Moscheles: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5; Recollections of Ireland

Moscheles: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5; Recollections of Ireland | Ignaz Moscheles, Howard Shelley, ... | Another Gem In The Series

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Moscheles: Piano C...

	Moscheles: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5; Recollections of Ireland Ignaz Moscheles, Howard Shelley, ... Hyperion UK, 2005 average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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URBANE

Moscheles was a contemporary of Weber and Schubert who outlived Berlioz. Among his pupils was Mendelssohn, but his concertos here are still to Mozart's full-scale plan in their first movements before Mendelssohn introduced his simplifications. The liner-note seems to me right in seeing the influence of the 4th concerto on Chopin's E minor, and you can hear the same kind of piano-writing again in the Fantasia from the Recollections of Ireland suite.

Otherwise you won't find anything startling or radical here, although there are no cadenzas in the concertos. The musical personality that comes across is outgoing and pleasant, and the inspiration seems to me genuine if not exactly a thing of wonder. Everything is polished and professional. There may be a suggestion of Weber here and there in the orchestral scoring, but the piano writing doesn't recall Weber to me, nor Beethoven come to that, and I'm quite ready to believe that Moscheles had something original of his own to contribute to 19th century music in that respect. The concertos make no demands on the listener, and none on today's players either, but it would be a little unfair to call them lightweight, although the concluding rondo of the 4th features The British Grenadiers. As a filler there is also a 4-movement suite Recollections of Ireland based on Irish melodies such as the one we now usually know as The Last Rose of Summer. This is popular in style without being tawdry or cheap, and there is an entertaining account in the liner-note of a performance that the composer failed to give to a badly-behaved London audience in 1826. Moscheles was not exactly pleased, but he handled the situation with ingenuity. He was probably grateful even to be alive - his diary records a terrifying crossing from Holyhead to Dublin for the visit that these Recollections recollect, and there is no reason to think his fears exaggerated - in my lifetime a modern steamer was sunk by a storm in those waters while attempting the short crossing from Stranraer to Larne.

I hope it will be taken as the intended compliment if I say that the performances are characterised by tact and sense of proportion. This is not meant as faint praise but to indicate good judgment and perfect taste in the way the performers go about the works. The technical demands of the solo part are nothing to Howard Shelley, or he makes them sound to be nothing to him. His touch seems to me to have the exactly right weight, and he communicates a real affection for the music, something it well deserves - I am fond of the pieces already. They felt there was no role for a separate conductor and the result suggests they were right about that. Mozart used to direct from the keyboard, so do certain other moderns, and you might be surprised to learn (I was) that even Michelangeli did things this way at times.

The recorded quality is admirable. Whether I have been quite motivated to collect the companion discs in this series I'm not sure, but I commend this one wholeheartedly.

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Another Gem In The Series

With this release, Hyperion has completed its recordings of the Moscheles Piano Concerti, save for #8 (of which only the piano part exists.) As with the two previous releases, this disc is a delight.

Moscheles was one of the top virtuosi of his era, and his writing for piano in these works shows it. While the style is of the virtuoso, this music is far from mere glitter over substance. The final movement of Concerto #4 has 'The British Grenadiers' as the subject for a rondo. Even if you can't place the name of this tune, chances are you'll recognize it when you hear it.

Concerto #5 is more than a good listen, with a brilliant piano part. 'Reflections of Ireland' is a piece Moscheles wrote for his tour of Ireland that incorporates Irish melodies. You'll recognize one of these melodies for sure too!

The Tamanian Symphony Orchestra sounds very good, and the pianist Howard Shelley plays these pieces with grace, wit, pearly tone and conviction. All the more remarkable when it's discovered that he conducted the orchestra from the keyboard also!

Well done! Highly recommended!

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