The very idea of undertaking Darius Milhaud: Complete Piano Concertos as a single unit is a daunting one, as Milhaud's work for the combination of piano and orchestra encompasses an extremely broad range of styles, from Milhaud's frothiest neo-Classical concoctions to his densest, most experimental vein. Conductor/composer Alun Francis, nonetheless, has scored with the comprehensive treatment as applied to Milhaud's variegated oeuvre before, picking up a Cannes Classical Award at MIDEM in 2000 for his set of complete ...
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The very idea of undertaking Darius Milhaud: Complete Piano Concertos as a single unit is a daunting one, as Milhaud's work for the combination of piano and orchestra encompasses an extremely broad range of styles, from Milhaud's frothiest neo-Classical concoctions to his densest, most experimental vein. Conductor/composer Alun Francis, nonetheless, has scored with the comprehensive treatment as applied to Milhaud's variegated oeuvre before, picking up a Cannes Classical Award at MIDEM in 2000 for his set of complete symphonies of Milhaud. This two-disc set is a more modest proposition, featuring pianist Michael Korstick in all of Milhaud's piano and orchestra works except the Suite Concertante (1947), an arrangement of Milhaud's Marimba & Vibraphone Concerto that like much of his work remains to be recorded.If there's an argument to be made for further exploring the uninvestigated side of Milhaud's extensive output, CPO's Darius Milhaud: Complete Piano Concertos makes it pretty effectively, as...
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