Recently in
Concertos

Eduard Franck
(1817-1893)

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 57 (1860)
Symphony in B Flat Major, Op. 52 (1856)

Christiane Edinger, violin
Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hans-Peter Frank
Audite 20.034 60:04

Eduard Franck was a German composer who was unrelated to the Belgian César Franck. The concerto has many similarities to Beethoven's, and the symphony has more than a trace of Mendelssohn and Schumann. Both works make an enjoyable change from some perhaps too familiar works of the period. The same artists perform the Violin Concerto, Op. 30, and the Symphony in A Major, Op. 47, on a Fermate CD (FER20025) which appears to have been deleted but which some web searching might find.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic ]

Charles Villiers Stanford
(1852-1924)

Cello Concerto in D minor (1879-80)
Piano Concerto #3 in E Flat Major, Op. 171 (1919)

Alexander Baillie, cello
Malcolm Binns, piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Nicholas Braithwaite
Lyrita SRCD321 65:23

The Irish composer Stanford had considerable influence on the course of music in England. These concertos are among his least-known works. The cello concerto is quite lush and rhapsodic while the piano concerto sounds more French, inviting comparison with the Saint-Saëns concertos. The first two piano concertos are available from Hyperion (CDA66820) and Chandos (CHAN8736).

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Cyril Scott
(1879-1970)

Cello Concerto (1937)
Symphony #1 (1899)

Paul Watkins, cello
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins
Chandos CHAN10452 58:04

Some will have encountered Scott's piano music but only in recent years has much of his orchestral output been recorded. The lyrical and attractive cello concerto contrasts well with the effervescent first symphony, which sounds much like Stanford. Chandos has recorded the other three symphonies – the second in its reworking as Three Dances – his two concertos for piano, the violin concerto and some short orchestral works.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Gian Francesco Malipiero
(1882-1973)

Variazioni senza tema (1923)
Piano Concerto #1 (1934)
Piano Concerto #2 (1937)
Piano Concerto #3 (1948)
Piano Concerto #4 (1950)
Piano Concerto #5 (1958)
Piano Concerto #6 (1964)

Sandro Ivo Bartoli, piano
Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Michele Carulli
CPO 777287-2 2SACDs

Malipiero was an extremely prolific composer amd perhaps the most individual Italian voice of his generation. His music is at times similar to that of his contemporaries such as Casella and Pizzetti, but a certain ecstatic lyricism gives his music an unmistakable appeal. The piano concertos, relatively conservative in style and all but unknown, attain at times a shimmering, virtuosic quality.

[ Available on Multichannel Hybrid SACD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Erland von Koch
(1910-2009)

Nordic Capriccio, Op. 26 (1943)
Symphony #2, "Sinfonia Dalecarlica" (1945)
Viola Concerto, Op. 33 (1946-66)
Suite #1 from the Ballet "Cinderella", Op. 24 (1942)

Johanna Persson, viola
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/B. Tommy Andersson
Phono Suecia PSCD710 72:41

Yet another neglected Swedish composer, Koch has much to offer. The breezy and energetic Nordic Capriccio and the symphony both have strong links with the music of Atterberg while the viola concerto, as viola concertos often are, is a reflective, somewhat rhapsodic piece. The ballet suite is light and airy. All in all, a very satisfying CD.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - France ]

[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Ernst Pepping
(1901-1981)

Symphony #1 (1939)
Symphony #2 (1942)
Symphony #3 (1944)
Piano Concerto (1950)

Volker Banfield, piano
North West German Philharmonic Orchestra/Werner Andreas Albert
CPO 777041-2 133:34

Whose music does Pepping's sound like? Difficult to say – occasionally Reger appears, sometimes Richard Strauss, at other times Hindemith. If the music of any of these composers appeals to you, it's likely that Pepping will, too.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Yngve Sköld
(1899-1992)

Symphony #2, Op. 36 (1937)
Violin Concerto, Op. 40 (1941)

Tobias Ringborg, violin
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Tuomas Olula
Phono Suecia PSCD719 65:38

The Swedish composer Sköld displays a variety of moods and influences in these two works. The symphony has echoes of Sibelius without sounding particularly like him, and such composers as Elgar and possibly Barber appear fleetingly. The concerto is indebted to those by Szymanowski, but the finale has an almost jokey quality. This label, devoted to Swedish composers, has some interesting music which has mostly been otherwise unrecorded.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - France - Japan

Joseph Jongen
(1873-1953)

Suite for Orchestra & Solo Viola, Op.48 (1915)

Jean Françaix
(1912-1997)

Rhapsodie for Viola & Small Orchestra (1946)

Tibor Serly
(1901-1978)

Concerto for Viola & Orchestra (1929)

Marcus Thompson, viola
Czech National Symphony Orchestra/Paul Freeman
Centaur CRC2788 57:25

Jongen's Suite in two movements is a very appealing work which displays a range of emotions. Françaix's short Rhapsodie contrasts the seriousness of Ravel with the lightheartedness of Poulenc. Serly, best known for his completion of Bartók's Viola Concerto, shows a more traditional approach. All three works add new interest to the repertoire for the viola.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

Lee Actor
(b. 1952)

Violin Concerto (2005)
Symphony #2 (2006)
Timpani Concerto (2005)

Pip Clarke, violin
Stuart Chafetz, timpani
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kirk Trevor
Albany TROY1017 67:11

One of the advantages of the internet is the ability to be able to sample music before buying it: for many, perhaps, the recent dates of the works on this CD would be an immediate turn-off. Although timpani concertos are not for everyone – and this one is the shortest of the three pieces – the other two works have much to recommend them. The symphony has a variety of moods ranging from the bleak to the jovial as in Shostakovich's 9^th symphony. The violin concerto in many ways reminds me of Britten's. Actor is yet another American composer to watch.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

Eduard Nápravník
(1839-1916)

Concerto Symphonique in A minor, Op. 27 (1877)
Fantaisie russe in B minor, Op. 39 (1881)

Felix Blumenfeld
(1863-1931)

Allegro de Concert in A Major, Op. 7 (1889)

Evgeny Soifertis, piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Titov
Hyperion CDA67511 57:42

After training in his homeland, the Czech Nápravník spent almost his entire career in Russia, where he made a name for himself as a pianist, organist and conductor. The Ukrainian Blumenfeld also spent his career in Russia. These examples of their work are immediately attractive with interesting melodic content and sparkling but not flashy piano writing. Anyone with a taste for Romantic piano writing will find much to enjoy.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Sheet music by Nápravník: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com
   Sheet music by Blumenfeld: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com]