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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Mendelssohn: The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 1
Howard Shelley is acclaimed as the living master of early Romantic piano music. So much of this music was ignored throughout the twentieth century that there is still a sense of discovery at each new recording. Shelley here presents the first instalment of a six-volume set of Mendelssohn’s complete solo piano music—perhaps the least well-known part of the composer’s repertoire. Mendelssohn composed or began nearly two hundred works for piano. Nevertheless, he saw only about seventy through the press, released in seventeen opera from the Capriccio Op 5 (1825) to the sixth volume of the Lieder ohne Worte Op 67 (1845). Some twenty-five additional pieces appeared posthumously in eleven additional opera. The remainder, whether fully drafted or fragmentary, were left to his musical estate or have disappeared. Volume 1 includes Opp 5, 6, and 7, the first three piano compositions Mendelssohn published between 1825 and 1827, as well as Op 19b, the first volume of his Lieder ohne Worte, released in 1832. “Technically, this is a tremendous disc. All the evidence tells us that Mendelssohn was something of a speed merchant and when...he asks for Presto, Shelley takes him at his word, with a fleetness and control that command admiration, not to mention envy...I particularly like the sparsity of his pedalling, leaving the composer's lines to do their own work” BBC Music Magazine, April 2013 *** “A reassessment of what has hitherto been one of the most undervalued areas of the composer’s output” Financial Times, 30th March 2013 “Here, once more, is that immaculate, lightly pedalled brilliance, unfaltering stylistic assurance, warmth and flexibility. Few pianists could do more for music that too often suggests a composer going through predictable paces...Hyperion's sound and presentation complement Shelley's admirable performances.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013 “it's good to see Howard Shelley embarking on a six-volume reappraisal of these works, so often seen as lacking the depth of Chopin and the fire of Liszt. Fans of fireworks won't be disappointed though...With playing of this quality this is going to be a series to treasure.” The Observer, 24th February 2013 | 
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| |  | The Romantic Piano Concerto 58 - Pixis & Thalberg
This 58th volume of the Romantic Piano Concerto series presents two composer-pianists who contributed to Liszt’s piano extravaganza Hexaméron (1837). Thalberg (who would be celebrating his 200th birthday in 2012) famously took part in a pianistic ‘duel’ with Liszt, and was popularly acclaimed as the greatest pianist in the world during his lifetime. He only wrote one piano concerto, and that in his teens, but it is a brilliantly effective showpiece for virtuosity and stamina, the pianist’s hands barely leaving the piano. Johann Peter Pixis has now been consigned—perhaps unfairly—to the oblivion where so many early 19th-century composers dwell. These are world premiere recordings of his charming Piano Concerto and Piano Concertino. Howard Shelley, undisputed master of the music of the early Romantic period, directs the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard with his usual insouciance and poise. “if the material remains unmemorable, the treatment is coruscating in its tireless elaboration...But what is surely unarguable is that neither Pixis or Thalberg could have rivalled Howard Shelley's immaculate taste and dexterity. Time and again he makes it difficult to imagine another pianist with such nonchalant ease and elegance.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012 “Howard Shelley gives us fine performances. There's exquisite filigree in the Pixis, while the Thalberg has swagger and panache in spades.” The Guardian, 15th November 2012 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Spohr & Onslow: Piano Sonatas
Howard Shelley continues his appraisal of a composer who in his lifetime was classed with Mozart and Beethoven, and enjoyed international fame and admiration. Shelley is a master of the Classical–Romantic style and in his hands the music of Spohr, heard very little today, reveals a freshness and excitement which is utterly beguiling. Spohr’s Piano Sonata and Rondoletto are paired with works by George Onslow, Spohr’s exact contemporary. Both composers wrote very little piano music and this release comprises all their major works for the instrument. Again, music to charm and delight is rediscovered through Shelley’s expert performances. “Shelley plays this music with consummate artistry, making light of its technical difficulties and investing it with all the Romantic charm and ardour it needs. It's captured in excellent quality sound.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Dobrzynski & Lessel: Piano Concertos
This is the first release in a new series of “Music in Chopin’s Time”. As with “The Real Chopin” series, the intention is to restore the authentic sound of Chopin’s era. The Fryderyck Chopin Institute aims to compile a collection of works from Chopin’s musical world in the most outstanding interpretations by artists with an interest in recovering lost beauty. “It is seldom that recordings convey such a sense of lost beauty recovered as these in the Music of Chopin's Time series. Though rare, both these Piano Concertos have been previously recorded, yet in the hands of Howard Shelley and the Sinfonia Varsovia they yield up fresh secrets and reveal a delicate musical landscape as never before.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 ***** “Shelley's uncanny ability to elevate good second-rate music to the level of minor masterpiece has been well documented...Few other pianists are as well equipped to deliver the virtuoso and lyrical in equally persuasive measure - his phrase-shaping and grading of dynamics...are outstanding - but to do so while conducting from the keyboard is another thing altogether. The audience applause at the end of each concerto was never more richly deserved.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012 “Lessel's melodic gift [is] apparent from the very start...It's a splendid piece, with a particularly good slow movement at its heart...Shelley's solo playing is superb and he draws an animated response from the orchestra....Dobrzynski's concerto is a startling and exciting discovery for anyone with a serious interest in the origins of Chopin's style, and it's hard to imagine a more convincing and committed performance” International Record Review, June 2012  BBC Music Magazine
Orchestral Choice - May 2012 |
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| |  | Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 24
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| |  | The Romantic Piano Concerto 51 - Taubert & Rosenhain
The Romantic Piano Concerto series continues to surprise and delight with a 51st disc of 19th-century pianistic splendour. This new releases includes the two piano concertos by Wilhelm Taubert, as well as one of the two works for piano and orchestra by Jacob Rosenhain. Both composers were near exact contemporaries with Mendelssohn (born 1809), Chopin and Schumann (both 1810), Liszt (1811) and Wagner and Verdi (1813). Taubert’s A major Concerto was described by Schumann as ‘one of the best’ – he also noted the parallels between it and Mendelssohn’s Op 25. But these similarities, however, do not negate the marvellous and distinctive music contained within Taubert’s Concerto. Nearly half a century separates Taubert’s first concerto and his Piano Concerto No 2 in A major Op 189 (c1874), and the second concerto reflects developments in the areas of harmonic expansion, cyclic development, and, of course, increased virtuosity. Rosenhain wrote two concerted for works for piano and orchestra, an the A minor Concertino Op 30 (probably written in the 1840s, though published later), and the work included on this disc, the Piano Concerto in D minor Op 73. This work is fairly conservative in its form, offering little that had not been heard before. Still, there is much gorgeous and masterful music within its traditional three-movement form. Howard Shelley directs the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from the piano; a partnership that has garnered the highest praise for their previous Hyperion recordings. “How [Shelley] manages to play these newly learnt scores with such conviction and apparent ease while conducting from the keyboard with such precision and sensitivity is one of the musical marvels of the age...The beautifully played serene Andante [of the Rosenhain] on its own is bewitching enough to make this disc unmissable” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “Bravo to Howard Shelley for learning these three piano concertos...Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concertos series, now at Vol 51, is an invaluable archive of music” The Telegraph, 4th August 2010 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Leighton - Symphony No. 1 & Piano Concerto No. 3
This is the third volume in Chandos’ latest championing of the music of Kenneth Leighton, presenting two further premiere recordings. The previous volume, including Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia mistica), received tremendous critical acclaim, earning a Rosette in the latest Penguin Guide to Recorded Music. It was a Critic’s Choice in the December 2009 issue of Gramophone, Andrew Achenbach writing: ‘Chandos’ most valuable exploration of Kenneth Leighton’s large-scale output continues with this exhilarating coupling… Miss at your peril.’ International Record Review wrote: ‘I cannot do better than urge this new release on all those with ears to hear. For Leighton’s Sinfonia mistica is, I humbly submit, indeed a masterpiece.’ This latest volume includes the very successful First Symphony, completed in 1964, which won first prize in the 1965 City of Trieste international competition for a new symphonic work. It received its British premiere in October 1967 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves. In three movements, it is the only Leighton symphony to employ purely orchestral forces. The composer says that the opening movement ‘sets a mood of elegiac lyricism, and eventually becomes a strong, even desperate protest’, while the second movement, a vibrant scherzo, ‘loosens the reins, and on a spirit of rebellion seeks to arrive at an affirmative answer by sheer force of will’. He describes the final movement as the ‘expressive essence of the symphony… a movement of great beauty’. The Third Piano Concerto was written in 1968 when the composer succeeded Edmund Rubbra as a fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. Leighton wrote: ‘On the whole the music is more relaxed, more lyrical, and certainly more tonal than that of the previous two piano concertos. And there is also much less emphasis on counterpoint and more on vertical sonorities. Its three movements follow the traditional fast – slow – fast form.’ The central Pastoral evokes ‘the warmth and stillness of a long hot summer afternoon… with a more agitated and dance like central section’. The final movement comprises a set of variations, based on the main theme of the work. One of the most famous and recorded of pianists in the world today, Howard Shelley receives unanimous critical acclaim for his many recordings, whether on Chandos or other labels. Like the conductor, Martyn Brabbins, he has championed much rarely performed repertoire, this disc being only his his latest example. “Shelley proves a marvellously stylish, involving exponent and is backed to the hilt by Brabbins and the BBC NOW. Chandos's sound and balance, too, are beyond reproach.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010 “The admirable soloist Howard Shelley...seems utterly attuned to the whole work, both to its percussive aspects and to its delicate filigree writing.” International Record Review, July/August 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos
Recently awarded an OBE for his service to music, March’s Disc of the Month sees Howard Shelley conduct the Opera North Orchestra from the piano. In this latest recording Howard Shelley turns his attention to three popular works of the piano repertoire: Robert Schumann’s only completed Piano Concerto, Grieg’s single Piano Concerto and Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor. This authorative disc sheds new light on these well-loved works and is the first time all three piano concertos have been made available on one disc. Shelley explains the reasons behind the new elucidations. ‘Ever since I first fell in love with the Schumann Piano Concerto in my early teens, I have been intrigued and slightly puzzled by the tradition of slowing the fourth bar of the Allegro affettuoso first movement to what is effectively no more than an Andante, even though there is no indication of any tempo shift in the score. A metronome marking of 84 to the minim, taken from Schumann’s manuscript, is given in almost all editions of this work, reducing only to 72 to the dotted minim for the central Andante expressivo section. These are extraordinarily fast basic tempos. There are similar issues in the second movement of the Schumann – a surprisingly fast metronome mark, suggesting perhaps a lighter lyricism than we are sometimes used to, especially in the big cello melody - and also in the first movement of the Saint-Seans Second Conceto, which is often taken at about half its marked speed. As for the Grieg Concerto, we are fortunate to have Percy Grainger’s very informative and detailed notes on this piece as he discussed it with the composer. Elsewhere he points out that Grieg’s tempos were generally faster than when others played the piece. These are some of the considerations which have led to the interpretations on this recording. Directing a highly responsive orchestra from the keyboard has also allowed me great freedom in realising my ideas.’ “…a modern version of Schumann's Piano Concerto that actually sounds like Schumann. Howard Shelley's performance is refreshingly free from empty showmanship or narcissistic 'pianism'. The Grieg and Saint-Saëns concertos are also full of lovely things, especially the slow movement coda for the Grieg - this music can touch without being the slightest bit sentimental or oversweet.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 ***** “Outstanding performances” Classic FM Magazine, February 2012 “What a good idea to add to that favourite among LP couplings Saint-Saëns's most Bachian concerto, No 2. And the pleasure doesn't stop there.
Howard Shelley is one of those musicians who quietly goes about his pianistic (and now conductorly) business without grabbing the limelight except for the odd award, but who is consistently impressive, unfailingly musical and only goes into the studio when he has something to say about a work. That is certainly the case here.
It's a particular delight to hear a reading odf the Schumann as fleet and joyous as this one.
These are intimate performances, an effect no doubt enhanced by the fact that Shelley directs from the piano. Intimate but also sharply characterised.
And when virtuosity is required, Shelley provides it in spades. Take the finale of the Schumann: textures are wonderfully transparent, the dotted rhythms are perky and precise, and there are plenty of striking colours from the orchestra (which throughout the disc proves itself a fine ensemble, with some particularly outstanding wind-players).
Shelley is just as persuasive in the Grieg, coaxing from the orchestra a real sense of narrative, some lovely oboe-playing and allowing the big tunes due space but never over-indulging them.
The concerto's irresistible yearning quality is well caught too, particularly in the central movement, where he is almost a match for Lipatti. Again, tempi are generally fleet, and Shelley pays attention both to the marcato marking of the finale and its folk tinges without overstatement. These are certainly performances to put alongside the classics.
Technically, the Saint-Saëns is an ideal vehicle for Shelley's fingery kind of pianism and he is exceptional in the Allegro scherzando, the movement that out-Mendelssohns Mendelssohn.
Again, the orchestra is utterly focused. The recorded quality here, as elsewhere, is exemplary.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “These are intimate performances, an effect no doubt enhanced by the fact that Shelley directs from the piano. Intimately but also sharply characterised. And when virtuosity is required, Shelley provides it in spades. Technically, the Saint-Saëns is an ideal vehicle for Shelley's fingery kind of pianism and he is exceptional in the Allegro scherzando, the movement that our-Mendelssohns Mendelssohn.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Goossens - Orchestral Works Volume 1
Chandos Featured release for February will be the final recording made by Richard Hickox. Intended as the first in a cycle of orchestral works by Goossens. This disc offers the premiere recording of Phantasy Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, and the rarely recorded Symphony No.1 and serves as a tribute to Hickox and his fantastic legacy of recordings on Chandos. Though principally remembered as a conductor, during the 1920s British composer Eugene Goossens was a prolific composer, regarded as one of the foremost British composers alongside Bax, Bridge and Walton. Sadly his music has been all but forgotten for the colourful, expressive nature of his music fell out of fashion on the 1950s and 1960s. A recent reviewer of Goossen’s music wrote, ‘If you have ever gleaned the idea that Goossens is inclined to grey modernism or to windy rhetoric, prepare to have your preconceptions well and truly shattered.’ His music is suggestive of fellow composers of the era, namely Holst and Bliss. Having grown up in Britain, Goossens accepted an invitation to come to the United States as the first chief conductor of the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra in New York State. He was there for twenty years, before moving to Australia serving as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. His music and character proved a great influence on the Australia classical audience; in fact he is recognised as one of the most noted figures in Australia music in recent years. The rewarding Phantasy Concerto, Op. 60 for Piano and Orchestra was written for the celebrated Spanish pianist José Iturbi who gave its first performance in 1944. ‘The work, particularly the slow movement was influenced by my re-reading at that time of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Devil in the Belfry, and might be said to reflect something of the fantastic and sinister character of that story, though in no way being a literal depiction of it,’ wrote Goossens. The concerto was the outcome of a discussion between Iturbi and the composer over the lack of new piano concertos and especially on a smaller scale. The result is a four movement piano concerto in compressed sonata form. The solo part is more of a concertante than a display concerto, with a tendency to make the solo part an integral part of the orchestral texture. Goossens used the word ‘conversational’ to describe this relationship between soloist and orchestra. This premiere recording is coupled with the melodic and imaginative Symphony No.1. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is regarded as Goossens specialists and here perform with soloist Howard Shelley. “The performances make a feisty and persuasive case for both works, with Howard Shelley savouring the incisive brilliance of the Concerto's solo part. And in his last recording before his death last year, Richard Hickox extracts playing of serious energy from this fine Australian orchestra. Marvellously clear and comfortable SACD recorded sound, too.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 **** “As swansongs go, this striking coupling of two of Sir Eugene Goossens's meatiest large-scale offerings under the baton of the late Richard Hickox really is something to cherish. The epic First Symphony of 1938-40 has not lacked passionate advocacy on disc but Hickox is more realistically recorded than any and draws arguably the most finely groomed orchestral playing. No one coming to this ambitious canvas for the first time could fail to be struck by Hickox's excitingly committed and typically red-blooded handling of what is a most imposing and rewarding creation.
The Phantasy Concerto dates from 1942 and this would appear to be its first commercial recording.
Inspired in part by 'the fantastic and sinister character' of Edgar Allan Poe's The Devil in theBelfry and written for the Spanish pianist José Iturbi, it's an attractively spicy, densely plotted score in four linked movements lasting just over 25 minutes, in which the piano largely eschews ostentatious display in favour of a more concertante role ('conversational' was how Goossens described it). Howard Shelley is the fearless soloist and he receives alert support from Hickox and the Melbourne SO. Eminently truthful sound, too, with an astutely judged balance throughout.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “…no-one coming to this ambitious canvas for the first time could fail to be struck by Hickox's excitingly committed and typically red-blooded handling of what is a most imposing and rewarding creation. The Phantasy Concerto [Symphony No. 1]… it's an attractively spicy, densely plotted score in four linked movements lasting just over 25 minutes... Howard Shelley is the fearless soloist and he receives alert support from Hickox and the Melbourne SO.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009 “Richard Hickox's 282nd and last disc for Chandos, recorded in Melbourne last April, was intended as the start of a series devoted to the orchestral works of Eugene Goossens. That, like several other major recording projects, is now unlikely to continue, underlining again just what a loss to British music Hickox's shockingly sudden death in November has been. Goossens' music is almost totally neglected now, and the two pieces recorded here suggest that is a real shame. The Phantasy Concerto, completed in 1942 and recorded here for the first time, is the more striking piece, less garrulous than the First Symphony completed four years earlier, in which the ghost of Goossens' teacher Stanford is never totally exorcised. It adroitly integrates the solo piano into textures that make quite a few glancing references to modernism, with occasional reminders that Goossens had been in charge of the London concert premiere of The Rite of Spring in 1921, before his conducting career took him to the US. With Howard Shelley as the soloist, the performance has a glittery sheen; it's an attractive, likable work that deserves at least an occasional outing.” The Guardian, 20th February 2009 **** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Cyril Scott - Orchestral Works Volume 2
“Cyril Scott was born in 1879, the same year as Ireland and Bridge, and with CDs like this he can be heard alongside their contributions in both piano and orchestral music. The First Piano Concerto (the Second is on a previous Chandos CD) was premiered by the composer under Beecham in 1915, by which time Scott's reputation in Germany had taken a terminal blow. Lewis Foreman, in the CD booklet, remembers seeing Scott at his 90th birthday concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1969 when Moura Lympany played the concerto. Reviews were generally condescending – and wrong. This is a wonderfully inventive work, completely imagined in every detail: the core of this music, like that of Delius, is the present sensual moment. If the actual sound is seductive enough it satisfies the ear. Both Scott and Delius, like Messiaen, were fixated on chords decked in luxuriant orchestral textures.
The extraordinary thing about this CD is that both Early One Morning (1931) and the Fourth Symphony (1952) are not just first recordings but first performances, too. Scott, neglected to the point of ostracism, continued to compose when anyone else would have succumbed with clinical depression long before. As his psychic writings show, he was supported by higher powers.
The symphony, however courageous, is not as original as either of the piano concertos and the exuberant finale falls somewhere between Debussy's La mer and Ravel's Daphnis.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “The Scott revival gathers pace remarkably: two volumes of piano works from Leslie De'Ath… a volume of orchestral works… and now a second one from the same team of superb advocates. The First Piano Concerto… is a wonderfully inventive work, completely imagined in every detail.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2006 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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