The Romantic Piano Concerto 26 - Litolff - Hyperion: CDA67210 - CD or download

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Litolff's dauntingly ambitious structures accommodate every possible style, looking forwards and backwards Janus-style, yet reaching out in the strange almost Alkanesque oddity of the Fifth Concerto's... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 1st Jul 2001
Catalogue No: CDA67210
Label: Hyperion
Series: The Romantic Piano Concerto
Length: 65 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

October 2001

Editor's Choice

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Litolff: Concerto Symphonique No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 45

Work length30:47

$4.40

$6.00

$8.45

Peter Donohoe (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton

I. Maestoso

Track length11:03

$1.10

$1.50

$3.05

II. Presto

Track length5:35

$1.10

$1.50

$1.55

III. Andante

Track length6:33

$1.10

$1.50

$1.55

IV. Allegro vivace

Track length7:36

$1.10

$1.50

$2.30

Litolff: Concerto Symphonique No. 5 in C minor, Op. 123

Work length35:05

$4.40

$6.00

$8.45

Peter Donohoe (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton

I. Allegro maestoso

Track length14:43

$1.10

$1.50

$3.05

II. Largo

Track length6:27

$1.10

$1.50

$1.55

III. Intermède (Scherzo): Vivace

Track length4:46

$1.10

$1.50

$1.55

IV. Allegro

Track length9:09

$1.10

$1.50

$2.30

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This recording is the companion to Donohoe and Litton's earlier recording of Litolff's Concerto Symphoniques 2 & 4 (CDA66889) and completes our survey of the composer's works for piano and orchestra (Litolff's first concerto was never published and is lost). Both works owe the 'Symphonique' title to their four-movement structure (all Litolff's concertos contain a Scherzo in addition to the three conventional movements), and the importance of the orchestra in their thematic development. The Third Concerto was (along with the Fourth) the most popular in Litolff's lifetime and was written for performance in the Netherlands. It uses two popular Dutch melodies which no doubt explains it early success. The Fifth Concerto is the most obscure of the four extant works yet it is the most ambitious in scale with a particularly imposing orchestral exposition. Unfortunately by the time the work was composed (1867) Litolff had faded from the public eye and the work received few, if any, performances. It's Scherzo, obviously modelled on the equivalent 'hit' piece from the Fourth Concerto, has the potential to be almost as popular, though it's virtuosic leaping octave passages are likely to deter all but the most muscular of pianists.

Reviews

2010

Litolff's dauntingly ambitious structures accommodate every possible style, looking forwards and backwards Janus-style, yet reaching out in the strange almost Alkanesque oddity of the Fifth Concerto's last two movements towards a more personal and distinctive style. Admired by Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Berlioz (though with some telling reservations), Litolff enjoyed a hectic career which is mirrored in writing of a formidable intricacy. So even if claims that he was 'the English Liszt' and that his development sections are similar to late Beethoven seem far-fetched, the sheer energy and resource of Litolff's writing are absorbing. Few pianists could approach, let alone top, Peter Donohoe's blistering virtuosity in these works. His performances throughout are as rocksteady as they're dazzling, sweeping aside torrents of notes with both affection and authority. Hear him in the exultant whirl which opens the Third Concerto's finale, and you can only marvel at such unfaltering command, ideally complemented by Andrew Litton and the BBC Scottish orchestra.

The Romantic Piano Concerto 26 - Litolff

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