RHEINBERGER ♦ SCHOLZ : Piano Concertos (Simon Callaghan · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra · Ben Gernon) (2018) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 76 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Hyperion's ongoing Romantic Piano Concerto series reaches its 76th volume, with no sign of slowing down. The series as a whole has been invaluable in setting out the context in which listeners of the 19th century would have heard famous works, and this one sets the stage for how the Beethoven-Brahms axis persisted while facing competition from Liszt and lesser virtuosi. The models for these two works are the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, for Rheinberger's Piano Concerto in A flat major, Op. 94, and the Brahms Piano Concerto in B flat major, Op. 83, for the Piano Concerto in B major, Op. 57. Rheinberger's music is performed from time to time, but Scholz is all but unknown, and his concerto receives its recorded premiere here. It would be wrong to say that the work matches Brahms' intricate weaving of solo and tutti, but it does evoke it, and the notes by Bryce Morrison explain why this was important: The concertos that one thinks of today as the hits were not necessarily hits when they appeared, and those of Brahms and Tchaikovsky had plenty of detractors. Scholz was a champion of Brahms, and in his delicately lyrical slow movement he comes close to hitting the Brahms mark. Pianist Simon Callaghan is smooth in the Rheinberger, which is the more virtuosic of the two works, and he gets fine support from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ben Gernon, with Hyperion operating in the unspectacular but wholly appropriate sound environment of the Glasgow City Halls. Recommended. James Manheim  
Tracklist :
Piano Concerto In A Flat Major Op 94 (30:24)
Composed By – Josef Rheinberger

Piano Concerto In B Major Op 57 (28:50)
Composed By – Bernhard Scholz

Capriccio For Piano And Orchestra Op 35 12:01
Composed By – Bernhard Scholz
Credits :
Conductor – Ben Gernon
Orchestra – BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Piano – Simon Callaghan

JOSEPH RHEINBERGER : Complete Piano Trios (Trio Parnassus) (1992) 2CD / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

  This two-hour double-disc set of Joseph Rheinberger's complete piano trios is a hefty contribution to the rehabilitation of the composer's oeuvre, though it may be more than the average listener can appreciate in one sitting. Rheinberger's music is earnest and perhaps too heavy for some tastes, and it may even seem too stodgy and dryly theoretical. In his mature Romantic style, his reliance on Classical form, and his pensive expression, Rheinberger often resembles Brahms, though it must be said that he lacks Brahms' rhythmic ingenuity, contrapuntal dexterity, and emotional depth. The resemblances between them are really superficial, and listeners may find these four piano trios lackluster and frustratingly dull in comparison with Brahms' three certified masterpieces. Added to this set's problems are the foggy and overly lush playing by Trio Parnassus, and MDG's indistinct and excessively resonant sound quality. If violinist Wolf-Dieter Streicher, cellist Michael Gross, and pianist Chia Chou had played these pieces with more flexibility of tone and sharper characterizations, and if the label had recorded them in a hall with a dry acoustic, the results might have been palatable. Alas, getting through these murky recordings is a hard slog, and they are only recommended for the most serious-minded of Rheinberger's devotees. by Blair Sanderson 
Tracklist 1 :
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 34    
Piano Trio No. 2 in A major, Op. 112    
Tracklist 2 :
Piano Trio No. 3 in B flat major, Op. 121    
Piano Trio No. 4 in F major, Op. 191