SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce the return of the acclaimed partnership of pianist ClÃ©lia Iruzun and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen with two colorful late-19th-century Romantic Piano Concertos from Brazil and France: Henrique Oswald's G minor Piano Concerto, Op.10 and the Fifth Piano Concerto in F major (Op.103) by Camille Saint-SaÃ«ns. Iruzun's Brazilian compatriot Henrique Oswald shared a long friendship with Camille Saint-SaÃ«ns based on mutual admiration for each other as composers and pianists. They occasionally performed together some of Saint-SaÃ«ns' music for two pianos in public recitals. Saint-SaÃ«ns' exotic Fifth Piano Concerto, the Egyptian, was composed during a North African holiday in 1896. Combining complex piano writing with a deft lightness of touch, it boasts a lyrical main theme (described by Saint-SaÃ«ns as "a Nubian love song"), hypnotic echoes of the gamelan and a finale bursting with virtuosity. Oswald's Piano Concerto was composed in Italy a decade before Saint-SaÃ«ns' Egyptian. With bravura passages recalling Saint-SaÃ«ns' Second Piano Concerto, it's richly Romantic vein carries allusions to FaurÃ© while brimming with Oswald's intriguing native Brazilian rhythms. Like Oswald, Alberto Nepomuceno was a Brazilian who studied in Europe, later succeeding him in a prestigious teaching position in Rio de Janeiro. Modelled on Grieg's Suite from Holberg's Time, his Suite Antiga (Suite in the Old Style) combines Baroque style and Romantic attitude with a bewitching savoir faire.

Tracklist:

Piano Concerto In G Minor, Op. 10: I. Allegro Un Poco Agitato
Piano Concerto In G Minor, Op. 10: II. Adagio
Piano Concerto In G Minor, Op. 10: III. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 5 In F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": I. Allegro Animato
Piano Concerto No. 5 In F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": II. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 5 In F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": III. Molto Allegro
Suite Antique, Op. 11: I. Prélude
Suite Antique, Op. 11: II. Menuet
Suite Antique, Op. 11: III. Air
Suite Antique, Op. 11: IV. Rigaudon

UPC: 748871327627
Label: Somm Recordings
Release Date: 8.21.20
Format: CD

Oswald / Iruzun / Steen - Piano Concerto (CD)