I searched for a thread with the best post-1960 Piano Concertos, but could find nothing. This has become an obsession of mine, so I had to start this thread. I used to think there no good piano concerto was written after Bartok and Prokofief's, but clearly I was wrong; some great piano concertos have been written in the second half ofthe twenieth century (and maybe even later)!!
My nominations so far are:
-The Barber
-The Lutoslawski
-The Ligeti
-The Norgard
-The Lindberg
-The Salonen
-The Shostakovich 2nd (this is a lighter one but very fun nonetheless, with a moving middle movement and a sparkling finale)
-The Carter (this one I am still struggling with, but I believe it's up there!)
What are your nominations? Have I forgot any important ones? Discuss! :)
(Note: I tried ONLY including Piano Concertos, and NOT other works for Piano and Orchestra).
Rădulescu, Ustvolskaya (Concerto for piano, string orchestra and timpani), Schnittke (1979), Dallapiccola.
It doesn't count, but Górecki's Harpsichord Concerto is good stuff.
Some of my favourites include
- Nørgård;
- Messiaen "Des Canyons aux Etoiles",
- Carter "Interventions" & "Dialogues",
- Keuris (1980),
- Schnittke (1979),
- Takemitsu "Riverrun" (especially the BIS recording),
- Ruders (1994)
- Lutoslawski
- Shostakovich 2nd
- Barber
- Sandström (neo-Romantic)
- Matthias Hammerth (neo-Romantic)
- Felix Glonti "Wanderjahre" (1990; Kavtaradze-recording)
- Gubajdulina (BIS recording, by far)
- Sumera
- Sorabji 5th (recently got it, don´t know much of it, but it seems very, very good and also quite approachable. But just discovered that it is from 1923 !)
I also have a really soft spot for Silvestrov´s very simple & cinematic "Metamusik" and "Postludium"
Quote from: James on March 12, 2012, 02:45:48 PM
Finnissy, Piano Concertos 4 & 6
We can disqualify these as concerti for solo piano (in the tradition of Alkan); could probably re-add Gorecki as I believe it is acceptable to play it as a "Piano Concerto" (and it is 8 minutes of good clean fun).
Most likely to join the OP's list for me would be:
Schnittke for piano and strings (a dramatic repurposing of the Russian choral tradition into a highly adversarial concerto).
Radulescu (spectralism meets Brahms and finds a somewhat awkward understanding).
Other possibilities that haven't been mentioned as far as I know:
Martin's 2nd (not amongst his very best works, but highly enjoyable nonetheless).
Henze's 2nd (heavy going, but there's a lot of depth there).
Quote from: DieNacht on March 12, 2012, 02:37:04 PM
Some of my favourites include
- Nørgård;
- Messiaen "Des Canyons aux Etoiles",
- Carter "Interventions" & "Dialogues",
- Keuris (1980),
- Schnittke (1979),
- Takemitsu "Riverrun" (especially the BIS recording),
- Ruders (1994)
- Lutoslawski
- Shostakovich 2nd
- Barber
- Sandström (neo-Romantic)
- Matthias Hammerth (neo-Romantic)
- Felix Glonti "Wanderjahre" (1990; Kavtaradze-recording)
- Gubajdulina (BIS recording, by far)
- Sumera
- Sorabji 5th (recently got it, don´t know much of it, but it seems very, very good and also quite approachable. But just discovered that it is from 1923 !)
I also have a really soft spot for Silvestrov´s very simple & cinematic "Metamusik" and "Postludium"
I have the one by Gubaidulina. I need to listen to it more though! Same goes for Takemitsu.
Canyons aux Etoiles is one of my top 5 favorite pieces of the 20th century. You are making me curious about the Sorabji!
I didn't know Carter's Dialogues and Interventions were that good. What are they like compared to his first Piano Concerto?
You got m
Quote from: edward on March 12, 2012, 03:08:19 PM
We can disqualify these as concerti for solo piano (in the tradition of Alkan); could probably re-add Gorecki as I believe it is acceptable to play it as a "Piano Concerto" (and it is 8 minutes of good clean fun).
Most likely to join the OP's list for me would be:
Schnittke for piano and strings (a dramatic repurposing of the Russian choral tradition into a highly adversarial concerto).
Radulescu (spectralism meets Brahms and finds a somewhat awkward understanding).
Other possibilities that haven't been mentioned as far as I know:
Martin's 2nd (not amongst his very best works, but highly enjoyable nonetheless).
Henze's 2nd (heavy going, but there's a lot of depth there).
Radulescu you say? Hmmm he's Romanian, so I can't say no. :P (I have Romanian origins myself)
QuoteI believe it is acceptable to play it as a "Piano Concerto"
yes, it (=Gorecki) has been recorded like that also (by Lubimov, maybe).
There are many interesting recorded Polish 20th century piano concertos, including Baird, Szymanski, Kulenty, Bacewicz, Krauze, Szeligowski, Wislocki, Malawski, Lazon etc. I´ve got them (not Szymanski though), but except from Malawski, I don´t know them thoroughly. Many of them are on you-tube also.
Quote from: James on March 12, 2012, 02:45:48 PM
There are quite a few from leading composers. Some examples ..
Tippett, Piano Concerto
Messiaen, Oiseaux Exotiques, Réveil des oiseaux
Stockhausen, Kontra-punkte
Stravinsky, Movements
Carter, Interventions, Dialogues, Soundings
Nancarrow/Usher, Concerto for Pianola and Chamber Orchestra
Berio, Echoing Curves
Xenakis, Erikhthon, Synaphaï
Birtwistle, Antiphonies
Schnittke, Concerto for Piano & Strings
Glass, Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Lachenmann, Ausklang
Rihm, Sphere, La Musique Creuse Le Ciel, Sotto voce Notturno, Sotto voce 2 Capriccio
Finnissy, Piano Concertos 4 & 6
Eötvös, CAP-KO
Muller, Comic Sense
Gubaidulina, Introitus
Part, Lamentate
Dusapin, A quia
Furrer, Konzert für Klavier und Orchester
López, Concierto para piano y orquesta
Sciarrino, Recitativo oscuro
A few of these are a little before 1960 but worth mentioning.
Some of the others listed I have yet to hear but would like to.
How could I forget to add the Tippett? Great concerto (although I don't see major similarities with Beethoven's 4th Concerto).
I like A quia, although I am still unsure if the outer movements are as good as the slow (middle) movement.
Quotedidn't know Carter's Dialogues and Interventions were that good. What are they like compared to his first Piano Concerto?
I only know them from you.tube, but I find them more approachable somehow than the concerto (which I have in the Arte Nova recording). But perhaps it´s just me ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga0NLZTKFeA
Quote from: DieNacht on March 12, 2012, 02:37:04 PM
- Sorabji 5th (recently got it, don´t know much of it, but it seems very, very good and also quite approachable. But just discovered that it is from 1923 !)
Can you please provide recording details? (Label, performers, etc.) I wasn't aware there were recordings of his concertos.
From 1965: Alexander Tcherepnin's Sixth Piano Concerto!
http://www.youtube.com/v/UuOwvoVRTh8
Carter, and possibly Salonen. Luto and Ligeti (also Barber) some ways behind.
Quote from: springrite on March 12, 2012, 04:16:29 PM
Carter, and possibly Salonen. Luto and Ligeti (also Barber) some ways behind.
Since you like the Salonen so much, I will (strongly) reccomend the Lindberg! Most of what Lindberg composed is a little too experimental in my opinion, and not very cohesive. When he's good though, he's REALLY good, such as his Piano Concerto! Its instrumentation is similar to Ravel's Concerto, and it's actually quite lyrical compared to Salonen's percussive rhythms. I said lyrical, I did NOT say easy! I find it takes considerably more time to get than the Salonen!!
Quote from: raduneo on March 12, 2012, 04:33:29 PM
Since you like the Salonen so much, I will (stringly) reccomend the Lindberg! Most of what Lindberg composed is a little too experimental in my opinion, and not very cohesive. When he's good though, he's REALLY good, such as his Piano Concerto! Its instrumentation is similar to Ravel's Concerto, and it's actually quite lyrical compared to Salonen's percussive rhythms. I said lyrical, I did NOT say easy! I find it takes considerably more time to get than the Salonen!!
I have listened to it a couple of time and liked it a lot. But I guess it deserves a lot more time than it did! I will do that!
The Ligeti and the Tippett are, to me, the works of the most major importance. Masterpieces, both, and the Ligeti is a summation of one set of his ideas and techniques, and thus a work of the greatest interest. Meanwhile, as an extreme Tippettophile, I have nothing but deep adoration for his concerto, too. The link to the Beethoven 4th which someone was searching for in vain is to be found, I think, simply in the work's pellucid qualities, its predominatn lyricism and depth of tone. But also, of course, it wasn't so much Beethoven's 4th which gave Tippett the impetus to compose his concerto; it was seeing Geiseking play the work. I think it is something of that tone that he was seeking here.
Outside this, I agree utterly with those who proposed the Radulescu. A strange but wonderful work and, like the Ligeti, proposing completely new paths down which to explore... A little nod, here, too, towards Hugh Wood's concerto, with its beautifully lucid argument, in which choices in compositional technique (a 12 tone first movement, a jazz-paraphrasing second, and a third which fuses the two very movingly) becomes the springboard for some highly effective alternations of the brittle and the tender. This concerto has one of the most exquisite slow movements in late 20th music - one which I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with.
Quote from: Lethevich on March 12, 2012, 12:58:10 PM
It doesn't count, but Górecki's Harpsichord Concerto is good stuff.
Yes it is! 8)
Peter Dickinson's piano concerto.
One of those pieces by a rather marginal figure, and one who's not done anything comparable, so easy for this piece to get lost through the cracks. (I found it on LP first, by a fluke. So I was on the lookout for it appearing on CD, too, which it did.)
It's a really spiffy piece and well worth a listen--one of my favorites,* anyway. If you like a lot of different things and pieces that sample/refer to a lot of different things, you might find this piece as enjoyable as I do. Plus there's the slow and inexorable crescendos that take up practically the whole piece (as well as the long decrescendo at the end) and that will strike one as either excruciating or terrifically exciting (or, as I do, as both). Plus the little surprise at the end, followed by the final surprise at the very end.
Roberto Gerhard's piano concerto. (He's another one with a splendid harpsichord concerto, too.) Gerhard's always struck me as one of those major composers who never quite seems to get as much love as he deserves. The piano concerto is a mature work, so like the harpsichord concerto and the numbered symphonies and those Zodiac chamber pieces.
Also, how well does Feldman's Piano and Orchestra fit into this category? It's ostensibly not a "concerto," but still....
*I should say "was." I haven't listened to it in several years. I wonder....
As I recall, it struck me much the same way as Berio's two piano concerto. Quite a slow über-tempo with all sorts of sonic fireworks flashing about over that glacial pace. But warmer and more jazzy (ragtimey) than Berio's also fine work.
Quote from: Luke on March 12, 2012, 05:00:38 PM
The Ligeti and the Tippett are, to me, the works of the most major importance. Masterpieces, both, and the Ligeti is a summation of one set of his ideas and techniques, and thus a work of the greatest interest. Meanwhile, as an extreme Tippettophile, I have nothing but deep adoration for his concerto, too. The link to the Beethoven 4th which someone was searching for in vain is to be found, I think, simply in the work's pellucid qualities, its predominatn lyricism and depth of tone. But also, of course, it wasn't so much Beethoven's 4th which gave Tippett the impetus to compose his concerto; it was seeing Geiseking play the work. I think it is something of that tone that he was seeking here.
I agree, Luke. The Tippett and Ligeti PCs are very fine works.
I suppose my list of would look something like this (in no particular order):
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3
Lindberg: Piano Concerto
Salonen: Piano Concerto
Tippett: Piano Concerto
Adams: Century Rolls (some may roll their eyes with this choice but I like it)
Ligeti: Piano Concerto
Barber: Piano Concerto
Xenakis Erikhthon, Synaphai, Kekrops My Top Picks, all 3 are super yummy!
Norgard-Ligeti-Lutoslawski-Salonen & Lindberg-Dusapin A Quia (Norgard & Dusapin good clanky/percussive)
Dalbavie (lots of good, percussive PCs here)
Foss (check it out!)
Halffter
Carter... yes, this one's Berlin ugly
Mennin (a huge American PC; Ogdon)
Sessions (Top5)!!! LOVE IT!
Wow, big time consensus here. See what we can do when we work together? :D
Peter Leiberson
Milton Babbitt (THIS ONE!)
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 07:12:16 PM
I suppose my list of would look something like this (in no particular order):
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3
Lindberg: Piano Concerto
Salonen: Piano Concerto
Tippett: Piano Concerto
Adams: Century Rolls (some may roll their eyes with this choice but I like it)
Ligeti: Piano Concerto
Barber: Piano Concerto
Your list is almost identical to mine! :D I will have to look into the Rautavaara! Does anyone else here enjoy Tveitt's #4? To me it paints a good picture of the Northern Lights!
The Xenakis Concertos are indeed great works! Nothing like them out there!
Quote from: raduneo on March 12, 2012, 08:26:51 PM
Your list is almost identical to mine! :D I will have to look into the Rautavaara! Does anyone else here enjoy Tveitt's #4? To me it paints a good picture of the Northern Lights!
The Xenakis Concertos are indeed great works! Nothing like them out there!
I'm not too much into Contemporary classical music but I do enjoy some composers.
Quote from: James on March 12, 2012, 09:25:03 PM
I'm the opposite ,, the music that resonates with me the most, and is the most alive & fresh is the music of my time and today. Bar a very few, small handful of historical exceptions.
My soul is from another era. I'm a late 19th to mid 20th Century guy through and through. This is the music that resonates the most with me. Please keep Stockhausen on your side of the fence. :)
Quote from: Toccata&Fugue on March 12, 2012, 03:57:22 PM
Can you please provide recording details? (Label, performers, etc.) I wasn't aware there were recordings of his concertos.
ít´s a Dutch readio performance a friend gave me, not commercially available yet, cf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaikhosru_Shapurji_Sorabji#Partial_list_of_performed_and_recorded_works
A short ecerpt of the 5th Concerto can be found on you-t,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYt-SU7AJuU
Quote from: some guy on March 12, 2012, 06:17:39 PM
Peter Dickinson's piano concerto.
One of those pieces by a rather marginal figure, and one who's not done anything comparable, so easy for this piece to get lost through the cracks. (I found it on LP first, by a fluke. So I was on the lookout for it appearing on CD, too, which it did.)
It's a really spiffy piece and well worth a listen--one of my favorites,* anyway. If you like a lot of different things and pieces that sample/refer to a lot of different things, you might find this piece as enjoyable as I do. Plus there's the slow and inexorable climax that's practically the whole piece and that will strike one as either excruciating or terrifically exciting (or, as I do, as both).
[...]
*I should say "was." I haven't listened to it in several years. I wonder....
Woah, I almost mentioned this one but didn't for the same reason you footnote. With the EMI disc, the organ concerto has remained more strongly in my memory - I suppose because of the rarity of the form.
The Wuorinen Third and Fourth Concerti
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 09:34:49 PM
My soul is from another era. I'm a late 19th to mid 20th Century guy through and through. This is the music that resonates the most with me. Please keep Stockhausen on your side of the fence. :)
My soul is from... BOTH ERAS (strictly musically speaking at least). I used to be only interested in the past. I used to think nothing good was written after Stravinksy. Then I told my self that's bull**** and I decided to get into modern/contemporary music at all costs. :) This is not me trying to push anyone into doing what I did! This is just me telling my story.
I can't say I like all modern/comtemporary music, but I definitely LOVE a lot of it. Xenakis is a genious (plus I find out he is the architect for the Casino in Montreal, during the Expo' 67, how cool is that?), Norgard is almost like an outer-body experience, Ligeti is amazing, so is Lutoslawski, Messiaen. I can't wait to see what Lindberg, Aho, Salonen, Saariaho and Unsuk Chin come up with in the future! (so far, I feel they are not YET the top 20-21st century composers. I need to see what else they will write!). I do have trouble with Carter and Simpson though. Havergal Brian isn't as easy as I thought either!
I will have do look into Stockhausen ASAP, he is one of the few "new" composers I am not that familiar with!
Quote from: karlhenning on March 13, 2012, 03:37:51 AM
The Wuorinen Third and Fourth Concerti
I was going to mention the Third — so I guess I'll have to check out the Fourth, which I never heard.
I don't think it's largely available, Paul. Peter Serkin played the premiere here in Boston . . . if anything, an even stronger piece than the Third.
Quote from: raduneo on March 13, 2012, 06:30:39 AM
My soul is from... BOTH ERAS (strictly musically speaking at least). I used to be only interested in the past. I used to think nothing good was written after Stravinksy. Then I told my self that's bull**** and I decided to get into modern/contemporary music at all costs. :) This is not me trying to push anyone into doing what I did! This is just me telling my story.
I can't say I like all modern/comtemporary music, but I definitely LOVE a lot of it. Xenakis is a genious (plus I find out he is the architect for the Casino in Montreal, during the Expo' 67, how cool is that?), Norgard is almost like an outer-body experience, Ligeti is amazing, so is Lutoslawski, Messiaen. I can't wait to see what Lindberg, Aho, Salonen, Saariaho and Unsuk Chin come up with in the future! (so far, I feel they are not YET the top 20-21st century composers. I need to see what else they will write!). I do have trouble with Carter and Simpson though. Havergal Brian isn't as easy as I thought either!
I will have do look into Stockhausen ASAP, he is one of the few "new" composers I am not that familiar with!
I'm glad you enjoy a lot of Contemporary music and don't get me wrong, I do like Lindberg, Salonen, Ligeti, Part, Rautavaara, Adams, Reich, and a few others, but as I get older I'm finding less and less enjoyment in today's music. I'm finding that, with the exception of a few composers, it's just more difficult to find music that I'm emotionally, and intellectually, moved by. I do need to give Aho a listen though as he's been on my to-listen-to list for quite some time. Simpson and Havergal Brian aren't difficult composers for me, but I'm not too attracted to their music either.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 13, 2012, 08:01:59 AM
I don't think it's largely available, Paul. Peter Serkin played the premiere here in Boston . . . if anything, an even stronger piece than the Third.
Well, can a recording on Naxos be far off? (I know: yes, it could be. But I'll cross my fingers all the same.)
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 13, 2012, 08:06:44 AM
I'm glad you enjoy a lot of Contemporary music and don't get me wrong, I do like Lindberg, Salonen, Ligeti, Part, Rautavaara, Adams, Reich, and a few others, but as I get older I'm finding less and less enjoyment in today's music. I'm finding that, with the exception of a few composers, it's just more difficult to find music that I'm emotionally, and intellectually, moved by. I do need to give Aho a listen though as he's been on my to-listen-to list for quite some time. Simpson and Havergal Brian aren't difficult composers for me, but I'm not too attracted to their music either.
Aho is very good, althugh something keeps me from calling him as one of the greatest of 20/21st century. His 7th of course is great to start, and it really shows his skill as a master orchestrator! Symphonies 11, 12 (which is basically the musical depiction of a mountain in Finland) and the chamber-like 14 (Rituals) have some amazing use of exotic/Shamanistic percussion (makes me think of early Stravinksy), though my favorite remains #11! Also consider #4 (the best from his early Shostakovich-influenced period) and #10 (mysterious yet quite Romantic), many say these are his best works, although I feel that his 8th is his most profound statement. It is the best organ-symphony from any period in my opinion (although keep this one for later, it is fairly challenging)!
As for his concertos, his Flute Concerto and Clarinet Concerto are his best I feel (and both approachable, and quite melodic). His Tuba and Trombone Concertos are quite neat. For some reason, I also have a guilty pleasure for his earlier Violin Concerto!
Aho was never too modernist, he often tries to evoque music the past or far-away cultures.
Just so that I don't go completely off topic, I wasn't that impressed with Aho's Piano Concerto. :P
Quote from: raduneo on March 13, 2012, 11:25:30 AM
Aho is very good, althugh something keeps me from calling him as one of the greatest of 20/21st century. His 7th of course is great to start, and it really shows his skill as a master orchestrator! Symphonies 11, 12 (which is basically the musical depiction of a mountain in Finland) and the chamber-like 14 (Rituals) have some amazing use of exotic/Shamanistic percussion (makes me think of early Stravinksy), though my favorite remains #11! Also consider #4 (the best from his early Shostakovich-influenced period) and #10 (mysterious yet quite Romantic), many say these are his best works, although I feel that his 8th is his most profound statement. It is the best organ-symphony from any period in my opinion (although keep this one for later, it is fairly challenging)!
As for his concertos, his Flute Concerto and Clarinet Concerto are his best I feel (and both approachable, and quite melodic). His Tuba and Trombone Concertos are quite neat. For some reason, I also have a guilty pleasure for his earlier Violin Concerto!
Aho was never too modernist, he often tries to evoque music the past or far-away cultures.
Just so that I don't go completely off topic, I wasn't that impressed with Aho's Piano Concerto. :P
Thanks for your feedback about Aho! I really need to investigate his music.
Quote from: PaulSC on March 13, 2012, 08:58:28 AM
Well, can a recording on Naxos be far off? (I know: yes, it could be. But I'll cross my fingers all the same.)
Fingers crossed here, too!
Quote from: DieNacht on March 13, 2012, 12:20:03 AM
ít´s a Dutch readio performance a friend gave me, not commercially available yet, cf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaikhosru_Shapurji_Sorabji#Partial_list_of_performed_and_recorded_works
A short ecerpt of the 5th Concerto can be found on you-t,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYt-SU7AJuU
Thank you for that tantalizing sample!
Quote from: Lethevich on March 13, 2012, 01:17:52 AM
Woah, I almost mentioned this one but didn't for the same reason you footnote. With the EMI disc, the organ concerto has remained more strongly in my memory - I suppose because of the rarity of the form.
I listened to it again just now. (And made some edits to my original post about it, too.)
It's still fine.
Good thing, too. I really liked it when I first heard it. And it's nice to hear it again seeming just as good as before.
And the other two pieces on the CD seemed better than before. Good times!
Quote from: some guy on March 13, 2012, 04:36:23 PM
I listened to it again just now. (And made some edits to my original post about it, too.)
It's still fine.
Good thing, too. I really liked it when I first heard it. And it's nice to hear it again seeming just as good as before.
And the other two pieces on the CD seemed better than before. Good times!
I am definitely planning to explore Dickinson's 2 concertos VERY soon!
Peter Mennin's piano concerto. You honestly won't find a more exhilarating piano concerto than this:
http://www.youtube.com/v/N_pOrbkJu-E
I'm looking forward to Lindberg's Piano Concerto No. 2, with which the NYP and Bronfman are touring/premiering this spring. I hear them in SF on 5/13.
Have people considered Keith Emerson's concerto? I've found it damn enjoyable for quite a few years and find it sad that not one person mentioned it.
Quote from: Toccata&Fugue on March 13, 2012, 05:41:26 PM
I'm looking forward to Lindberg's Piano Concerto No. 2, with which the NYP and Bronfman are touring/premiering this spring. I hear them in SF on 5/13.
Great! I was really hoping he would write another one! The piano was his first instrument, and you can tell he knows what he's doing with it!
Quote from: Elnimio on March 13, 2012, 05:37:25 PM
Peter Mennin's piano concerto. You honestly won't find a more exhilarating piano concerto than this:
http://www.youtube.com/v/N_pOrbkJu-E
I am so pleased to find someone else who knows this piece, that I forgive the borderline hyperbole! : )
Any concertos that are more exhilarating than the Mennin that I should be aware of? :)
I've got York Holler's 2nd, 'Pensees', an IRCAM work, which frankly sounds like a German Boulez. It's quite dark and grimy, though the electronics are much varied and quite zippy at times. It's the best E/A Piano Concerto I've heard, which isn't saying much. Pi-Hsien Chen plays on an OOP Largo cd.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 13, 2012, 03:37:51 AM
The Wuorinen Third and Fourth Concerti
... making me troll through the CRI/New World catalogue. Oy, what a monster! :o Still, the Wuorinen, Babbitt, and Sessions PCs seem to be the biggies.
Oh, and what of the
Cowell disc of PCs? That I enjoyed, though I had been to prejudiced to hear it initially.
Quote from: snyprrr on March 14, 2012, 08:19:31 PM
... making me troll through the CRI/New World catalogue. Oy, what a monster! :o Still, the Wuorinen, Babbitt, and Sessions PCs seem to be the biggies.
Oh, and what of the Cowell disc of PCs? That I enjoyed, though I had been to prejudiced to hear it initially.
whoops on the Cowell,...too early
(http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Mar02/Hove_symphonic_MDC7823-4.jpg)
Luc Van Hove's first pianoconcerto is an unsual, yet strong work. His second concerto hasn't been recorded yet. It is longer and bolder than nr 1 .
A Pianoconcerto from the first half of the 20th century I would like to hear more often: Albert Roussel ! ( and the Jolivet!)
Ton de leeuw "Danses sacrées" (1990)
P;
I'd like to add to the list Anders Brødsgaard's Piano Concerto (1994–95, you can hear it on a Dacapo disc (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00114XQMS?ie=UTF8&tag=3636363-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00114XQMS)). This should appeal to fans of Per Nørgård and Elliott Carter, among other composers.
Quote from: CRCulver on March 15, 2012, 06:07:38 AM
I'd like to add to the list Anders Brødsgaard's Piano Concerto (1994–95, you can hear it on a Dacapo disc (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00114XQMS?ie=UTF8&tag=3636363-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00114XQMS)). This should appeal to fans of Per Nørgård and Elliott Carter, among other composers.
Arrgh, you did it again!!! >:D
You and hutch and scarcrow,... always compelling my interest!! ;) Keep up the good work.
Quote from: James on March 17, 2012, 05:49:52 AM
Another composer who's music I would like to check out more closely is Kevin Volans ..
he's got a Concerto for Piano & Wind Instuments
& Piano Concerto No. 2 "Atlantic Crossing"
http://kevinvolans.com/index.php?id=9
You can listen to "Atlantic Crossing" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4AQ3GEeTVc) on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/v/6qyGPbX8xoo
Does anyone have this recording of it? I can't find it except from the label in Italy, and shipping costs are too high to the US. If you have a source or want to sell yours, please PM me!
(http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/May01/fedele.jpg)
Glad to see a couple of votes for Peter Dickinson - though that piano concerto sticks with me mostly for the intrusion of the second, orchestral piano, appearing as it does in a most unusual fashion.
I'll second votes for Ustvolskaya, Lutoslawski, and Shostakovich No 2; and I'll add a very short (15m) concerto by Avner Dorman which seems to be the spiritual descendant of Shosty 2 and Ravel in G: light, crisp, and classical in build, with a slow movement of unabashed old-fashioned beauty.
I seem to recall good things about Balada's Third Concerto, though no specifics. Gavin Bryars' was a sort of foggy mystical business, for those who enjoy that sort of thing. Fikret Amirov and Elvira Nazirova (the Elvira who inspired DSCH) collaborated on a piano concerto on Azerbaijani themes which harkens back to the Mighty Handful tradition of rich, splashy orchestration married to Russian folk music. It's a real treat, and not lacking in sophistication.
Oh! Last year I attended the premiere of Brahms' "Piano Concerto No 3," arranged by Dejan Lazic. If that counts I can talk about it...
Segerstam
Canadian Harry Somers wrote 3 concertos. I've never heard nr.1. But 2(1957) and 3 ( both recorded bij CBC) are big, serious works that deeply impress.
Nr 3 ( a late, 1996, work) is definitely my favorite.
(http://www.classicalarchives.com/images/coverart/9/2/f/4/059582519929_300.jpg)
(http://image.allmusic.com/00/acg/cov200/cn100/n137/n13719l37mx.jpg)
What do people think of Liebermann's Piano Concertos? I hear they have influences of Prokofiev, and perhaps Vaughn Williams also in the orchestration?
I quite liked his Flute Concerto when I heard it!