HERZ : Piano Concerto No 1, Op 34 • Piano Concerto No 7, Op 207 • Piano Concerto No 8, Op 218 (Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) (2004) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 35 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Hyperion’s Record of the Month for June sees the thirty-fifth release in our award-winning Romantic Piano Concerto series, and three première recordings of concertos by Henri Herz.

Over the years Herz has had a very bad press, a situation begun through the writings of Robert Schumann and continued ever since, yet in his day—and this was primarily in the early part of his life—his music outsold all rivals, and his tours, particularly as the first major pianist to visit the USA, brought him huge success. This dichotomy is easily explained: Herz never tried to be a ‘great’ artist, though he was often judged against such criteria; he was an entertainer. Of course the concerto lends itself perfectly to this role and his eight concertos are full of charm, almost operatic melody and scintillating virtuosity, their model is Hummel, though in the later works Herz put less emphasis on virtuosity and more on lyricism. If we can accept that music need not be profound to be enjoyed we should welcome this revival of these works, the pop music of their time.

Needless to say Howard Shelley, who has made such exceptional recordings of the concertos of Hummel and Moscheles, is just the man for the job. He will follow up this recording with a second disc of Herz next year. Hyperion

Henri Herz (1803-1888)

Piano Concerto No 1 in A major Op 34 [25'46]

Piano Concerto No 7 in B minor Op 207 [17'50]

Piano Concerto No 8 in A flat major Op 218 [14'14]

Credits :
Orchestra – Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Howard Shelley

HERZ : Piano Concerto No 3, Op 87 • Piano Concerto No 4, Op 131 • Piano Concerto No 5, Op 180 (Howard Shelley • Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) (2006) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 40 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Of Heinrich "Henri" Herz, English musicologist George Grove once remarked: "Herz found out what the public liked and what would pay, and this he gave to them." In this, the second volume devoted the Herz's piano concertos in Hyperion's apparently endless The Romantic Piano Concerto series, English virtuoso Howard Shelley turns in performances of the Parisian, neé Viennese, composer's Third, Fourth, and Fifth works in the genre. Shelley certainly gives his considerable all to the works, tearing up and down the keyboard in the Allegros with dazzling runs, racing arpeggios, and flashing double octaves and soaring through the Andantes with a melting tone, a smooth legato, and a discreet pedal. Leading from the keyboard, Shelley also elicits first-class playing from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, which, with its strong strings, characterful winds, and powerful brass, sounds as fine as the best orchestras from the antipodes. As for the works themselves, imagine Chopin without genius, Liszt without wit, Moscheles without charm, and Thalberg without content and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. For fans of Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series, Shelley's Herz disc will be another unexpected find. For those whose interest in the genre extends no further than Grieg or Schumann, this disc may be of marginal interest. Hyperion's sound from the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart is not nearly as warm, as full, or as deep as the sound of recordings made in the northern hemisphere. James Leonard  

Henri Herz (1803-1888)

Piano Concerto No 3 In D Minor Op 87    (30:21)

Piano Concerto No 4 In E Major Op 131    (22:40)

Piano Concerto No 5 In F Minor Op 180    (15:59)

Credits :
Orchestra – Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Howard Shelley

HERZ : Piano Concerto No 2, Op 74 • Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op 30 • Fantaisie Et Variations Sur La Marche D'Otello De Rossini, Op 67 • Grande Fantaisie Militaire Sur La Fille Du Régiment, Op 163 (Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) (2015) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 66 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Austrian-French virtuoso Henri Herz has already appeared twice in the Hyperion label's giant series devoted to the Romantic piano concerto, and that's as it should be. Although Schumann disparaged Herz, he was a famous figure at the time, touring the world and even writing a book about his experiences in the U.S. (it's available in English for those who want to hunt for it). His eight piano concertos seem to absorb the structural tuition of Beethoven as they go along; the later ones are quite concise and elegantly developed. This third album is a bit less desirable, with the self-consciously Beethovenian Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 74, as the only piano concerto. There is nothing objectionable about any of the music here, but the rest of the album consists of opera paraphrase music that was primarily designed, in the absence of recordings, to transmit catchy melodies to audiences in a flashy package. As usual, pianist Howard Shelley, leading the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, enters into the spirit of the music, and the engineering in Hobart's Federation Concert Hall is very strong. James Manheim  
Tracklist :
Piano Concerto No 2 In C Minor Op 74    (22:24)
Composed By – Henri Herz

Grande Fantaisie Militaire Sur La Fille Du Régiment Op 163    12:55
Composed By – Henri Herz

Fantaisie Et Variations Sur La Marche D'Otello De Rossini Op 67    15:45
Composed By – Henri Herz

Grande Polonaise Brillante Op 30    14:02
Composed By – Henri Herz
Credits :
Leader – Jun Yi Ma
Orchestra – Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Howard Shelley

CLARA SCHUMANN : Piano Concerto in A minor ♦ HILLER : Konzertstück ♦ HERZ : Rondo de Concert ♦ KALKNEBRER : Le revê (Howard Shelley · Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) (2019) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 78 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

You might be surprised, given the growing interest in Clara Schumann's music, that Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series did not include her sole piano concerto before the 78th volume. In fact, the work is not often played; it is a student work, a product of the composer's 14th year, and it's rather uneven, with a finale that's longer than the first two movements put together. Clara accepted help on the orchestration from her boarder, not yet husband, Robert Schumann. But it thus marks the beginning of their creative partnership, and it's interesting in other ways as well. Pianist Howard Shelley, who also conducts the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, makes the best possible case for it by placing it in a program featuring virtuoso music by Ferdinand Hiller, Henri Herz, and Friedrich Kalkbrenner -- exactly the music Schumann would have heard in her daily piano lessons. Some of this turns out to be well worth retrieval from the scrap heap of history: sample Kalkbrenner's Le rêve, Op. 113, with its unabashedly splashy march conclusion. But what strikes one about the young Clara's concerto is that she took little from this music, even though she clearly already had the chops to play it. Instead she is reaching for large scope and unusual key relationships, even if it takes her until the finale to really hit her target. Shelley and his Tasmanians continue their impressive record of clean, differentiated performances of a great variety of Romantic works, and that variety is the key point here. James Manheim  
Tracklist :
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 7 (20:50)
Composed By – Clara Schumann

Konzertstück, Op. 113 (20:51)
Composed By – Ferdinand Hiller

Rondo de Concert, Op. 27 (11:25)
Composed By – Henri Herz

Le Rêve, Op. 113 (10:43)
Composed By – Friedrich Kalkbrenner
Credits :
Orchestra – Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Piano, Conductor – Howard Shelley