Sir Mark Elder, Marc-André Hamelin, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 22) (1999)

Tracklist

01. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: I. Prologo e Introito. Allegro, dolce e solenne
02. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: II. Pezzo giocoso. Vivacamente, ma senza fretta
03. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: III. Pezzo serioso. a. Introductio. Andante sostenuto, pensoso
04. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: III. Pezzo serioso. b. Prima Pars. Andante, quasi adagio
05. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: III. Pezzo serioso. c. Altera Pars. Sommessamente
06. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: III. Pezzo serioso. d. Ultima Pars. A tempo
07. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: IV. All'Italiana. Tarantella. Vivace – In un tempo
08. Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247: V. Cantico. Largamente

This has to be our Romantic Piano Concerto for the millennium!

The Busoni concerto, with its five movements, choral finale and a length of over 70 minutes, is surely the most grandiose ever written. But this is no over-ambitious monster; Busoni was one of the greatest pianists the world has known, but he was also a great intellectual with very strong views on art and culture. This work is the masterpiece of his middle years, more of a symphony in the breadth and scope of its ideas, but at the same time almost casually requiring the most formidable technical ability from the soloist. There is no doubt that this is one of music's major neglected masterpieces.

Marc-André Hamelin needs no introduction as a champion of the greatest challenges in the piano literature. Here he is joined by Mark Elder who has a particular reputation as a Busoni conductor. He conducted this work with Peter Donohoe in their famed Proms performance of 1988 and he has also conducted Busoni's rarely performed magnum opus 'Doctor Faust' at ENO.

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