Eldar Nebolsin - Lopes-Graça: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2 (2013)

The two piano concertos of Portuguese composer Fernando Lopes-Graça date from 1940 ad 1950 (rev. 1971) respectively, but have a lot in common stylistically. Both share a basis in folk music, but don’t seem to quote any particular melody slavishly. The liner notes suggest a kinship to Bartók, but Prokofiev also comes to mind. The Second Concerto is a darker work than the First, but not unduly so. They are both very colorfully scored; in fact, the opening of the First Concerto bears a striking resemblance to Bernard Herrmann’s score to The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (sound clips), although the film obviously came rather later. Still, you will get the idea when listening.

Lopes-Graça also reveals a certain fondness for sequential repetition similar to Herrmann’s, and this tends to undercut the fact that the quick movements mostly employ traditional sonata forms (by blurring the distinction between development and mere ornamental repetition). Still, the music remains really enjoyable, and it would be difficult to imagine a more effective presentation of the virtuosic solo parts than that offered by Eldar Nebolsin. He clearly has fun with the quick outer movements, and especially the finales, with their touches of rustic humor. The central slow movements, in contrast, are poetic and often exquisite. Their brevity recalls similar movements in Schumann’s major works, while the predominance of quick music reveals the composer’s abundance of youthful energy.

The Porto orchestra plays very capably for the reliable Matthias Bamert, although the engineering is somewhat dull in the upper registers. Lopes-Graça’s scoring clearly could glitter more than it does here, but the problem isn’t serious enough to dampen your listening pleasure to any major degree. It just takes a few moments of adjustment. These works are a real find; it would be wonderful to hear them live. Until that opportunity arrises, this disc is just the ticket. -- David Hurwitz