Browsers may be surprised to see six works listed on a single CD here, but that is part of the great charm of the album. These are not just British piano concertos but concertos of a specific type, written in the middle 20th century for reduced forces and designed to be performed at special occasions or in student settings. The pieces are all brief, and the composers had to say what they wanted to say concisely. Almost all of these works were forgotten soon after they had served their purposes; all but one here receive ...
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Browsers may be surprised to see six works listed on a single CD here, but that is part of the great charm of the album. These are not just British piano concertos but concertos of a specific type, written in the middle 20th century for reduced forces and designed to be performed at special occasions or in student settings. The pieces are all brief, and the composers had to say what they wanted to say concisely. Almost all of these works were forgotten soon after they had served their purposes; all but one here receive their world premieres, and the exception, the Concertino for piano and orchestra of Arthur Benjamin, has just one recording, from 1959. That work has a slow movement labeled Andante poco Lento, con il sentiment ed il tempo d'un Blues; Benjamin didn't understand the blues as well as Ravel did, but it's an entirely novel piece. Most of the music is sprightly neoclassicism and a great deal of fun. The Concertino for piano and string orchestra of Elizabeth Maconchy -- her second from 1949 --...
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Add this copy of British Piano Concertos to cart. $19.34, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Lyrita.
