Henselt / Schellendorf / Swedish Chamber Orch - Piano Concertos (Hybr) [CD]

After three solo recordings, virtuoso pianist PaulWee brings us two forgotten concertos from theRomantic period with the Swedish ChamberOrchestra conducted by Michael Collins.Premiered by Clara Schumann under the baton ofFelix Mendelssohn, Adolph von Henselt's Concertoin F minor was eventually performed by thegreatest virtuosos of the 19th and 20th centuries. Ithas, however, inexplicably disappeared from therepertoire despite it's obvious qualities: soaringmelodies and tender lyricism, colourfulorchestration, dramatic intensity across it's threemovements and piano writing of astoundinginventiveness and brilliance. The familiaritybetween Henselt's concerto and some of SergeiRachmaninoff's works can be explained by theprofound influence that the German composerexerted on the Russian.Hans von Bronsart's Concerto in F sharp minor didnot enjoy the same public acclaim, although it isrousing, intimate and electrifying in turns. Therichness of it's orchestration is matched by anuncommonly brilliant piano part that is a model ofpractical virtuosity. Breathing late-Romanticism, itrequires a soloist to embrace it's superheatedRomantic language unashamedly if it's passions areto take flight.