SOLOMON - Icon : The Master Pianist Plays Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Grieg, Schumann, Liszt, Scriabin (2008) 7CD / MONO / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Solomon Cutner, known professionally by his first name, was the great English pianist whose severe stroke in 1956 cut short his career in its prime and just at the point where monaural was giving way to stereo sound. With the change in technology, Solomon's discography became instantly dated and, unfortunately, his performances quickly became underrated. This seven-disc set from EMI presents a well-rounded collection of the pianist's finest performances. Even with three of the discs here devoted to Beethoven, the range of Solomon's repertoire is immediately apparent. Here was a pianist who could play Scriabin as well as Mozart and Bliss as well as Brahms. Solomon's technique was adept if not always entirely impeccable, his style was immensely concentrated but wholly objective, and his interpretations were less dramatic and structural than lyrical and sculptural. Some may find his take on Tchaikovsky's concerto too dry-eyed, but few are likely to fault the crystalline clarity of his Mozart or the heroic lucidity of his Beethoven. Even today, Solomon's "Hammerklavier" and "Waldstein" sonatas remain models of transparency and his "Emperor" concerto has a nobility that few others can equal. Though for those unfamiliar with Solomon, seven discs may at first seem a lot, listening to them will likely increase their interest in hearing more from this unjustly neglected master. by James Leonard
CD1 BEETHOVEN
1-3 Piano Concerto Nº5 'Emperor'
4-6 Piano Concerto Nº3
CD2 GRIEG
1-3 Piano Concerto
    SCHUMANN
4-6 Piano Concerto
    BEETHOVEN
7-8 Piano Sonata Nº27
CD3 BEETHOVEN
1-3 Piano Sonata Nº8 'Pathétique'
4-6 Piano Sonata Nº14 'Moonlight'
7-8 Piano Sonata Nº21 'Waldstein'
9-11 Piano Sonata Nº26 'Les Adieux'
CD4 BEETHOVEN
1-3 Piano Sonata Nº23 'Apassionata'
4-7 Piano Sonata N°29 'Hammerklavier'
CD5 BRAHMS
1-4 Piano Concerto Nº2
    TCHAIKOVSKY
5-7 Piano Concerto Nº1
CD6 D. SCARLATTI
1   Sonata in F L384
    J.S. BACH / BUSONI
2   Cantata BWV140 'Wachet auf'
    MOZART
3-5 Piano Sonata Nº11 K331
6-8 Piano Sonata Nº17 K576
9-11 Piano Sonata Nº24 K491
CD7 LISZT
1   Hungarian Fantasia
    SCRIABIN
2-4 Piano Concerto
    BLISS
7-7 Piano Concerto
Credits :
Soloman - Piano
Conductor – Herbert Menges (pistas: 1-1 to 2-6), Issay Dobrowen (pistas: 5-1 to 5-7, 7-2 to 7-4), Sir Adrian Boult (pistas: 7-5 to 7-7), Walter Susskind (pistas: 6-9 to 6-11)
Orchestra – Philharmonia Orchestra (pistas: 1-1 to 2-6, 5-1 to 5-7, 6-9 to 7-4), Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (pistas: 7-5 to 7-7)

RUBBRA ♦ BAX ♦ BLISS : Piano Concertos (Piers Lane • The Orchestra Now • Leon Botstein) (2020) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 81 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

The Hyperion label's Romantic Piano Concerto series here reaches its 81st volume. If there's any sign of a diminution, it's that one of the present works was written in 1938 and the other in 1955, neither date conventionally placed in the Romantic era. Yet the two main attractions here can indubitably be described as Romantic, and both are entirely distinctive pieces well worth a revival; neither is commonly heard, even in Britain. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in G, Op. 85 (the lack of designation of major or minor is perhaps intentional), of Edmund Rubbra, is the later of the two works. The work was dedicated to Indian sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, an influence audible from the beginning of the work (beautifully handled here by pianist Piers Lane and the Orchestra Now under Leon Botstein) and elegantly integrated into concerto form. It's also very much the work of a symphonist, which was Rubbra's primary métier; the piano is sometimes a soloist, sometimes an element of orchestral color. The slow movement is a lovely nocturne. The Piano Concerto in B flat major, Op. 58, of Arthur Bliss, was composed for the 1939 New York World's Fair and dedicated to the American people. Perhaps this circumstance brought forth an unusually broad musical language from the once-modernist Bliss, who remarked, "Surely the Americans are at heart the most romantic in the world." The finale is an energetic and technically challenging romp that lives up to Bliss's stated ambition to produce a British "Emperor" Concerto. All of the musicians approach the music with freshness and commitment, and the whole project is of interest far beyond the usual circles of Romantic music specialists and enthusiasts. James Manheim  
Tracklist :
Piano Concerto In G, Op. 85 (29:54)
Composed By – Edmund Rubbra
Morning Song 'Maytime In Sussex' 7:38
Composed By – Arnold Bax
Piano Concerto In B Flat Major (39:54)
Composed By – Arthur Bliss
Credits :
Conductor – Leon Botstein
Piano – Piers Lane