Henselt & Bronsart: Piano Concertos (SACD)

After three solo recordings, virtuoso pianist Paul Wee presents two forgotten concertos from the Romantic period with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Michael Collins. Adolph von Henselt's Concerto in F minor was premiered by Clara Schumann under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn and eventually played by the greatest virtuosos of the 19th and 20th centuries. However, for some inexplicable reason, it has disappeared from the repertoire, despite its obvious qualities: soaring melodies and delicate lyricism, colorful orchestration, dramatic intensity in all three movements and a piano writing of astonishing ingenuity and brilliance. The familiarity between Henselt's concerto and some of Sergei Rachmaninov's works can be explained by the profound influence the German composer exerted on the Russian. Hans von Bronsart's Concerto in F sharp minor did not enjoy the same public acclaim, although it is by turns stirring, intimate and electrifying. The richness of its orchestration is complemented by an unusually brilliant piano part that is a prime example of practical virtuosity. It breathes late Romanticism and requires a soloist to unashamedly embrace its overheated Romantic language in order to get his passions going.