Stenhammar: Piano Concertos

Welcome to a genuinely outstanding disc in the Romantic Piano Concerto series. Sometimes the works found along the unfrequented byways of the Romantic piano tradition can exhibit no more than surface brilliance, but that cannot be said of these two splendid concertos by Stenhammar, recorded for the first time together on one CD.

The original orchestration of Stenhammar’s Piano Concerto No 1 is recorded here: a version which was long thought lost when the publishers were bombed during the second world war – a copy of the original was discovered in the Library of Congress in 1983. The twenty-two year old’s Opus 1 is a masterpiece, majestic and virtuosic at its opening; bringing the listener into a world of Nordic mystery at the start of the third movement; the finale ending with music of sad, reflective sweetness. The second concerto is a distinctly different work, with an novel, some have said ‘improvised’, structure, and a sense of tension between soloist and orchestra which is only resolved in the glorious virtuosic finale.

Hyperion is delighted to present the distinguished musician Andrew Manze in his new incarnation as a conductor. Directing the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, he is truly a force to be reckoned with. Pianist Seta Tanyel has featured on previous RPC recordings, always gaining the highest critical acclaim; however her magnificent playing on this new disc transcends her previous achievements.

CDA67750  75 minutes 11 seconds
‘Hyperion's 49th is a real humdinger … few will be able to resist the tumultous finale [Second Concerto]. Manze was a shrewd choice of conductor, as was Seta Tanyel as soloist, a pianist whose ly ...
‘This is a piece certainly worth having. Seta Tanyel is in full command of the pianistic demands, and Andrew Manze conducts the Helsingborg orchestra with finesse and energy’ (The Daily Telegraph)
‘Wilhelm Stenhammar's two piano concertos are astonishing works, and their neglect outside the composer's native Sweden is shameful. As with much of his output, they derive their complexity and streng ...