French Piano Concertos (1994)

CD1
François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834)
Piano Concerto in F Major (19:42)
1. Allegro
2. Pastorale con variazioni

Martin Galling, piano
Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Robert Wagner

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Piano Concerto (1903) (30:05)
3. Andante moderato
4. Largo
5. Airs slovaques, Allegro

Marylene Dosse, piano
Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Siegfried Landau

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Piano Concerto in C Minor, Op.12 (1887) (20:07)
6. Allegro
7. Scherzando
8. Final

Marylene Dosse, piano
Stuttgart Philharmonic
Conductor: Matthis Kuntzsch

CD2
Edouard Lalo (1823-1892)
Piano Concerto in F-minor (25:07)
1. Lento, Allegro
2. Lento
3. Allegro

Marylene Dosse, piano
Stuttgart Philharmonic
Conductor: Matthis Kuntzsch

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
4. Concertstück for Piano & Orchestra (1908) (15:39)

Rosario Marciano, piano
Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg
Conductor: Louis de Froment

Albert Roussel (1869-1937)
Piano Concerto, Op.36 (1927) (17:04)
5. Allegro molto
6. Adagio
7. Allegro con spirit

Maria Littauer, piano
Hamburg Symphony
Conductor: Alois Springer

Jean Françaix (1912- 1997)
Piano Concerto (1936) (17:26)
8. Without title
9. Andante
10. Without title
11. Allegro

Claude Paillard-Francaix, piano
Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg
Conductor: Jean Francaix

Yes, there are better performances of most of these works out there somewhere. But this is the only place where you will get all of these great, stylistically-similar works all in one convenient, INEXPENSIVE package. Buy it.

When I was just beginning to amass my extensive classical music library about 12 years ago, this is one of those hidden gems I happened to find in a bargain bin. The Massenet and Chaminade concertos are fairly well-known pieces, and admirably represented here; very beautiful, lush pieces in the Romantic style. Pierne and Lalo, though fairly familiar composers, are not typically known for these concertos. That's a shame - these are GREAT compositions, similar in style to the Massenet and Chaminade (though the recording of the Pierne is admittedly somewhat muddy).

The Roussel and Francaix works are a bit more modern, of course, but very melodic and interesting, and well-played and recorded. The Boieldieu is a shorter, more Classical piece.

But the real deal here is the fantastic booklet that comes with the CDs, with in-depth notes that include the history of the composers, and extensive overviews of their important works. For someone like me who likes to mine deeper into the catalog of certain composers that interest me, these notes were essential in my acquisition of and appreciation for so much more music. ---Squire Jaco, amazon.com

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