Piano Concerto No. 6 - Symphony in C major (Ignaz Moscheles)

Albumbeschreibung

Ignaz Moscheles, born in Bohemia, spent the first part of his career in England, was one of Mendelssohn's teachers there, and named his son after his fellow Jewish composer. He was an early example of the composer-virtuoso, making his living mostly as a touring pianist and piano teacher to the rich and famous. Musically he was an upholder of the pure Beethovenian tradition, which Mendelssohn and other composers confronted, and he was gradually forgotten as the nineteenth century and its ideologies of progress rolled on. Three of his works are revived here by a Chinese pianist, a Sudanese-born Greek conductor, and a regional orchestra that attests anew to the depth of talent in mainstream repertory in Germany. All, especially the Overture to Schiller's "Die Jungfrau von Orléans, Op. 91, bear the hallmarks of middle-period Beethoven, including close motivic relationships among the various themes heard in the course of a work. The most successful of the three works is the one for Moscheles' instrument; the Piano Concert No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 90, though listed as being in three movements, blurs the boundaries among them and actually comes closer to a four-part symphonic form than a three-movement concerto shape. The work consciously avoids virtuoso display and has an appealing sense of flexibility and engagement with the thematic material. Pianist Liu Xiao Ming gives a performance that makes one want to hear her in the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4. The Symphony in C major, Op. 81, has fewer surprises. Unlikely to return Moscheles to many concert programs, this disc will nevertheless find a place in broad nineteenth century collections.
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Details of original recording : 61:46 - DDD - Enregistré à la Salle de concert C. Ph. E. Bach à Francfort en novembre 1998 - Notes en anglais et allemand