After three solo recordings, virtuoso pianist Paul
Wee brings us two forgotten concertos from the
Romantic period with the Swedish Chamber
Orchestra conducted by Michael Collins.
Premièred by Clara Schumann under the baton of
Felix Mendelssohn, Adolph von Henselt’s Concerto
in F minor was eventually performed by the
greatest virtuosos of the 19th and 20th centuries. It
has, however, inexplicably disappeared from the
repertoire despite its obvious qualities: soaring
melodies and tender lyricism, colourful
orchestration, dramatic intensity across its three
movements and piano writing of astounding
inventiveness and brilliance. The familiarity
between Henselt’s concerto and some of Sergei
Rachmaninov’s works can be explained by the
profound influence that the German composer
exerted on the Russian.
Hans von Bronsart’s Concerto in F sharp minor did
not enjoy the same public acclaim, although it is
rousing, intimate and electrifying in turns. The
richness of its orchestration is matched by an
uncommonly brilliant piano part that is a model of
practical virtuosity. Breathing late-Romanticism, it
requires a soloist to embrace its superheated
Romantic language unashamedly if its passions are
to take flight.
