Field: Piano Concerto No. 6 in C major, H49

John Field, inventor of the Nocturne. That is all most people know about this remarkable and influential Irish composer. Born in 1782 in Dublin, he became one of the most celebrated pianist-composers of the early-Romantic age. Admired by his contemporaries Hummel, Moscheles and Kalkbrenner, he also drew praise from Chopin (upon whose music he exerted a huge influence) and Schumann. ‘Discovered’ by Clementi in London in 1794, he was given a thorough musical education by the great Italian master, who quickly recognised the 11-year-old’s talent. Moving in circles that included J.B. Cramer, Dussek and Gyrowetz, he performed before Joseph Haydn in London. In 1799 he premiered his Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat to huge acclaim, and followed it quickly with the three piano sonatas Op.1. Clementi and Field left London in 1802 for an extended European tour, to include Vienna and St Petersburg.

The kindly Clementi arranged for Field to study with Albrechstberger, who had taught the young Beethoven. In 1803, in St Petersburg, the two men went their separate ways, Field having become the darling of the Russian aristocracy. ‘Not to have heard Field was regarded as a sin against art and good taste’said one commentator about the ‘Field fever’ that was sweeping the salons. His seven concertos contain some of his most strikingly original and beautiful ideas. Notable is the central slow nocturne section in the first movement of No.7 (praised by Schumann), and the storm sequence in No.5, complete with gong, bell, tam tam, trombone and a second piano. The Second Concerto remained in the repertoire of the great virtuosi Pachmann, Mark Hambourg, Nikolai Rubinstein and von Bulow. Chopin and Clara Schumann taught it. It remains one of the most influential and effective early-Romantic piano concertos, and the blueprint for Chopin’s two concertos.

The popular and critically admired Chandos recordings of John Field’s expressive cycle of Piano Concertos are brought together for the first time as a limited edition 4-CD set and released at the price of only 2 CDs.

A major forerunner of the Romantic school of pianism that culminated in Chopin, Dublin-born pianist and composer John Field had scarcely received his due until Chandos released the performances of the Piano Concertos by fellow countryman, Miceal O’Rourke.

30 CD + 1 CD ROM - CD-ROM contains notes on artists and concertos.

For anyone who loves the piano concerto, this 30CD set is a must-have. Containing the complete Beethoven cycle recorded by Brendel in the 1960s for Vox, the set also includes Tacchino’s pioneering set for the same label of the five Saint-Saëns concertos, and the complete Rachmaninoff concertos performed by Lugansky and Lill.

‘This performance gave me real pleasure. Brendel plays with a mixture of heart and head that is most satisfying, to which he adds countless touches of pianism that delight. He constantly throws light on the music by an interpretation that is clearly born of much thought about it and a deep understanding. The firstmovement is virile, the slow movement is most beautiful (I cannot imagine the solo opening better judged or more sympathetically played) and the finale goes at just the right speed, jaunty and pointed.’ Gramophone review, Brendel, Beethoven Concerto No.3

The 18th century is the starting point for this fabulous journey through the development of the piano concerto – Haydn’s delectable concertos and all Mozart’s 27, including the first four concertos. Kissin’s Tchaikovsky No.1 and Prokofiev No.3 can also be found here as well as his recording at the age of 12 of the two Chopin concertos, alongside rarities such as Field’s Concertos 5 & 6, and Weber’s three underrated concertos. Mendelssohn’s two brilliant concertos, the two huge masterworks by Brahms, Dvorák’s elusive G major Concerto with its beautiful slow movement, and the evergreen Schumann and Grieg ensure that this set will provide endless pleasure for the enthusiast.