Daniele Rustioni, Pietro De Maria, Orchestra della Toscana - Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (2023)

Tracklist

01. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: I. Allegro maestoso
02. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: II. Romanza. Larghetto
03. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: III. Rondò - Vivace
04. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21: I. Maestoso
05. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21: II. Larghetto
06. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21: III. Allegro vivace

Fresh from his success in Vienna with the Rondo à la Krakowiak, Chopin decided to explore the piano concerto genre where he would compete with a triumvirate of composers then enjoying huge success in the city: Moscheles, Hummel and Kalkbrenner. Dedicated to Kalkbrenner, though inheriting influence from Hummel, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 is discreetly orchestrated and marries brilliant virtuosity with expressive melancholy. Structurally similar is the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, though here heroism is tempered by a more reflective intimacy that reaches its apotheosis in the beautiful slow movement.

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