This entry is volume 83 in the Hyperion label's Romantic Piano Concerto series, which shows just how much neglected music is out there. There are several attractions this time around on this recording of Polish piano concertos. One is the presence of the Piano Concerto in D flat major, Op. 25, of Jerzy Gablenz, which is a genuine rarity; Gablenz, booklet readers learn, was preoccupied with his management job at a pickle factory and lacked time to devote to his musical career. The work was not premiered until 1977 in the ...
Read More
This entry is volume 83 in the Hyperion label's Romantic Piano Concerto series, which shows just how much neglected music is out there. There are several attractions this time around on this recording of Polish piano concertos. One is the presence of the Piano Concerto in D flat major, Op. 25, of Jerzy Gablenz, which is a genuine rarity; Gablenz, booklet readers learn, was preoccupied with his management job at a pickle factory and lacked time to devote to his musical career. The work was not premiered until 1977 in the Dominican Republic. It's an imposing work with a 24-minute opening movement that can't quite cash the structural checks it writes; the Andante cantabile middle movement, with its novel glockenspiel strokes, is more memorable. However, the work certainly belongs in the repertory, and the big virtuosi should take note. They should also note pianist Jonathan Plowright's reading of the Polish Fantasy, Op. 19, of Ignace (Ignacy) Jan Paderewski. The great Paderewski was certainly...
Read Less