# Forgotten Romantic Era Adagios/Andantes (4th in a Series): Bennett Piano Concerto 4



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

William Sterndale Bennett's (1816-1875) Andante from the 4th Piano Concerto Op.16 (1838) is perhaps the most impressive slow movement of his 5 piano concertos. I found myself drawn to it immediately. (Please see the link below to the piano concerto 1 Andante below for more information on Bennett.)






http://www.talkclassical.com/42454-forgotten-romantic-era-adagios.html

http://www.talkclassical.com/42574-forgotten-romantic-era-adagios.html

http://www.talkclassical.com/42637-forgotten-romantic-era-adagios.html


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

Slow movements, slow thread. I presume that your reference recording is the one from Hyperion vol. 43 of the Romantic Piano Concertos series. (I also have two volumes, with concertos 1 & 3 and 2 & 5 on Lyrita, with Malcolm Binns, and a single release of the 4th on Unicorn, also with Binns, but a different orchestra and conductor.) I will have to play them again as it has been, I must admit, quite a long time . . . but not tonight.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

JAS said:


> Slow movements, slow thread. I presume that your reference recording is the one from Hyperion vol. 43 of the Romantic Piano Concertos series. (I also have two volumes, with concertos 1 & 3 and 2 & 5 on Lyrita, with Malcolm Binns, and a single release of the 4th on Unicorn, also with Binns, but a different orchestra and conductor.) I will have to play them again as it has been, I must admit, quite a long time . . . but not tonight.


Yes, the #4 above is Malcom Binns with the Milton-Keynes Chamber Orchestra (never heard of them) which is likely the Unicorn release. The original #1 that I posted was the Hyperion recording, but Hyperion has been forcing its recordings off YouTube (I don't blame them) so I had to replace it with the Malcom Binns, London Symphony Orchestra, Lyrita recording which you reference above.

Btw, if you have trouble responding to this thread, please keep trying. Sometimes there's so much activity on it (i.e. this thread) that the forum slows to a halt...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DaveM said:


> Yes, the #4 above is Malcom Binns with the Milton-Keynes Chamber Orchestra (never heard of them) which is likely the Unicorn release. The original #1 that I posted was the Hyperion recording, but Hyperion has been forcing its recordings off YouTube (I don't blame them) so I had to replace it with the Malcom Binns, London Symphony Orchestra, Lyrita recording which you reference above.
> 
> Btw, if you have trouble responding to this thread, please keep trying. Sometimes there's so much activity on it (i.e. this thread) that the forum slows to a halt...


But never a whole year.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

This is hardly the oldest thread to be reawakened from its slumber, although I do see that I missed its 1 year anniversary by a bit.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I had forgotten about this thread.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I took the Unicorn recording to work today, and am now listening to the Hyperion recording. Although both include other material, I am trying to focus on the Concerto No. 4. My first impression is that the Hyperion recording is much better that the one on the Unicorn label. It seems crisper and more lively, with more nuance in the playing. The information in the booklet is interesting, particularly noting that the second movement (the one technically marked "Barcarole: Andante cantabile e con moto") was a replacement for the earlier one (called "A Stroll through the Meadows"), which was apparently not as well received in its first (and apparently only) public performance (although an informal one). The Barcarole form apparently had some life on its own, with versions for solo piano, organ, and voice and piano.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

JAS said:


> I took the Unicorn recording to work today, and am now listening to the Hyperion recording. Although both include other material, I am trying to focus on the Concerto No. 4. My first impression is that the Hyperion recording is much better that the one on the Unicorn label. It seems crisper and more lively, with more nuance in the playing. The information in the booklet is interesting, particularly noting that the second movement (the one technically marked "Barcarole: Andante cantabile e con moto") was a replacement for the earlier one (called "A Stroll through the Meadows"), which was apparently not as well received in its first (and apparently only) public performance (although an informal one). The Barcarole form apparently had some life on its own, with versions for solo piano, organ, and voice and piano.


I did not know that about the Barcarole. Very interesting. I agree about the Hyperion vs. the Unicorn. Hyperion is a great label. Whoever picks the artists, engineers and recording locations knows what they're doing!


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

. . . and the smaller booklet for the Unicorn release gives a less detailed and slightly different account. It says that the Barcarolle (which it gives two "l"s) was written for some earlier concerto, "an unpublished and less successful concerto in the same key." The notes go on to say that when Bennett played the Barcarolle from this earlier concerto, Mendelssohn said "Oh Bennett, _that_ is what you must play," implying that it was a chance to give continued life to the Barcarolle rather than that there was something especially wrong with the original movement from the concerto. Who is to say which is more accurate? The notes in the Unicorn booklet are by David Byers (and dated 1988). The notes for Hyperion are by Elizabeth French (and dated 2007).


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

One more small note. The Unicorn recording lists the movement as "Barcarolle: Andante cantabile" while the Hyperion adds "e con moto." The timing for the Hyperion performance is 7'55 and for the Unicorn performance a slightly more leisurely 8'33. (In fact, all three movements on the Unicorn recording are slightly longer than the equivalents on the Hyperion, at least based on the listings provided with each.)

I must admit that while it is pleasant enough, that movement does not particularly stand out for special attention to me. It might be more interesting to hear the other forms. Mendelssohn, perhaps, thought more highly of it.

Edit: And at least one reviewer agrees with Mendelssohn: "Most people, perhaps justifiably, regard the middle movement Barcarolle as the highlight; it is exquisite." From: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Nov07/Sterndale_Bennett_cda67595.htm (a review of the Hyperion CD).


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

What I think is paricularly interesting about the Barcarole, whichever story embodies the more accurate details, is that it is a pretty clear example of an entire movement that was composed for a setting different than the one in which it was ultimately used. We tend to think of a composition, particularly in more formal eras, as being specifically selected and developed thematic material that is integrated as part of a carefully planned whole. This isn't merely a case of a motif or a short theme being recast in a new setting. It is an entire movement originally written for another concerto that has replaced the movement originally written for the concerto in which it is now known. Many pieces from unsuccessful larger works have survived as concert overtures or in the form of suites, and there are plenty of examples of pieces that have been transcribed, perhaps with additional changes, for wind-band or piano or more heavily adapted as quadrilles or "Fantasy on a theme by . . ." The idea of recycled music, and what it suggests about the practice of composition, might be an interesting thread, if it has not already been explored.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

JAS said:


> What I think is paricularly interesting about the Barcarole, whichever story embodies the more accurate details, is that it is a pretty clear example of an entire movement that was composed for a setting different than the one in which it was ultimately used. We tend to think of a composition, particularly in more formal eras, as being specifically selected and developed thematic material that is integrated as part of a carefully planned whole. This isn't merely a case of a motif or a short theme being recast in a new setting. It is an entire movement originally written for another concerto that has replaced the movement originally written for the concerto in which it is now known. Many pieces from unsuccessful larger works have survived as concert overtures or in the form of suites, and there are plenty of examples of pieces that have been transcribed, perhaps with additional changes, for wind-band or piano or more heavily adapted as quadrilles or "Fantasy on a theme by . . ." The idea of recycled music, and what it suggests about the practice of composition, might be an interesting thread, if it has not already been explored.


That would be very interesting. It probably occurred more than we know. Actually, I listen to Adagios such as these as if they were separate works. At this point I have about 6 hours straight of them and all of them are in the 'rarely heard category. On a recent flight to Canada, these were playing at the beginning and at the end.


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