Classic FM Album of the Week, Cramer Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 – Howard Shelley & London Mozart Players
We are delighted that our latest Hyperion Records CD – Cramer Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5, with the brilliant Howard Shelley, is Classic FM Album of the Week – ‘Howard Shelley brings Johann Baptist Cramer’s piano music to life with the London Mozart Players in this new recording. Cramer’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5. Of his eight piano concertos, these give Shelley the opportunity to show off some of his piano playing skills in intricate and expressive passages. This recording features not only a flawless performance by the soloist, but the London Mozart Players too.’
John Suchet will play an extract of the CD every morning at 10.15am on Classic FM – you’ll be enchanted.
Cramer is a little known composer now, but in his day he was thought a finer pianist than even Beethoven. We are delighted to bring his concertos to a wider audience; his music is fiendishly complex – full of embellishments and intricate figurations, and Howard brings all his virtuoso brilliance to the recording. But don’t take our word for it – here is the review from Gramophone …
‘It takes a special kind of pianist to make certain pieces sound better or more important than they actually are, and Shelley certainly knows how to sell Cramer. His inflections of phrase convey palpable tension and release, while long, sustained cantabiles unfold with vocally orientated modulation. Both as soloist and conductor, Shelley pays special attention to the timing and articulation of embellishments, ornaments and roulades, as borne out in the Fifth Concerto’s zesty main theme, plus the brass and timpani’s cutting brilliance.’ (Gramophone)
CD out on 28 June! Listen to excerpts and order the CD via the link below:
