Two more little known mid-nineteenth century (give or take)
concertos make their appearance in Hyperion’s exhaustive Romantic
Piano Concerto series. We are now up to volume 52. When it finishes
will we have a slimline collected edition? There’s a thought
for pianophiles.
Until we do, a few words about the two composers. Goetz was
born in Königsberg in 1840, the son of a brewer. One of his
teachers was von Bülow, he met Raff and had a so-so acquaintanceship
with Brahms. He wrote an impressive Piano Quartet, a Beethovenian
symphony, was praised by Bernard Shaw, and died a typically
Romantic death: TB at not quite 36. Lublin-born Wieniawski was
the younger brother of the more famous Henryk. He took some
lessons from Liszt, began a burgeoning career as a pianist,
moved to Moscow in 1866, and a decade later to Warsaw. Eventually
he moved to Brussels. He died in 1912. Inevitably he left behind
a considerably longer work-list than the short-lived Goetz,
one of which is the Piano Concerto heard here.
Both concertos are certainly well worth reviving. Goetz’s work
is the lengthier, cast in a conventional three movements, and
written in 1867, though the cadenza was to appear only later,
in 1873. After an arresting horn statement the piano pitches
straight in with elegant, conversational, rather Schumannesque
declamation. The slow movement is lyrical, lightly but pertinently
orchestrated; and again the horns have a strong role to play,
their statuesque presence encouraging the soloist to weave dextrous
patterns around them. When the grand tune is finally unleashed,
chordally on the piano (it’s about 8:50) it’s marvellously eloquent
and uplifting, and caused this reviewer to replay it several
times on the spot. Just gorgeous. After the slow introduction
to the finale we have some ebullient passages, again rather
Schumann-orientated but also – though Christopher Fifield’s
notes don’t mention it – surely also an explicit nod to Mendelssohn.
In any case, it ends an engaging work, played with great sensitivity
and panache by Hamish Milne. You may have come across Michel
Ponti’s 1973 recording with the Luxemburg Radio and TV Symphony
under Pierre Cao [Vox
box CDX5068, released in 1992]. This was recorded at around
the same time and place that fiddler Aaron Rosand was doing
similarly good things for rare violin literature.
Wieniawski’s concerto was written around a decade earlier than
Goetz’s. It too has a brief introduction and then the soloist
piles in and continues piling in, almost without respite, until
the very end. Clearly he was a remarkably agile player, and
there’s plenty of virtuosity and panache to be heard. Some of
the first movement writing is quite gruff, but a lot is stormy,
with a commanding cadenza. Rather like the Goetz, Schumannesque
elements infiltrate the writing, perhaps most notably in the
central movement where decorative lyricism is to the fore. The
finale is full of more unremitting work for the pianist. Knowingly
written though it may be, it’s the Goetz that leaves the bigger
impression.
Hamish Milne is teamed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
and Michal Dworzynski. The recorded sound is fine, neither spotlighting
nor over-inflating. If you take a chance on the Goetz, the better
work, you’ll be rewarded with the virtuosic claims of the Wieniawski.
Jonathan Woolf
Hyperion
Romantic Piano Concertos review pages
Hamish Milne (piano) 
