Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos Howard Shelley

• 1I. Allegro affettuoso12:57
• 2II. Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso04:42
• 3III. Allegro vivace10:23
• 4I. Allegro molto moderato11:56
• 5II. Adagio06:24
• 6III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato10:11
• 7I. Andante sostenuto09:59
• 8II. Allegro scherzando05:48
• 9III. Presto06:36
• Total Runtime01:18:56

Info for Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos

Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54


Howard Shelley (Piano and Conductor)
Orchestra of Opera North

Recently awarded an OBE for his service to music, March’s Disc of the Month sees Howard Shelley conduct the Opera North Orchestra from the piano.

In this latest recording Howard Shelley turns his attention to three popular works of the piano repertoire: Robert Schumann’s only completed Piano Concerto, Grieg’s single Piano Concerto and Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor. This album sheds new light on these well-loved works and is the first time all three piano concertos have been made available.

Shelley explains the reasons behind the new elucidations. ‘Ever since I first fell in love with the Schumann Piano Concerto in my early teens, I have been intrigued and slightly puzzled by the tradition of slowing the fourth bar of the Allegro affettuoso first movement to what is effectively no more than an Andante, even though there is no indication of any tempo shift in the score. A metronome marking of 84 to the minim, taken from Schumann’s manuscript, is given in almost all editions of this work, reducing only to 72 to the dotted minim for the central Andante expressivo section. These are extraordinarily fast basic tempos. There are similar issues in the second movement of the Schumann – a surprisingly fast metronome mark, suggesting perhaps a lighter lyricism than we are sometimes used to, especially in the big cello melody - and also in the first movement of the Saint-Seans Second Conceto, which is often taken at about half its marked speed. As for the Grieg Concerto, we are fortunate to have Percy Grainger’s very informative and detailed notes on this piece as he discussed it with the composer. Elsewhere he points out that Grieg’s tempos were generally faster than when others played the piece. These are some of the considerations which have led to the interpretations on this recording. Directing a highly responsive orchestra from the keyboard has also allowed me great freedom in realising my ideas.’

“These are intimate performances, an effect no doubt enhanced by the fact that Shelley directs from the piano. Intimately but also sharply characterised. And when virtuosity is required, Shelley provides it in spades. Technically, the Saint-Saëns is an ideal vehicle for Shelley's fingery kind of pianism and he is exceptional in the Allegro scherzando, the movement that our-Mendelssohns Mendelssohn.” (GRAMOPHONE)

Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
I. Allegro affettuoso
II. Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso -
III. Allegro vivace
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Adagio -
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato
Camille Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
I. Andante sostenuto
II. Allegro scherzando
III. Presto

Howard Shelley - Conductor
After winning the premier prize at the Royal College of Music at the end of his first year, Howard Shelley's career began with a highly successful London recital and a televised Promenade concert with the London Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas in the same season. Since then he has performed regularly throughout the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Russia, Australia, and the Far East. He has also made over one hundred highly acclaimed commercial recordings. As pianist he has performed, broadcast and recorded around the world with leading orchestras and conductors including Ashkenazy, Boulez, Boult, Davis, Jansons, Rozhdestvensky and Sanderling. In a unique series of five London recitals, broadcast by the BBC, he played Rachmaninov's complete solo piano music. He has given complete cycles of Rachmaninov concertos with the Royal Scottish National, Beethoven concertos with the BBC Philharmonic and Mozart concerto series with the London Mozart Players, Camerata Salzburg and Munich Symphony.

As conductor he has performed with the London Philharmonic, London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, the Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National and Ulster orchestras as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Munich Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, amongst many others.

He has held positions of Associate and Principal Guest Conductor with the London Mozart Players in a close relationship of over twenty years. He has toured with them to Japan, Korea, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Holland, Ireland and to the Prague Autumn Festival. Their many recordings together have in every case received exceptional critical acclaim. Shelley has also been Principal Conductor of Sweden's Uppsala Chamber Orchestra and works closely with the Camerata Salzburg, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto in Italy and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Australia with whom he has recorded several discs. Other chamber orchestras with whom he has worked include the English Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber, Zurich Chamber, Netherlands Chamber & Stuttgart Chamber orchestras, the Northern Sinfonia, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Leipzig Kammerphilharmonie & the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano.

He has appeared regularly on television since the age of ten when he gave a recital of Bach and Chopin. He was soloist at the 100th anniversary of the Promenade Concerts, a concert which was televised world-wide. A documentary on Ravel made in 1998 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, featuring Shelley as conductor, pianist and presenter won the Gold Medal for the best arts biography of the year at the New York Festivals Awards.

His many recordings for Chandos, Hyperion and EMI include award-winning sets of Rachmaninov's complete piano music and concertos, series of Mozart, Hummel, Mendelssohn, Moscheles and Cramer concertos as well as all Gershwin's works for piano & orchestra and a series of British concertos including Alwyn, Bridge, Howells, Rubbra, Scott, Tippett and Vaughan Williams.

Howard Shelley is married to fellow pianist Hilary Macnamara, with whom he has performed and recorded in a two-piano partnership, and they have two sons. In 1994 an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Music was conferred on him by HRH The Prince of Wales. In the 2009 New Year's Honours he was awarded an OBE for services to classical music.

Booklet for Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos