Hook, Composer
David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie James Hook, Composer |
(6) Concertos for the Organ, Harpsichord or Forte-, Movement: A |
Philip Hayes, Composer
David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie Philip Hayes, Composer |
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
David Owen Norris, Piano Ensemble Sonnerie Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Author: Stanley Sadie
That doesn’t, of course, make this CD any the less interesting. And part of its special interest lies in the fact that it is recorded on very early squares, most of it on a 1769 one by Zumpe and Buntebart from the fine collection of Alec Cobbe at Hatchlands in East Clandon, Surrey; the Mozart arrangements are done on a slightly later instrument, also a Zumpe, perhaps rather fuller and more even in tone, which may well have been played by both Mozart and JC Bach. The sound of these instruments is a delight, as played by David Owen Norris – clear, sweet and gentle, though quite incisive. Some may regard the sound as rather tinny at times, and it’s not always even, and – this is sometimes a problem – the rudimentary damping system allows notes to resonate in such a way that there is sometimes a jangly haze behind the music. Still, this is how these composers imagined and heard their music, and it’s instructive for us to do so.
The music is beautifully played, on just the right scale, with neat and crisp fingerwork from Norris in the quick movements and with a real understanding of the expressive nature of galant music in the slow ones – so many players hurry these movements along and it is refreshing to hear a player who gives them time to unfold. And the cadenzas are appropriate in proportion and style.
All the works except the Abel are available in other versions – it’s a pity that the same Hayes and Hook works were chosen here as on Paul Nicholson’s recording when there are so many others to choose from: the fine Hook piece in particular, quite a substantial work, might surely provoke further investigation of his concertos. But it is rewarding to hear them on this scale, with string playing, too, of such animation and sympathy – perhaps above all the two JC Bach concertos, which are the two finest for keyboard that he wrote.
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