John Lenehan, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, John Wilson - Ireland: Piano Concerto (2011)

Tracklist

01. Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major: I. In tempo moderato
02. Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major: II. Lento espressivo
03. Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major: III. Allegretto giocoso
04. Legend
05. First Rhapsody in F-Sharp Minor
06. Pastoral
07. Indian Summer
08. A Sea Idyll: I. Poco andante
09. A Sea Idyll: II. Allegro appassionato
10. A Sea Idyll: III. Mesto
11. 3 Dances: I. Gypsy Dance
12. 3 Dances: II. Country Dance
13. 3 Dances: III. Reapers' Dance

John Ireland’s radiant Piano Concerto was written for his protégée Helen Perkin, and is infused with her sense of vitality. The result is a brilliant work of high spirits and expressive longing. Perkin also premièred Legend, a dark, brooding evocation of the ancient landscape of Harrow Hill on the Sussex Downs. Of the solo piano works, the First Rhapsody is earlier, virtuosic, and in the Lisztian tradition, whereas Indian Summer is a rural postcard of beguiling simplicity. John Lenehan has recorded three volumes of Ireland’s solo piano music (8553700, 8553889 and 8570461) to universal admiration: ‘Lenehan offers a uniquely vital and dramatic reading of the sonata.

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