I. Moscheles - Romantic Piano Concerto 3

Howard Shelley�s third disc in Hyperion�s traversal of the complete extant piano concertos by Ignaz Moscheles brings us triumphant performances of the fourth and fifth concertos which are complemented by a spirited rendition of the Recollections of Ireland, composed almost by way of thanks for divine deliverance from a storm-tossed crossing of the Irish Sea in 1826.Piano Concerto No 4 represents the culmination of Moscheles� output in the genre during his years as a touring virtuoso, and the results are every bit as pyrotechnical as this might lead one to expect. A precurser of the Chopin and Schumann concertos, here delicious melody and rumbustious joie de vivre combine (alongside a version of The British Grenadiers) in a work of immediate and lasting appeal.The fifth concerto is something rather different, its audaciously progressive musical language initially proving something of a turn-off for contemporary audiences expecting �more of the same�. However, the work bristles with virtuosic display and strong themes � every bit a tribute to its composer�s idol, Beethoven, whose own C minor concerto provides the opening motif of Moscheles� closing movement.Recollections of Ireland is a crowd-pleasing fantasia based on four popular Irish tunes (�The Groves of Blarney� being better known today as �The Last Rose of Summer�) and provides Moscheles ample scope to indulge his passion for a good tune � and his facility at interweaving several good tunes �The accompanying booklet gives full details of the works, of course, and also throws down the gauntlet to the interested listener: Hyperion is committed to recording the missing Piano Concerto No 8 � if anyone can shed any light on where the music might be, many years of international searching having so far drawn a blank.