Le paroxysme de la passion dès l'intro, waouh ! Le 3 ème mouvement est phénoménal ❣️Quel compositeur, il est fantastique ❤️ J'adore tous ses concertos, on ne peut pas s'ennuyer et 👏 au pianiste virtuose ainsi qu'à l'orchestre. 🎶❤️❤️❤️🎶
I wonder why Scharwenka isn't better known? A magnificent piano concerto. Yes, I certainly hear Brahms and Chopin. An admirable performance. My thanks Olla-Vogala.
+Mari Christian Thank you, Mari. I guess Scharwenka fell into obscurity when modernity in music became popular, and pieces like this were suddenly considered old-fashioned... with only a few war-horses remaining in the standard piano literature, like Tchaikovsky's 1st PC. The Scharwenka 1st piano concerto has enjoyed about 3-4 recordings over the past decades, so he is becoming popular again, luckily. Be prepared for his 3rd and 4th PC tomorrow! :)
+Mari Christian Lack of time, and caution. Orchestras can only play a certain amount of hours per year, and play safe with the warhorses. Classical Music radio stations also tend to be conservative. My own opinion (not endorsed by my three cats >^..^
+ Harry Andruschak: As an old lady myself, I agree with all of your points. Sometimes I long to attend an opera but never quite make it. Yes TH-cam is a treasure--and my cat agrees!
There is a universe of superb exciting piano concertos, such as this one by Scharwenka, that we might never hear if it were not for olla-vogala. Thank you so much for posting.
Brilliant with beautiful parts. Nobody ever wrote a perfect concerto. But can we just sit back and enjoy the piece. I have performed several and I know more than 100. Many underperformed concerti
Stellar performance from Ponti. There's some real brutal stuff in here...Scharwenka sure enjoyed throwing double-note figures into already lightning-quick passages, huh?
Ponti got sort of a bad rap for flashy fingers but really a lot of that had to be the derision with which Scharwenka, Henselt and the other " High Romantics" were judged when Ponti was active. Even Raymond Lewenthal, who had enough clout to get a small " Romantic Revival" series at Columbia , late 1960s, just recorded the third movement. Stereo Review and High Fidelity, the two most popular classical magazines of the era, could be a bit snide at times about Rachmaninoff back then, into the mid-late 1970s. Times have changed and for the better in this instance! I well remember when it was announced that the full Ponti #2 would be coming out on Vox's " Candide" label. We fans of Romantic music, particularly those of us who sought esoterica, were so excited. I don't think there was a complete #2 on the market. If Vox's were $3.99 then Candide was $4.99. Big money ! Still, it was a budget price to Columbia/RCA's $5.99, and DG's $6.99, back then. Here's to Michael Ponti, fine pianist ahead of his time, and to good old Xaver as well !
Un'altra grande concerto di Scharwenka, affascinante per ricchezza tecnica ,melodica e virtuosismo.Ottima l'esecuzione di Ponti. Complimenti per questo inserimento,anche per le note sinottiche a corredo.
Œuvre sublime où l'on perçoit par instant l'ombre de Chopin ici aussi dans le caractère le plus noble du vrai Romantisme.tout aussi sublime la merveilleuse interprétation dont on voudrait souligner la magnifique Hauteur de vue dans ce qu'elle révèle de sensibilité dotée d'une imparable technique permettant la structuration des plans de l'œuvre comprise en son essence même à la fois riche et complet tel un miroir mystérieux qui nous ramène au monde merveilleux de notre enfance. Bien respectueusement et humblement. Bravo
When I hear the name I immediately think of Moszkowski who was a fellow student of his, that and Earl Wild recorded some of his music, who I am a huge fan of.
+scottbos68 Yes Wild made a fantastic recording of Scharwenka's 1st PC, which I wasn't able to use unfortunately (blocked by copyright in all countries...)
I meant to say that the process of following Wild'recordings is how became introduced to these great masters. I may be wrong but I think Wild was the first to record any of his music.
Raymond Lewenthal around then , too. What is so interesting , sitting here in 2020 , is that when I got to know this fine concerto in the early 1970s, it and alot of the other Romantic Revival compositions were still widely derided as cheap flashy fluffy. And Ponti himself came in for a lot of flak. A lot of mean reviews. He was supposedly " superficial", and so on. I remember the Life magazine (!) classical guy, writing of a Ponti recital or concert, something along the lines of " By the end of the afternoon one just wanted to put their head down and listen to ' Fur Elise'" . Even Rachmaninoff was still being labeled " saccharine", and " maudlin" , through the 1970s. But this recording ( originally on " Candide" - Moss Music Group imprint) has held up well. What a nice concerto, after all. And turns out Ponti had a ton of talent. So glad to listen to this today; Thank you for posting it.
All 4 Scharwenka concerti are well written. The difference is that the first 2 are full of healthy emotions while the 3rd and 4th are full of sick emotions!
I played this with my school orchestra. Sight read it 😂 A lot us just filler and fluff thirds sixth octaves etc standard technical fare but hardly musical or interesting
I admire this composer's technical proficiency, but the music for me is ''soulless'', meandering without any spiritual purpose, without ''heart''. The technical flourishes are impressive but artificial, somehow lacking 'meaning'. There are moments of inspired sensitivity, but they are just ''moments''.. If all ''great'' composers composed like this..classical music would already be totally dead. It's because the greats have greater 'depth' and 'mystery' that they can enchant the minds and souls of both musical savants and people totally new to classical music.
Most "great" composers (to me) are overrated, and composers like Scharwenka are just underexposed and of the same capacity. Just look at Liszt, expressive melodies but he's nothing but a showman on the piano and I couldn't care much for his music. I don't know how much you study these concertos, they are very technically demanding and have beautiful, lyrical, contrasting themes to all the technical stuff. Look at the Lento of the 4th concerto, soulless? I think not, it's not the music itself that is somewhat "soulless", it's the performance, as this performance is sub par... Overall though, Scharwenka is the most ideal mix of Romantic virtuosity and expression I have ever encountered, he even beats Chopin (only in virtuosity though).
@james mcimlaughingatyou, if you think liszt is a show off sucky composer you should get off of "liebestraum no 3 2 hour version." have you listened to late liszt? his pieces are probably more forward looking and expressive than Scharwenka's. and what about liszt's great b minor sonata. probably the most popular example of liszt not composing hard stuff for the sake of being hard. "Overall though, Scharwenka is the most ideal mix of Romantic virtuosity and expression I have ever encountered, he even beats Chopin (only in virtuosity though)." i couldn't help but laugh at that statement. chopin's sonata no 3 is harder than this. (both musically and technically.) i'd wager that his sonata no 2 is harder than this.
James Mclaughlin, there is a great deal more to Liszt than you seem to imagine. He is a character of great depth, and even basic familiarity with his biography and late output would prove that.
Sorry, I'm not feeling it. Nothing stands out pianistically in the writing. The harmonies are conventional. I feel that the compositional line is always sagging. I don't care for his octave writing. It's not electric. Those are the minuses. It's definitely quite listenable, with a rich sound. However, I believe this piece deserves its obscurity
That's the reason a lot of these composers fell to obscurity after their deaths. I mean, this piece was written in 1881? It sounds like it was written easily 30-40 years prior, since it's so Chopinesque. How progressive/innovative a composer is for their time period is one of the main factors that propel their posthumous fame; if Mozart had written his symphonies in 1920 he'd be a nobody.
Le paroxysme de la passion dès l'intro, waouh ! Le 3 ème mouvement est phénoménal ❣️Quel compositeur, il est fantastique ❤️ J'adore tous ses concertos, on ne peut pas s'ennuyer et 👏 au pianiste virtuose ainsi qu'à l'orchestre. 🎶❤️❤️❤️🎶
Entre Brahms et Rachmaninoff ce 2 e de Scharwenka est brillant et fougueux merveilleusement emmené par M Ponti dans les années 70 !
I wonder why Scharwenka isn't better known? A magnificent piano concerto. Yes, I certainly hear Brahms and Chopin. An admirable performance. My thanks Olla-Vogala.
+Mari Christian Thank you, Mari. I guess Scharwenka fell into obscurity when modernity in music became popular, and pieces like this were suddenly considered old-fashioned... with only a few war-horses remaining in the standard piano literature, like Tchaikovsky's 1st PC. The Scharwenka 1st piano concerto has enjoyed about 3-4 recordings over the past decades, so he is becoming popular again, luckily. Be prepared for his 3rd and 4th PC tomorrow! :)
I'm glad to hear because I think his work is anything but"old fashioned". The third movement is glorious with Mazurka- like touches.
+Mari Christian Lack of time, and caution. Orchestras can only play a certain amount of hours per year, and play safe with the warhorses. Classical Music radio stations also tend to be conservative. My own opinion (not endorsed by my three cats >^..^
+ Harry Andruschak: As an old lady myself, I agree with all of your points. Sometimes I long to attend an opera but never quite make it. Yes TH-cam is a treasure--and my cat agrees!
Cats are wise!!
Another wonderful piano concerto by Scharwenka ! Thank you so much ! 🌷🌷🌷(Netherlands)
There is a universe of superb exciting piano concertos, such as this one by Scharwenka, that we might never hear if it were not for olla-vogala. Thank you so much for posting.
Both Xaver and Philip Scharwenka have produced wonderful pieces. I highly recommend listening to them.
nice late classical work - bravo!
Glorious!!
A fabulous technique and a great performance.
Brilliant with beautiful parts. Nobody ever wrote a perfect concerto. But can we just sit back and enjoy the piece. I have performed several and I know more than 100. Many underperformed concerti
Joachim Raff piano concerto is the only perfect piano concerto. This one is stunning but the Raff concerto is the most genius concerto ever written.
@@SaintSaens0 a great concerto agree. O understand he helped Liszt in orchestration of some Liszt compositions
I've performed all four of his.
Stellar performance from Ponti. There's some real brutal stuff in here...Scharwenka sure enjoyed throwing double-note figures into already lightning-quick passages, huh?
Ponti got sort of a bad rap for flashy fingers but really a lot of that had to be the derision with which Scharwenka, Henselt and the other " High Romantics" were judged when Ponti was active. Even Raymond Lewenthal, who had enough clout to get a small " Romantic Revival" series at Columbia , late 1960s, just recorded the third movement. Stereo Review and High Fidelity, the two most popular classical magazines of the era, could be a bit snide at times about Rachmaninoff back then, into the mid-late 1970s. Times have changed and for the better in this instance!
I well remember when it was announced that the full Ponti #2 would be coming out on Vox's " Candide" label. We fans of Romantic music, particularly those of us who sought esoterica, were so excited. I don't think there was a complete #2 on the market.
If Vox's were $3.99 then Candide was $4.99. Big money ! Still, it was a budget price to Columbia/RCA's $5.99, and DG's $6.99, back then. Here's to Michael Ponti, fine pianist ahead of his time, and to good old Xaver as well !
Un'altra grande concerto di Scharwenka, affascinante per ricchezza tecnica ,melodica e virtuosismo.Ottima l'esecuzione di Ponti. Complimenti per questo inserimento,anche per le note sinottiche a corredo.
Fantastic music.
Should be known.
Œuvre sublime où l'on perçoit par instant l'ombre de Chopin ici aussi dans le caractère le plus noble du vrai Romantisme.tout aussi sublime la merveilleuse interprétation dont on voudrait souligner la magnifique Hauteur de vue dans ce qu'elle révèle de sensibilité dotée d'une imparable technique permettant la structuration des plans de l'œuvre comprise en son essence même à la fois riche et complet tel un miroir mystérieux qui nous ramène au monde merveilleux de notre enfance. Bien respectueusement et humblement. Bravo
Another great work, lost in an ocean or great works.
incredibly beautiful second movement. wow!
26:09 is so joyfully catchy
Bravo !!!!!!
Ponti!!!
Whereas most people cite the 3rd or 4th concerti are their favourite, I’ve always preferred this one. Not sure why.
This is my favourite one also. Can't help get back to this always. :)
When I hear the name I immediately think of Moszkowski who was a fellow student of his, that and Earl Wild recorded some of his music, who I am a huge fan of.
+scottbos68 Yes Wild made a fantastic recording of Scharwenka's 1st PC, which I wasn't able to use unfortunately (blocked by copyright in all countries...)
I meant to say that the process of following Wild'recordings is how became introduced to these great masters. I may be wrong but I think Wild was the first to record any of his music.
scottbos68
Yes Wild was at least the first to record Scharwenka's 1st PC.
There were slight cuts taken in the finale of the Wild performance.
Raymond Lewenthal around then , too.
What is so interesting , sitting here in 2020 , is that when I got to know this fine concerto in the early 1970s, it and alot of the other Romantic Revival compositions were still widely derided as cheap flashy fluffy. And Ponti himself came in for a lot of flak. A lot of mean reviews. He was supposedly " superficial", and so on. I remember the Life magazine (!) classical guy, writing of a Ponti recital or concert, something along the lines of " By the end of the afternoon one just wanted to put their head down and listen to ' Fur Elise'" .
Even Rachmaninoff was still being labeled " saccharine", and " maudlin" , through the 1970s.
But this recording ( originally on " Candide" - Moss Music Group imprint) has held up well. What a nice concerto, after all. And turns out Ponti had a ton of talent. So glad to listen to this today; Thank you for posting it.
Great orchestration
Brahmsian in flavor, my lips are still smacking 😊
This reminds me of mid-classical to early-romantic
I think this piece sounds like Chopin would live longer about 71 years old to compose a concerto.
Great work!!!
Oddly, there never seems to have been a published 2-piano score of this concerto.
Where might one find, the orchestral score of this concerto (mvm 1)
Концерт, кстати, шикарный. Мне прямо очень понравилось)
шикарный 🙏
Ponti!!
A starring role which lets the supporting roles play.
It was an unknown song, what a wonderful song!
Have you ever listened to such a good music?
A look back at Chopin and a forward look to Rachmaninoff
I like the 1st Conc., love this 2nd, but the 3rd and 4th leave enthusiasm to be desired.
Stick with 'em. You won't regret it .
All 4 Scharwenka concerti are well written. The difference is that the first 2 are full of healthy emotions while the 3rd and 4th are full of sick emotions!
"Sick," huh? Now I can't wait to hear them again!
Well, more minor key, darker, more dramatic, maybe ?? I think all 4 are excellent in their own way.
Yes!
25:53 27:39
6:03
This is the greatest concerto Beethoven could have written, but DIDN'T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I played this with my school orchestra. Sight read it 😂
A lot us just filler and fluff thirds sixth octaves etc standard technical fare but hardly musical or interesting
I admire this composer's technical proficiency, but the music for me is ''soulless'', meandering without any spiritual purpose, without ''heart''. The technical flourishes are impressive but artificial, somehow lacking 'meaning'. There are moments of inspired sensitivity, but they are just ''moments''.. If all ''great'' composers composed like this..classical music would already be totally dead. It's because the greats have greater 'depth' and 'mystery' that they can enchant the minds and souls of both musical savants and people totally new to classical music.
Sometimes the recording is the problem. Some people play like robots, some play with emotions.
Most "great" composers (to me) are overrated, and composers like Scharwenka are just underexposed and of the same capacity. Just look at Liszt, expressive melodies but he's nothing but a showman on the piano and I couldn't care much for his music. I don't know how much you study these concertos, they are very technically demanding and have beautiful, lyrical, contrasting themes to all the technical stuff. Look at the Lento of the 4th concerto, soulless? I think not, it's not the music itself that is somewhat "soulless", it's the performance, as this performance is sub par... Overall though, Scharwenka is the most ideal mix of Romantic virtuosity and expression I have ever encountered, he even beats Chopin (only in virtuosity though).
Eh, I think this is pretty good music.
@james mcimlaughingatyou, if you think liszt is a show off sucky composer you should get off of "liebestraum no 3 2 hour version." have you listened to late liszt? his pieces are probably more forward looking and expressive than Scharwenka's. and what about liszt's great b minor sonata. probably the most popular example of liszt not composing hard stuff for the sake of being hard. "Overall though, Scharwenka is the most ideal mix of Romantic virtuosity and expression I have ever encountered, he even beats Chopin (only in virtuosity though)." i couldn't help but laugh at that statement. chopin's sonata no 3 is harder than this. (both musically and technically.) i'd wager that his sonata no 2 is harder than this.
James Mclaughlin, there is a great deal more to Liszt than you seem to imagine. He is a character of great depth, and even basic familiarity with his biography and late output would prove that.
Sorry, I'm not feeling it. Nothing stands out pianistically in the writing. The harmonies are conventional. I feel that the compositional line is always sagging. I don't care for his octave writing. It's not electric. Those are the minuses. It's definitely quite listenable, with a rich sound. However, I believe this piece deserves its obscurity
Poor you
And you have which level of education in music theory exactly?
Agree, between the soaring high points and some wonderful melodies there is too much uninspired filler.
But I do enjoy listening to this concerto
That's the reason a lot of these composers fell to obscurity after their deaths. I mean, this piece was written in 1881? It sounds like it was written easily 30-40 years prior, since it's so Chopinesque. How progressive/innovative a composer is for their time period is one of the main factors that propel their posthumous fame; if Mozart had written his symphonies in 1920 he'd be a nobody.
3:19