Rosemary Tuck, English CO, Richard Bonynge - Czerny: Piano Concerto in D Minor (2017) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/96kHz]

Respected international pianist Rosemary Tuck presents a collection of works by Czerny on this release for Naxos. Primarily remembered today as a pupil of Beethoven, a teacher of Liszt, and for his famous piano treatise, Czerny was a prolific composer in his own right. This album brings together his enchanting Introduzione e Rondo brillant in B Flat Major, the Piano Concerto in D Minor, and the Introduction, Variations and Rondo on C.M. von Weber's Hunting Chorus from Euryanthe, displaying the varied skills of this overlooked 19th-century figure.

A variety of 21st century releases, many of them on the Naxos label, have tried to rescue Carl Czerny from Schumann's harsh judgment that a greater failure of imagination than Czerny's could not be imagined. This one from pianist Rosemary Tuck and the English Chamber Orchestra under the venerable Richard Bonynge (86 years old when the album was recorded in 2016) comes closer than most. The main attraction is the composer's very first piano concerto, composed in 1811-1812 following Czerny's studies with Beethoven. The work has a grandiose conception that owes something to the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ("Emperor"), and even if Czerny didn't quite "get" Beethoven, he came a lot closer than other young composers at the time. The other two works are from later in Czerny's life and are both engaging. The Introduction, Variations, and Rondo on Weber's Hunting Chorus from "Euryanthe," Op. 60, is an unusually elegant example of the operatic paraphrase genre that definitely needs wider investigation from performers, with its Weber themes imaginatively broken up and treated. But sample first of all the multilingually titled Introduzione e Rondo Brillant in B flat major, Op. 233, with its unusual weaving of the piano into the slow introduction. That work has been sparsely recorded before, but the concerto and the Euryanthe paraphrase are world premieres, and the unfamiliar material receives clean, lively performances from Tuck. A good starting point for those wishing to sample the recent Czerny offerings.

Tracklist:

01 - Introduzione e Rondo brillant in B-Flat Major, Op. 233
02 - Piano Concerto in D Minor (1812): I. Allegro molto agitato
03 - Piano Concerto in D Minor (1812): II. Adagio
04 - Piano Concerto in D Minor (1812): III. Allegro molto vivace
05 - Introduction, Variations & Rondo on C.M. von Weber's Hunting Chorus from Euryanthe, Op. 60

Produced and Engineered by Phil Rowlands.
Recorded on December 14-16, 2016 at St. Silas Church, Kentish Town, London.

Musicians:
Rosemary Tuck - piano
English Chamber Orchestra
Richard Bonynge - Conductor
Hugh Seenan - Principal Horn


Thanks to the Original customer!