Recorded live at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2024, this release pairs two of Saint-Saëns’s most distinctive piano concertos. The Second, dashed off in just seventeen days for its 1868 premiere under Anton Rubinstein, opens with a Bach-inspired solo said to draw on a discarded Fauré motet, before moving through a glittering scherzo and a propulsive tarantella finale. The Fifth, “The Egyptian,” dates from decades later — its final two movements composed during Saint-Saëns’s winter in Egypt in 1895–96, complete with croaking-frog textures and a Nubian boatmen’s song folded into the slow movement, and a finale the composer described as capturing “the joy of a sea crossing.”

Simon Trpčeski, celebrated for his virtuosity and stage presence, continues his acclaimed partnership history with major orchestras here alongside the RSNO and Thomas Søndergård, bringing clarity and color to two works written 28 years apart yet united by Saint-Saëns’s lifelong wit, architectural balance, and pianistic flair.

Simon Trpčeski – piano
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård – conductor