Concert Variations upon an English Theme "Down Among the Dead Men" for piano & orchestra in C minor, Op. 71
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), known for his choral music if at all, was celebrated in his own time for instrumental music and opera as well. The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 126, recorded here earned him an invitation to conduct the work in the U.S., from non other than the dean of American musical academia, Yale professor and Charles Ives tormentor Horatio Parker. Stanford had to cancel, having booked seats on the Lusitania . At the time, a concerto modeled closely on Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, ...
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Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), known for his choral music if at all, was celebrated in his own time for instrumental music and opera as well. The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 126, recorded here earned him an invitation to conduct the work in the U.S., from non other than the dean of American musical academia, Yale professor and Charles Ives tormentor Horatio Parker. Stanford had to cancel, having booked seats on the Lusitania . At the time, a concerto modeled closely on Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, in the identical key of C minor, must have seemed a great idea on the theory that if some is good, more must be better. Later generations found the original item superior, but Stanford's concerto is worth a re-hearing in this beautifully executed version by Irish pianist Finghin Collins, who gave the work's belated BBC Proms premiere in 2008. He joins the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Montgomery in a performance that brings out the remarkable filigreed textures,...
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