Hyperion releases two-disc set of Tchaikovsky piano concertos,
featuring Minnesota Orchestra and Stephen Hough
CDs include Tchaikovsky’s three piano concertos and
Concert Fantasia, recorded live in concert in 2009; Osmo Vänskä
conducts Album available April 1 in stores and at
minnesotaorchestra.org
(March 23, 2010) -- The British record label Hyperion has
released a two-CD set of Tchaikovsky’s complete
piano-and-orchestra works—three piano concertos and the Concert
Fantasia—performed by Grammy Award-nominees Stephen Hough, the
Minnesota Orchestra and conductor Osmo Vänskä. The album, the
50th release in Hyperion’s acclaimed Romantic Piano Concerto
series, was recorded live in concert at Minneapolis’ Orchestra
Hall in spring and fall 2009. The CDs will be available April 1
in stores and online at minnesotaorchestra.org
and hyperion-records.co.uk, and will also be
available as a download on major internet music sites.
Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra have earned high praise
for their previous recording projects together, including a
five-CD Beethoven symphony cycle with Swedish-based BIS. The
Tchaikovsky recording is the ensemble’s first live recording
project under Vänskä, as well as its inaugural collaboration
with Hyperion. Pianist Hough is a prolific Hyperion recording
artist, having made 28 previous albums with the label.
In addition to the three piano concertos and Concert
Fantasia, the set includes Hough’s solo piano arrangement of two
brief Tchaikovsky works, as well as two alternative versions of
the second movement of Piano Concerto No. 2, in editions by
Hough and Tchaikovsky pupil Alexander Siloti.
A warhorse and three lesser-known masterpieces
Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is among the most popular
works in the genre: the lush opening melody and its crashing
accompanying piano chords encapsulate the Romantic spirit. Its
two successors and the Concert Fantasia are less often
performed, but are masterworks in their own right, offering
plentiful color and virtuosity. The Second includes an
intriguing hint of a Triple Concerto in its middle movement,
while the Third is a fascinating one-movement vestige of an
unfinished symphony. The Concert Fantasia is built around a
huge piano cadenza, with a concluding movement full of contrasts.
The collaborators: Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä,
Stephen Hough and Hyperion Records
Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota
Orchestra is recognized as one of America’s leading
orchestras. Founded in 1903, it performs nearly 175 concerts
each year, with 400,000 attending, and reaches more than 85,000
music lovers annually through its education programs. The
Orchestra is heard through an award-winning series of weekly
radio broadcasts produced by Minnesota Public Radio, with many
concerts subsequently heard on American Public Media’s national
programs, SymphonyCast and Performance Today;
through a six-concert BBC Radio Performance on 3 series
during the 2009-10 season; and through its many recordings
dating to the 1920s.
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä became the Minnesota
Orchestra’s tenth music director in 2003. During his Minnesota
tenure he has led the Orchestra on three European
tours—including the ensemble’s debut at such prominent music
festivals as the BBC Proms and Edinburgh Festival—as well as
three tours to communities across Minnesota. In addition to
these Tchaikovsky discs, his recording projects with the
Orchestra have included a complete Beethoven symphonies cycle
and, now in progress, the Beethoven piano concertos with soloist
Yevgeny Sudbin. As guest conductor, he has led all the major
American and European orchestras. For two decades he was music
director of Finland’s Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
British pianist Stephen Hough approaches music with
both intellectual rigor and virtuosic technique.
A four-time Grammy nominee, he regularly appears with top
orchestras in North America and Europe and plays recitals in
leading venues worldwide. Also active as a composer, he
recently wrote a string sextet for an exhibition at London’s
National Gallery. In 2001 he was awarded the MacArthur
Fellowship, also known as the “genius grant.” In 2008 his album
of Saint-Saëns’ complete piano-orchestra works received the
Gramophone Gold Disc award for being voted the most popular
recording of the past 30 years.
Founded in 1980, Hyperion Records is an independent
British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality
recordings of music of all styles from the 12th to 21st
centuries. The music available on Hyperion and its subsidiary
label Helios includes choral, solo vocal, orchestral, chamber
and instrumental works. Its catalog comprises nearly 1,400 CDs,
with some 80 new titles issued each year. Its honors include
the Best Label Award at the MIDEM Cannes Classiques Awards.
Hyperion is led by director Simon Perry; the recording engineer
for this project is Andrés Villalta and the producer is Andrew
Keener. This CD set is part of Hyperion’s Romantic Piano
Concerto series, which features 131 works for piano and
orchestra performed by the world’s great pianists and orchestras.
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TCHAIKOVSKY: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Volume 50
(Hyperion - CDA67711/2)
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Opus 44
TCHAIKOVSKY Concert Fantasia in G major, Opus 56
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, Opus 75
Extra tracks include Tchaikovsky’s Solitude, Opus 73,
No. 6; None but the lonely heart, Opus 6, No. 6; and two
alternative versions of movement two of Piano Concerto No. 2, in
editions by Stephen Hough and Alexander Siloti.
Album available April 1 in stores, at minnesotaorchestra.org
and at hyperion-records.co.uk.
_____________________________________________________________
PRESS CONTACTS:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org
Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 • sbrown@mnorch.org
