Read on to discover 7 neglected piano concertos that you really should hear...
Neglected piano concertos... Andrzej Panufnik Fantasia
Having initially written this as the first movement of his Piano Concerto, Andrzej Panufnik decided it was too difficult. So, he removed it from the concerto with the intention of turning it into a standalone work, which he never got around to doing. Then, a couple of years ago, Boosey made a new edition. The composer’s daughter Roxanna Panufnik got involved, and I gave the Polish premiere with the Poznán Philharmonic last November. It’s a gripping and dynamic work. Emotionally, it feels like you have been swept up and shot out of a cannon.
Amy Beach Piano Concerto
As pianists, we have top-of-the-pops concertos that get trotted out again and again; this work by Amy Beach deserves to be one of those. It’s in the late Romantic mould, closest to the Grieg, but with elements of Brahmsian intensity and all the hallmarks of the great Romantic bravura concertos. But it’s also very distinctive, with a folk element that adds an authenticity. It has a very incisive melodic style and, although I haven’t had a chance to perform it yet, it sounds like it would be wonderful fun to play.
Neglected piano concertos... Grażyna Bacewicz Piano Concerto
I feel an affinity for music of this 20th-century period, and Grażyna Bacewicz is a composer whose work I adore. This piano concerto sounds very representative of the Eastern European musical language of that time, providing a clear sense of who this composer is: vibrant, dramatic and colourful, with a harmonic style that verges on angular at times but also a sense of melodic immediacy. The third movement, for example, combines Polish folk tunes with Bacewicz’s distinctive harmonic approach to create a feeling of crazed, ecstatic abandon. You get the impression the composer had a real zest for life.
Doreen Carwithen Piano Concerto
With every piece that Doreen Carwithen writes, you feel that she’s in the room with you and has something exciting to say. Her Piano Concerto is no exception. While the second movement reminds me of The Lark Ascending, with an ornamented melodic line that floats over the harmonic backdrop, the outer movements are delineated in an energetic and dynamic way, with a very British, mid-20th-century feel. I’ve played this piece a few times and am always struck by its joie de vivre.
Neglected piano concertos... Michael Tippett Piano Concerto
From the first few seconds of listening to Michael Tippett's Piano Concerto, I was completely entranced: the opening movement unfolds with a gloriously ethereal theme that generates the sensation of being suspended in space. And that unearthly quality persists throughout the entire piece, which is filled with searching, long lines that sweep you up and carry you along; it almost feels as though you are being stretched out as the music progresses. This is an enormously complex work to fit with the orchestra, so working with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for my new recording was really exciting.
Hamilton Harty Piano Concerto
I think this piece would be a lot of fun to play. It sounds as though it was influenced by Irish folk music – especially in the third movement. But Hamilton Harty’s use of orchestral colour also reminds me of Tchaikovsky, characterised by that typically Russian sense of high saturation. Like several brilliant late-Romantic concertos, it completely engages the soloist on a physical level; as the pianist, you soar over these enormous textures. And for the listener, too, it’s hugely enjoyable, brimming with wonderful melodies.
Neglected piano concertos... Luise Adolpha Le Beau Piano Concerto
We’re now discovering a wealth of great music by women and composers of colour, proving that an unfamiliar name does not diminish the excellence of the work. That is certainly true of this concerto by the German composer Luise Adolpha Le Beau. In style, it is closest to Mendelssohn, with the same dramatic urgency, impassioned lyricism and mercurial lightness. But, because it’s a slightly later work, it has a late-Romantic heft. I would love to see it performed more frequently; a work of this depth needs multiple interpretations to uncover all the possibilities that it holds.
Who is Clare Hammond?
Since winning the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award in 2016, Clare Hammond has established herself as one of Britain’s most adventurous pianists. A graduate of Cambridge University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she has performed at leading concert halls across Europe and is renowned for her advocacy of contemporary music and Polish repertoire. She has recently released an album of concertos by British composers with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor George Vass on BIS.
