Various Artists: The Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto (1991-2007) CD Boxset
There are few rivals to match the dizzying ambition of Hyperon’s Romantic Piano Concerto series—in fact, few rivals in classical recording’s entire history. The ambition—to unearth, record and present the great romantic piano concertos of yesteryear—was vast, almost gothic in scale. The series runs to 235 works, 185 of them classified as piano concertos. For dedication, contributions to scholarship and enterprise it breaks all bounds. Now comes a chance for collectors to collect the whole series across two 50CD boxed sets.
SET 1: 1991 – 2007 EDITIONThis first set explores the earlier part of the series, from 1991 to 2007. This covers 130 works, 14 orchestras, 21 conductors, 19 pianists and 59 different composers. The booklet offers introductions from Sir Stephen Hough and Piers Lane, and newly commissioned essays from Andrew Keener (who produced half the series) and project progenitor Mike Spring, whose encyclopaedic knowledge of piano repertoire energised the entire series. The individual wallets offer up the original album artwork, track listings to the rear. The booklet includes newly compiled indexes of the entire series: by pianist and by composer.
CD 1 MOSZKOWSKI & PADEREWSKI
Piers Lane · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Jerzy Maksymiuk
CD 2 MEDTNER 2 & 3
Nikolai Demidenko · BBC Scottish SO / Jerzy Maksymiuk
CD 3 MENDELSSOHN DOUBLE CONCERTOS
Stephen Coombs, Ian Munro · BBC Scottish SO / Jerzy Maksymiuk
CD 4 ARENSKY & BORTKIEWICZ
Stephen Coombs · BBC Scottish SO / Jerzy Maksymiuk
CD 5 RIMSKY-KORSAKOV & BALAKIREV
Malcolm Binns · English Northern Phil / David Lloyd-Jones
CD 6 DOHNÁNYI
Martin Roscoe · BBC Scottish SO / Fedor Glushchenko
CD 7 HENSELT & ALKAN
Marc-André Hamelin · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 8 MEDTNER 1 & PIANO QUINTET / NEW BUDAPEST QUARTET
Dmitri Alexeev · BBC Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Lazarev
CD 9 D’ALBERT
Piers Lane · BBC Scottish SO / Alun Francis
CD 10 WEBER
Nikolai Demidenko · SCO / Sir Charles Mackerras
CD 11 SCHARWENKA 4 & SAUER 1
Sir Stephen Hough · CBSO / Lawrence Foster
CD 12 PARRY & STANFORD
Piers Lane · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 13 GLAZUNOV & GOEDICKE
Stephen Coombs · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 14 LITOLFF 2 & 4
Peter Donohoe · Bournemouth Symphony / Andrew Litton
CD 15 MASSENET & HAHN
Stephen Coombs · BBC Scottish SO / Jean-Yves Ossonce
CD 16 HUSS & SCHELLING
Ian Hobson BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 17 MENDELSSOHN
Sir Stephen Hough · CBSO / Lawrence Foster
CD 18 MARX & KORNGOLD
Marc-André Hamelin · BBC Scottish SO / Osmo Vänskä
CD 19 TOVEY & MACKENZIE
Steven Osborne · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 20 BRÜLL
Martin Roscoe · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 21 KULLAK & DREYSCHOCK
Piers Lane · BBC Scottish SO / Niklas Willén
CD 22 BUSONI
Marc-André Hamelin · CBSO / Sir Mark Elder
CD 23 HOLBROOKE & WOOD
Hamish Milne · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 24 VIANNA DA MOTTA
Artur Pizarro · Orquestra Gulbenkian / Martyn Brabbins
CD 25 MACDOWELL
Seta Tanyel · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 26 LITOLFF 3 & 5
Peter Donohoe · BBC Scottish SO / Andrew Litton
CD 27 & 28 SAINT-SAËNS
Sir Stephen Hough · CBSO / Sakari Oramo
CD 29 STOJOWSKI
Jonathan Plowright · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 30 MOSCHELES 2 & 3
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 31 LYAPUNOV
Hamish Milne · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 32 FUCHS & KIEL
Martin Roscoe · BBC Scottish SO / Martyn Brabbins
CD 33 MOSCHELES 1, 6 & 7
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 34 SCHARWENKA 2 & 3
Seta Tanyel · Radio Philharmonie Hannover / Tadeusz Strugała
CD 35 PIERNÉ
Stephen Coombs · BBC Scottish SO / Ronald Corp
CD 36 HERZ 1, 7 & 8
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 37 MOSCHELES 4 & 5
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 38 NÁPRAVNÍK & BLUMENFELD
Evgeny Soifertis · BBC Scottish SO / Alexander Titov
CD 39 SCHARWENKA 1 & RUBINSTEIN 4
Marc-André Hamelin · BBC Scottish SO / Michael Stern
CD 40 DELIUS & IRELAND
Piers Lane · Ulster Orchestra / David Lloyd-Jones
CD 41 HERZ 3, 4 & 5
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 42 KALKBRENNER 1 & 4
Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
CD 43 ALNÆS & SINDING
Piers Lane · Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Litton
CD 44 BENNETT 4 & BACHE
Howard Shelley · BBC Scottish SO
CD 45 CHOPIN 1 & 2
Nikolai Demidenko · Philharmonia Orchestra / Heinrich Schiff
CD 46 TCHAIKOVSKY 1 & SCRIABIN
Nikolai Demidenko · BBC Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Lazarev
CD 47 CHOPIN ORCHESTRAL WORKS
Garrick Ohlsson · Warsaw Philharmonic / Kazimierz Kord
CD 48 BRAHMS 2
Marc-André Hamelin · Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Litton
CD 49 & 50 RACHMANINOV 1–4
Sir Stephen Hough · Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Litton