Matthias Kirschnereit - Röntgen: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 (2011)

These two piano concertos date from an earlier period than the two violin concertos already released in this series. Piano Concerto No. 2 was composed in 1879 and shows the composer very close to his Leipzig school roots, while No. 4 dates from 1906. Like the later of the two violin concertos, it’s more concisely structured than its predecessor, but otherwise is written in much the same style. What distinguishes Röntgen’s music here, as elsewhere, is its strong melodic personality, and the sense that, even though the idiom is conservative, the composer has no damaging inhibitions. This is simply who he is.
The performances in this series have been very distinguished, by and large, and this disc is no exception. David Porcelijn is always a fine conductor of unusual repertoire; he makes the music sound easy, natural, and familiar. Pianist Matthias Kirschnereit plays with a very attractive sensitivity to Röntgen’s colorful keyboard palette. There’s a lot of figuration in the treble register in both of these works, but particularly in Concerto No. 2, and it never sounds pointlessly “tinkly” here. As with other volumes in this project, the engineering is very good. Röntgen wrote a lot of music, and he hasn’t let us down yet.