Martin Helmchen plays Schumann & Dvorak

Welcome to ‘Dodd’s DSD Discoveries’, a review series from NativeDSD Senior Music Reviewer Bill Dodd. This series focuses on Bill’s latest selections, with new reviews regularly.

This is an excellent example of why I do these “discoveries.” This set has been around for a while, but it sounds as fresh as anything released last week! Pianist Martin Helmchen, and Mark Albrecht conducting the Orchestre Philharmique de Strasbourg, have captured my heart in these two works.

The Piano Concerto in A minor was Robert Schumann’s only Piano Concerto. It was premiered by Clara Schumann in 1855, and is often performed and recorded. It’s bright, tuneful, and never bogs down trying to be “monumental.” Martin Helmchen‘s shaping of musical phrases and his light touch make him an excellent advocate for this concerto.

Dvorak’s one Piano Concerto is unlike most Romantic concertos in that he tends to blend the piano in with the orchestra, rather than standing apart from it. The concerto was premiered in 1878. While admired for its melodic richness, the piano writing was considered somewhat awkward, leading Czech pianist Vilém Kurz to revise the solo part extensively. Martin Helmchen sticks to the Dvorak original for the most part, but uses a few of Kurz’ revisions for inspiration to create a whole that works very well.

Mark Albrecht conducts the Orchestre Philharmique de Strasbourg marvelously, and the recording quality is absolutely first-class. All in all, these are very fine performances!

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