# Masterpieces Off the Beaten Track: Part Four: Piano Concertos



## Alypius

I began three earlier threads, asking for recommendations of little known masterpieces in the genres of the string quartet, solo piano, and the symphony. They have alerted me-and hopefully alerted others-to a variety of works and composers. So perhaps, we might follow a similar exploration of piano concertos. There is currently an active http://www.talkclassical.com/1188-favourite-10-piano-concertos.html thread which cites the best known. So this might serve as a good complement to it. I realize that "little known" is a matter of degree. But as I have reflected back over my own journey of making discoveries, I realized that 10 years ago, while I was familiar with the big names and major piano concertos, there were all sorts of composers beyond those big names whose symphonic works were unknown to me. Many of those somewhat lesser known (and often more recent) composers had composed remarkable piano concertos that opened new possibilities for the genre. Discovery of such works have opened new worlds of listening to me. A couple of examples:

*Aaron Copland, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1926)*










Everyone knows Copland the populist, but this early work is more adventurous -- at times jazzy (before Gershwin!), other times modestly dissonant. But it also foreshadows his later grand melodies and great rhythmic sense.

*Ferruccio Busoni, Piano Concerto, op. 39 (1903-1904)*










Busoni was one of the great pianists of the 20th century. This starts off as a pretty conventional romantic concerto but once the piano comes in, it becomes a dazzling virtuoso affair (and ends with a grand choral sequence). This is one of a fascinating series by Hyperion Records, "The Romantic Piano Concerto," now some 50 volumes. I only know a small fraction of these, but almost all would quality as "off-the-beaten path", and I presume that there are other masterpieces among them. Any recommendations?

*Einojuhani Rautavaara, Piano Concerto #3 ("Gift of Dreams") (1998)*










Rautavaara, one of the finest living composers, has a number of fascinating little-known concertos. This one plays off these remarkable, deeply mysterious opening chords that remind me of Bartok's Piano Concerto #2. Commissioned by and premiered by Vladimir Ashkenazy. The work is, by turns, mystical, romantic, dissonant, vibrant.

Any recommendations of other little-known piano concertos?


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## dgee

Maurice Ohana (1981) and Beat Furrer (2007) are fantastic modern ones. The Poulenc Concerto for two pianos is nice too


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## ptr

I'll have to keep up the Swedish Frontier, some PC's that I have a twisted affinity for:

*Hilding Rosenberg* wrote two (On CD from Daphne)









*Gösta Nystroem* - Concerto ricercante (On an LP from Philips )









*H Melcher Melchers* - Piano Concerto No 2, op.23 (On Phono Suecia)









cont. below due to some seriously archaic image number limitations...


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## ptr

*Laci Boldemann* - Piano Concerto Op 13 (On Swedish Society)









*Hans Holewa* - Piano Concerto (On Phono Suecia)









Sorry bout' the varying image sizes!

/ptr


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## Aramis

My first choice is Paderewski's PC, there are many worthwhile piano concertos in the obscurity, but if you want "masterpiece", this is the one. Saint-Saëns agrees.






Then there is that classically romantic gem which I'm really fond of and which is as obscure as it gets:






And this rather nice (even if not much more) concerto by famous violinist-composer's brother:






Dussek didn't write stunning masterpieces either, but a really fine HIP recording by Andreas Staier and Concerto Köln is obligatory for those interested in music weavering between late classical and early romantic:


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## Trout

*Bohuslav Martinů* wrote a great series of 5 piano concertos and I particularly like the last two which were among the last compositions he wrote. The 4th ("Incantation") was written while he was in the U.S. and certainly bears a great resemblance to American music. It has a great deal of suspense and wonder that seems redolent of some cinematic music. In contrast, the 5th exhibits a greater sense of restraint and joyfulness. It is really a delight and has even been compared to Bartok's 3rd for evoking similar emotions.










I have mentioned *Beat Furrer*'s _Piano Concerto_ on this site recently, but I will echo my sentiments here. It is one of my favorite concertos for exhibiting such fascinating timbres and rhythmic drive of the piano that juxtaposes the stagnant, distant orchestra. The concerto will always be an encouraging sign of what I can find as I continue to explore modern music, both within my "comfort range" and beyond. (The image below is enlarged to make the text more visible.)










In some people's minds, *Sergei Prokofiev* only wrote 2 piano concertos, the 2nd and 3rd, but I also really like the infrequently-mentioned 1st one. It is fairly short and in one movement and I have always enjoyed just the sheer simplicity and energy of the work. The building, captivating theme in the orchestra sets the foundation for the concerto and bookends the work's rather decadent middle section. Even as a young man, Prokofiev displays great talent and strong hints of his later, more mature style.


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## Alypius

Thanks, all, for the recommendations. I appreciate especially that they are coming from all over the map both chronologically and stylistically. And I know almost none of them. And with two voices recommending Furrer, that jumps to the top of the list.

While I don't know most of those recommended thus far, there are two exceptions: First, Martinu's _Piano Concerto #4 ("Incantatations")_ -- in fact, all five of his, but #4 is, for me, the standout. Martinu is a remarkable composer across the board (his violin concertos are no less remarkable).

Second, Prokofiev's _Piano Concerto #1_. Well, let me preface this with a strong claim: Prokofiev was the greatest composer of concertos. Better than Beethoven, better than Rachmaninov, better even than Mozart. (I expect to get some grief for the claim, but it's where I'm at). And Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #2 is, I believe, the greatest piano concerto -- best in history. (More grief expected). And his Piano Concerto #3 is not far behind. And his two Violin Concertos are among my favorites in that genre. And so with four concerto masterpieces (2 piano, 2 violin) -- that's the basis of my (still unjustified -- and perhaps impossible to justify) claim. In any case, like Trout, I think his Piano Concerto #1 risks getting overshadowed by the greatness of #2 and #3, but I agree: it too is a masterpiece.

I hope the recommendations keep coming. I'll post a few of my own soon.


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## musicrom

*Dmitri Kabalevsky*'s _Piano Concerto No. 3_ is an interesting piano concerto that's not too well-known.






Also, *Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov*'s _Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor_ is very nice.


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## Trout

*Anton Eberl* is probably most well-known for his _Symphony in E-flat major_ that premiered alongside Beethoven's _Eroica Symphony_ and was even received more favorably. The symphony is a great work, but he also composed piano concertos; the one I wish to distinguish is the opus 40 also in E-flat. It is a very stately work that does not really betray its time. The concerto is still wonderfully crafted nevertheless and may have even been initially published under Mozart's name, which may give a further indication about its quality.










The music of *Einar Englund* seems to be somewhat neglected among the many Finnish composers to follow Sibelius, including Rautavaara, Saariaho, and Aho among others. It is a shame since I could easily his music becoming more popular, given the exposure. I really enjoy his 1st piano concerto, an evocative and propulsive composition, with some similarities to Martinu at times, though focused more on one central idea. It makes me quite excited to explore his cycle of 7 symphonies in the future.


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## Cosmos

Glad you mentioned Busoni! His concerto is a fine work indeed.

Stenhammar's concerti are wonderful, late romantic works










I'm also in LOVE with Medtner's first two (the second is more Rachmaninoffy)
Not too "off the track" but Liszt's second is very underrated IMO
Dvorak's is very _different_, I'll give it that
Schnittke's Concerto for Piano and Strings is one of the more haunting works I know
Rautavaara's first remains a favorite, with the third also being great
Finally, Poulenc's Concerto in C# minor is charming, full of his usual quirky lyricism


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## Guest

A lot of great ones already mentioned. I'll second Busoni, Dvorak, any Rautavaara, any Englund, any Stenhammar, and any Martinu. And of course, the Poulenc concerto for two pianos is a favorite of mine, but the concerto for solo piano isn't bad either!

I'll just leave these names here, in addition:
Atterberg
Bax
Britten
Franck
Ginastera
Lindberg
Norgard
Penderecki
Pierne
Rubinstein
C. Schumann
Skalkottas
Stravinsky
Tveitt
Yoshimatsu


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## Alypius

arcaneholocaust said:


> A lot of great ones already mentioned. I'll second Busoni, Dvorak, any Rautavaara, any Englund, any Stenhammar, and any Martinu. And of course, the Poulenc concerto for two pianos is a favorite of mine, but the concerto for solo piano isn't bad either!
> 
> I'll just leave these names here, in addition:
> Atterberg
> Bax
> Britten
> Franck
> Ginastera
> Lindberg
> Norgard
> Penderecki
> Pierne
> Rubinstein
> C. Schumann
> Skalkottas
> Stravinsky
> Tveitt
> Yoshimatsu


Arcane, It would help me (and perhaps others) if you could be a little more specific. I presume that some of those have more than one. Also are there any performances that you recommend? For instance, of those you mention, it's complicated with Stravinsky: there's the Concerto for Piano & Wind Instruments, Movements for Piano & Orchestra, Capriccio for Piano & Orchestra, the Concerto for 2 Pianos. There's the performances in the big box set (I forget who does those). Then there's the recent performance by Steven Osborne / Ilan Volkov / BBC Scottish Symphony. Is this what you have in mind? Thanks.


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## Guest

I can recommend most if not all concertante works for piano and orchestra from the above list, but, to be more specific, I'll narrow down to 1.

Edit:
Atterberg (Piano Concerto)
Bax (Winter Legends)
Britten (Piano Concerto)
Franck (Piano Concerto #2)
Ginastera (Piano Concerto #1)
Lindberg (Piano Concerto)
Norgard (Concerto In Due Tempi)
Penderecki (Piano Concerto)
Pierne (Piano Concerto)
Rubinstein (Piano Concerto #4)
C. Schumann (Piano Concerto)
Skalkottas (Piano Concerto #3)
Stravinsky (Five Movements For Piano And Orchestra)
Tveitt (Piano Concerto #4)
Yoshimatsu (Piano Concerto)

Edit II: Most of my Stravinsky at this point comes from the Sony collection


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## ptr

I also recomend Peter Eötvös' "Cap-Kp" (Concerto for Acoustic Piano, Keyboard, and Orchestra)














/ptr


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## maestro267

Michael Daugherty's Deus ex Machina
Penderecki's Piano Concerto
Villa-Lobos' five piano concertos
Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No. 4 (stunningly gorgeous slow movement)
Ginastera's two piano concertos


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## TresPicos

Trout said:


> The music of *Einar Englund* seems to be somewhat neglected among the many Finnish composers to follow Sibelius, including Rautavaara, Saariaho, and Aho among others. It is a shame since I could easily his music becoming more popular, given the exposure. I really enjoy his 1st piano concerto, an evocative and propulsive composition, with some similarities to Martinu at times, though focused more on one central idea. It makes me quite excited to explore his cycle of 7 symphonies in the future.


One of my favorite concertos!


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## Alypius

This thread is going to keep me busy for a while. A flood of works that are new to me. Thanks.

I said that I would post a few of my own. Here's one that I encountered in Hyperion's superb "Romantic Piano Concerto" series. For those who enjoy Rachmaninov's piano concertos, this is a sure bet.

*Sergei Lyapunov*, _Piano Concerto #2 in E flat major_, op. 38 (1909)










Review from the _Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010_:


> "Hyperion celebrates the 30th release in its invaluable The Romantic Piano Concerto series with a disc of Lyapunov's works for piano and orchestra as beautiful as it's comprehensive.  ... Lyapunov's style invariably transcends the sources of his inspiration.  Indeed, it's no exaggeration to say, as Edward Garden does in his excellent accompanying essay, that the hushed nocturnal opening to the Second Concerto is among the loveliest in the repertoire, setting the stage for every starry-eyed wonder.  The writing is as lavish and ornate as even the most ardent lover of Russian Romantic music could wish - at 3'35" it's like some richly embroidered cloth winking and glinting with a thousand different lights and colours. More generally, everything is seen through such a personal and committed perspective that all sense of derivation or of a tale twice told is erased.  Such an overall impression wouldn't, occur if the performances were less skilful or meticulously prepared. Hamish Milne holds his head high, lucidly and affectionately throughout, commanding cascades of notes; he's stylishly partnered by Martyn Brabbins."


The disc also includes his excellent _Rhapsody on Ukrainian Themes_, which, like Rachmaninov's _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_, is a piano concerto is all but name.


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## Alypius

This may not quite qualify as "off-the-beaten-path". But I was slow to discover it:

*Samuel Barber, Piano Concerto, op. 38 (1962)*

















While Barber's _Adagio for Strings_ is, of course, quite famous, and Barber's _Violin Concerto_ must be counted as one of the best in the repertoire, his _Piano Concerto_ is a relatively late work -- and, as best I can tell, not very well known. There are relatively few recordings of it. An early and famous one is by the pianist who premiered the work, John Browning. There has been a recent one by Xiayin Wang that has gotten some fine reviews (but also several strong dissenters). While Barber was, in general, more indebted to traditions of romanticism in his writing, this late work is more modernist, in fact, the most modernist-sounding of his works that I have heard. Here are some notes on the work by Mervyn Cooke:



> "Barber, who had first tried to write a piano concerto during his student years at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia (1924-32), had a poor opinion of what he felt to be American composers' generally unimaginative keyboard writing, and sought to exploit the instrument more idiomatically in two mature works: a Sonata (1949), first performed by Vladimir Horowitz, and the Concerto, which was written for John Browning. Horowitz gave both Browning and Barber technical advice on the concerto before its first performance, and backed up the soloist's assertion that one passage was impossible to play at the rapid speed envisaged by the composer. The concerto was premiered by Browning and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf on 24 September 1962 to mark the opening of the new Philharmonic Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York. The piece, which won a Pulitzer Prize in the following year, was then widely performed on a major international tour give by Browning with the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell in 1965.
> 
> Browning's training had been in the Russian school of piano pedagogy, and Barber's own interest in Russian music come appropriately to the fore in many places in the concerto. The music contains several echoes of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto (1921), especially in moments of harmonic ambiguity and muscular dissonance, and these resonances were noted with pleasure by audiences in the Soviet Union when Szell's tour ventured behind the Iron Curtain... Also discernible are occasional reminiscences of Bartok, in particular his own Third Piano Concerto (1945)-significantly, perhaps, one of the least modernist of the Hungarian composer's mature works. Yet his compact and exciting finale suggest that Barber, too, could readily succumb to the heady appeal of jazzy rhythms and dynamic ostanati, features which characterise the more overtly nationalistic sounds of the other works recorded here."


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## ptr

Getting the complete Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Series will have You set off the beaten track for some time!

Not all are masterpieces, some like Vol 55 with two Widor Concertos are plain sleeping pills! 

/ptr


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## Alypius

I finally carved out a little time last night to begin reviewing some of these recommendations. dgee and trout had both recommended Beat Furrer's _Konzert fur Klavier und Orchester_ (2007), while trout and TresPicos had both recommended Einar Englund's two piano concertos. Well, both recommendations are simply extraordinary. (Both can be heard in their entirety on Spotify). I had never heard any work by composer before (Englund's name was even new to me). This is one of best things around here -- the vast collective knowledge of the music. Englund's PC 1 is reminiscent of Prokofiev's PC 3 or perhaps Bartok's PC 3 -- modernist to some degree, but strongly lyrical. I should add that Ondine's sound quality is crystalline clear, and the Matti Raekallio's performance is (as expected) deeply expressive. (I have his performances of Prokofiev's piano sonatas -- and would recommend them). Furrer's is rather avant-garde (as one might expect from a contemporary Austrian composer) -- but deeply absorbing in its creation of these unique sound-worlds. Thanks, all. Both now on my wishlist. I look forward to exploring others.


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## TresPicos

ptr said:


> I'll have to keep up the Swedish Frontier, some PC's that I have a twisted affinity for:
> 
> *Hilding Rosenberg* wrote two (On CD from Daphne)


Magnificent, both of them!

Another two that I like are William Alwyn's.


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## Alypius

Between the world cup games today, I got a chance to listen Hilding Rosenberg's two piano concertos -- that both ptr and TresPicos had recommended. Again, excellent. And again, another item high up on my wishlist. This thread is (happily) starting to get expensive -- which, of course, is the whole point. Thanks, all. More explorations over the weekend.


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## Rameau

One of the best and most emotional piano concertos that is (sadly) ever performed is Edward MacDowell's 1st Piano Concerto. He explores the personalities an orchestra can take on from furious to playful to melancholy. It's second movement is a masterpiece of it's own with amazing harmony that one can only attribute to MacDowell's music. It truly contains everything that makes MacDowell amazing into one piece, the big thundering chords you hear in his piano sonatas to the lush harmony from To a Wild Rose and all the other pieces from his Woodland Sketches all put together with the massive scale of an orchestra is what makes this work just sublime.


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## Cosmos

One I heard the other day is for (left hand) piano and orchestra. Britten's Diverstions is a fine work.
He also wrote a work, Scottish Ballade, for two pianos and orchestra.

They aren't strict piano concertos, but they are close enough.


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## PetrB

Germaine Taillefaire ~ _Piano Concerto No. 1_; neoclassical, light and charming. 









Luigi Dallapiccola ~ _Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux_ -- lovely. An undiscovered gem for many, I think. (As a footnote, his last piece before adopting the serial manner.)





Gian Francesco Malipiero ~ Piano Concerti (He wrote six)
_Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra n. 1_









John C. Adams:
_Eros piano,_ for piano and chamber orchestra (the recording with Adams conducting) a fine piece, borrowing (quite successfully) the muse of Toru Takemitsu.
_Century Rolls_ Emanuel Ax, Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor, is spectacular.

Stravinsky ~ _The Concerto_ for piano and winds is fun, but I think the strongest are: 
_Five movements for piano and Orchestra_ (I default to the Columbia -- now Sony -- recordings from the 1960's- early 70's with the composer conducting) and the Capriccio (below)

Kevin Volans ~ _Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments_ is, imo, a tremendous piece (the sole recording of it, on Chandos)

Alexander Tcherepnin ~ concerti for piano and orchestra (I believe there are six.) One of them begins with the piano and snare drum, my apology that I've forgotten which, but having surveyed the other, that is the one which lingers in memory as most memorable... and fun.

Witold Lutoslawski ~ _Piano Concerto_; a fine piece by a great composer.

Samuel Barber's _Piano Concerto_ may be lost in the polls of what is popular Barber -- but it _is_one mighty and fine concerto.

Frank Martin ~ Piano Concerto No. 2





Hindemith ~ _Kammermusik No. 2, op. 36 no. 1 (1924), 'Piano Concerto.'_

*Works with prominant piano solo; Capriccio, Concertino, or Solo piano, Solo Duo Piano and / or Concertante -- the latter not a protagonist concerto role, but well worth your while:*
Hindemith ~ _The four temperaments_ a ballet for string orchestra with a sizable piano obliggato role.

Stravinsky: 
_Capriccio for piano and orchestra_, (I default to the Columbia -- now Sony -- recordings from the 1960's- early 70's with the composer conducting,) 
_Concerto per duo pianoforti soli_, a monumental work. My still preferred performance: Paul Jacobs and Ursula Oppens. (The set has the rest of Stravinsky's four-hands pieces.)
http://arbiterrecords.org/catalog/stravinsky-music-for-four-hands-paul-jacobs-ursula-oppens/

Thomas Ades ~ _In Seven Days_ a recent piece, again, strong recommend.





Alfredo Casella:
_A Notte Alta Piano & Orchestra_
_Partita per pianoforte e piccola orchestra_, Op.42 





Darius Milhaud (wrote a number of very pleasant piano Concerti (five at least) 
~ _Cinq études pour piano et orchestre_ 





Arthur Honegger ~ Concertino for piano and Orchestra





Jean Françaix: _Concertino pour piano et orchestre_





Joseph Fennimore: _Concerto Piccolo_ for Piano and Chamber Orchestra, a very well-written ebullient piece with a good sense of genuine musical humor. The composer (a formidable pianist) is the soloist here:





Charles Koechlin ~ _Ballade pour piano et orchestre_









Well-known, the piano in a prominent obbligato role:
Manuel de Falla ~ _Falla: Noches en los Jardines de España_ (link is one of three)





Debussy's only work for piano and orchestra ~ Fantasie pour piano et orchestre.

P.s. I am adding the third 'seconding' of recommending the Beat Furrer _Piano Concerto._





P.p.s. The three works in your OP might not all be popularly known, but are known to many. (The Poulenc piano concerto for example, is a wonderful piece which is often near completely overlooked for his also very fine _Concerto for two pianos. Similarly, Ravel's D major is less popular, though a tremendous piece._) These are found on paths not so often walked, perhaps, but not 'obscure;' 'lesser-known' perhaps, but not like you would need a spade and a machete to find the path to begin with


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## SONNET CLV

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by John LaMontaine (1920 -- 2013)

Chicago-born composer John LaMontaine who passed on April 29, 2013 at age 93, won a Pulitzer for Music in 1959 for his first piano concerto subtitled "In Time of War." It had its premiere by acclaimed pianist Jorge Bolet with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Howard Mitchell, in 1958. Bolet also played and recorded the work for the Voice of America with Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra the next year. It has received at least two other commercial recordings over the years.

It is the premiere performance which took place in Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C., on November 25, 1958, that is given here.






A fine work, too seldom heard.


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