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Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

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Shostakovich & Shchedrin: Piano Concertos

Marc-André Hamelin (piano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor)
Super-Audio CD — Deleted
Recording details: April 2003
Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: November 2003
Total duration: 62 minutes 44 seconds

Cover artwork: Head of a Peasant (detail) by Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)
Russian State Museum, St Petersburg / akg-images
 

The two piano concertos of Shostakovich, though strikingly different from each other, have both become twentieth-century classics. The first has long been one of Marc-André Hamelin’s party pieces and we are delighted to have paired him with Andrew Litton, a conductor who knows these works backwards (he has recorded the second concerto as pianist!), to give the resulting performances a vitality and flair, which we think places them amongst the greatest.

The Shchedrin concerto, though less known, is no less enjoyable. There is brilliance in both the piano writing and the orchestration, and the surprise appearance in the finale of a jazz trio including vibraphone and drum kit is sure to bring the house down.

One of our records of the year!

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