Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos, Vol. 2

Albumbeschreibung

The revival of Saint-Saëns' music in the 21st century has been under-noticed, and plenty of pianists have taken up his piano concertos. One wonders, when Debussy condemned Saint-Saëns as out-of touch, whether he had heard the Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103 ("Egyptian"), of 1896, which in addition to an Egyptian melody, features an unmistakable reference in the slow movement to Javanese gamelan music, largely in advance of Debussy's own experiments with the genre. Saint-Saëns compared that work to a ship voyage, and pianist Louis Lortie, once again ideally backed by Edward Gardner leading the BBC Philharmonic, captures that gently narrative quality. What's more, he does it while taking the outer movements of both the piano concertos here at a quick clip, achieving an unusual balance between Saint-Saëns' undoubted virtuosity and the subtle details in his music. The opening of the Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 29, has a delicate lyricism that persists as the music moves into finger-busting difficulties. A bonus is the inclusion of two rarely heard Saint-Saëns concerted works, the Rhapsodie d'Auvergne, Op. 73, and Allegro appassionato, Op. 70, either one of which would enliven many an orchestral concert. One suspects that Saint-Saëns would have risen to his feet at the end of this program, which is enhanced by excellent MediaCity sound. This release earned awards and nominations in several countries.

© James Manheim /TiVo