Piano Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra (2009) by Poul Ruders.Commissioned by The Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Jerome Lowenthal. Solo Piano part: WH31129CProgramme Note In this day and age when faced with the challenge of writing a 'Piano Concerto' e.g. a piece for symphony orchestra and an all-dominating and virtuosic solo Piano part one has two options: either: DO or do NOT go for it wholesale exploiting and enjoying the conrnucopia of sonorous treasures offered by the combination of the orchestra and the 'Grand Piano'. I have opted to go for it. When writing forone of our great young international Piano stars it would be absurd and a waste to do anything less and only 'nibble at the goodies'.However the piece is not a big clunky 'machine'. Rather it is a transparently orchestrated neo-classic (for the lack of a better work) composition in three movements lastign approximately 25 minutes.The piece begins with a moderately paced opening in which the Piano gradually gathers momentum and strength beginning with the most gentle of motifs. In this movement the soloist and orchestra fo not always agree and the vigilant listener will observe the disparity between the two. Following a swift up-beat coda the movement stops almost in mid-breath on one of the gentle Piano chords taken from the very opening.The extreme simplicity of the second movement 'Semplice' (the opening Piano solo bears the marking: 'slightly hesitant - like a child practicing') is after having been joined by the Vibraphone Harp and solo Violin suddenly violated with unprecedented brutality by the rest of the orchestra which virtually 'lies in wait - panting to pounce'. But eventually calm and order is restored.The finale is a crazy rondo of sorts. The marking 'Avanti Risoluto' (Forward with Resolve) is a bit of an understatement. It is a full throttle no hold barred ride -

Clara Wieck’s sincerest wish was that her future husband Robert Schumann turn his extraordinary genius toward the larger and more challenging task of composing orchestral music. Confiding in her diary in 1839 just one year before her marriage she explained that “it would be best if he composed for Orchestra: his imagination cannot find sufficient scope in the Piano…” In the years that followed their marriage Robert Schumann continued to devote much of his attention to Piano music but he also found the time to comply with his beloved Clara’s wish by creating a number of musical pieces composed specifically for Piano andOrchestra. Although Schumann’s genius is most in evidence in his masterful solo Piano compositions and superb lieder his lively and provocative imagination manifests itself with equal aplomb in the works composed for Piano and Orchestra. The same compelling romantic and lyrical qualities that captivate lovers of Schumann’s Piano music are evident in these compositions. Three of his finest are presented here in full score including the A Minor Piano Concerto one of the most popular and frequently performed concertos ever written. All demonstrate his remarkably innovative approach to music diverting substantially from the classic models of the day and display his immense creativity as well as his warmth and sensitivity. Included in this collection of Schumann’s compositions for Piano and Orchestra are: Piano Concerto In A minor Op. 54 (published 1846) Concertstück Op.92 (Introduction and Allegro appassionato; published 1852) Introduction and Allegro Op. 134 (published 1855) These three works by one of the greatest masters of romanticism will delight musicians music lovers and students as well as devotees of Schumann. Pianists will be especially pleased to have these appealing Schumann works in one convenient edition available at

for the Left Hand for Piano and Orchestra-In 1929 Paul Wittgenstein a pianist and war veteran who lost his right arm in the Great War commissioned Maurice Ravel to write a concerto for him to perform. The result was one of Ravel’s most thrilling compositions and for Wittgenstein the most important of the many works he commissioned over the course of his career. This scholarly-critical edition of Ravel’s Piano Concerto For The Left Hand is based on previously inaccessible and unknown sources. The editor Douglas Woodfull-Harris was able to consult manuscripts in the private library of the Paul Wittgenstein Estate which allowed him to retrace thework’s evolution from Ravel’s autograph working copy to the first printed edition. A source of key importance to our new edition is a handwritten French copy of Ravel’s own Piano reduction (the autograph is inaccessible) that he gave to Wittgenstein to facilitate rehearsing the work. This copy is the sole source reflecting Wittgenstein’s own interpretation and containing his changes to the final cadenza. It also helps us to understand omissions in the first edition of the score as well as the Piano reduction and enabled the editor amongst other things to correct a great many notes which could be found in previous editions including the solo Piano part. The Piano reduction in our edition contains both Ravel’s and Wittgenstein’s fingering. Also included is a solo part without fingering thereby giving pianists the opportunity to enter their own fingering after having studied those of Ravel and Wittgenstein. Score and orchestral parts in large format (25.5 x 32.5 cm) Includes source descriptions and a Critical Commentary with alternative readings (Eng) Informative Introduction on the work’s history and genesis (Ger/Eng/Fr) With facsimile pages Piano reduction with separate Urtext solo part enclosed Full score & parts (BA7881) and two-Piano reduction (BA7881-90) available for sale.

[Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 B-Dur Opus 19] / Classique / Editeur : Hans-Werner Küthen / Réduction piano : H / Partition / Broché /

Left Alone for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 2014-15. Commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and co-commissioned by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Premiered by the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Alexandre Tharaud (piano) concducted by Ilan Volkov on January 29 2016 Cologne. Programme Note: I was born with a right hand that is not fully functional and though it never prevented me from loving playing the piano as well as I could with this physical limitation it hasobviously given me an alternative focus on the whole piano literature and has given me a close relationship with the works written for the left hand by Ravel and others. This repertoire has been with me since my youth. My very first public performance of one of my own works was in autumn 1969. The piece was called October and I played the piano with my left hand and the horn my principal instrument (the only instrument that can be played with only the left hand). Part of the piece requires the performer to play natural harmonics of the horn directly into the open strings of the grand piano to create resonance. The pedal was kept down by an assistant lying on the floor. Through decades the idea of writing a larger work for piano left hand has been in my mind. This new work is not written for a pianist with only one hand but rather by a composer who can only play with the left hand. The title Left alone contains all kinds of references not only to the obvious fact that the left hand is playing alone. Left alone is divided into two large parts each consisting of three smaller movements – in effect six in total. The work was commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and co-commissioned by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic and written for Alexandre Tharaud. Hans

Rhapsody in F Sharp for Piano and Orchestra was commissioned by the BBC Proms and first performed in the Royal Albert Hall on August 19th 1943. Written with the wartime audience in mind it is unashamedlypopular in style with its flashy virtuosity making it immediately accessible and entertaining. There is argument among scholars as to whether it should be referred to in the Major or Minor key as it makes almost equal use ofboth starting in one and finishing in the other. Ernest J Moeran (1894-1950) was an English composer who followed the tradition of R. Vaughan Williams and John Ireland by collecting preserving and using manyfolk songs mainly from Norfolk Suffolk and Ireland.

Piano Concerto by Carsten Dahl for Piano and Orchestra (2013). Carsten Dahl is said to have no desire to tie himself to any form or genre and there is literarily no musical expression he hasn’t tried. Carsten Dahl is known for his work as jazz oriented pianist but he is a musician and composer that moves unimpeded from the bebop tradition via completely free improvisation to classical music.

Carl Maria von Weber's fame rests mainly on ?Der Freischütz'. The unprecedented success of this opera overshadowed all his other works and contributed to their increasing fall into oblivion. Certain works such as ?Preciosa', ?Oberon', and ?Euryanthe', the overtures, solo concertos and piano sonatas, the lieder and chamber works enjoyed great popularity and were widely known in Germany and abroad as late as the second half of the 19th century. However, any chance of a revival of Weber's influential and substantial oeuvre was wasted in the 1920s, when a complete edition - begun by Hans Joachim Moser and with potential contributors including Wilhelm Kempff, Hans Pfitzner, Max von Schillings, Fritz Stein and Richard Strauss - failed after the third volume.Ever since there have been numerous attempts to restart a complete edition of Weber's works, but as this kind of project would have required the co-operation of scholars from both sides of the inter-German border, the political situation after 1945 was not conducive to any such enterprise. Careful negotiations led to the first tangible steps in the 1980s. The intention, right from the beginning, was to place Weber's work in context, and not to separate his musical output from his influential work as a writer, critic and organiser in the musical field, but to publish his compositions together with his letters, diaries and other literary output as the best way to document the cross-fertilisation between his musical, literary and practical activities.Since the German re-unification both working-parties concerned - at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and at the Musikwissenschaftliches Seminar, Detmold/Paderborn - have co-operated on the complete edition of the musical works (c. 45 volumes in 10 series: sacred music - cantatas, odes and other occasional works - stage works - lieder and vocal works - orchestral works - chamber music - music for piano - piano reductions - miscellanea, arrangements and orchestrations - works of doubtful attribution). The diaries (6-8 vols.) are edited in Berlin and the letters (8-10 vols.) and other writings (2 vols.) in Detmold. This complete edition aims to be a reliable basis of scholarly debate as well as for the authentic performance practice of Carl Maria von Weber's music. Conforming to the standards of recent historico-critical editions, the textual material will be based on all available authentic sources, accompanied by a detailed documentation of the genesis and a list of variants for each work. The musicological importance of the works will be evaluated by placing them in their historical context, the presentation of their genesis, history and Critical Commentaries. The letters, writings and diaries will be treated as inter-related and relevant to each other in the commentaries, therefore readers should benefit from a wealth of concise information and cross-references. / Piano Et Orchestre

Bach?s Harpsichord concerti extremely popular among pianists are presumably reworkings of pieces originally written for the Violin. Bach however succeeded in transferring the diverse idiosyncrasies of Violin technique to the keyboard with such ingenuity that most of today?s pianists also include these concerti in their standard repertoire. The first concerto in d minor is perhaps the most popular not least because of its jaunty outer movements and the eminently forceful solo part. Now as a prelude to a series of all of Bach?s Harpsichord concerti G. Henle Publishers presents a Piano reduction and study edition (score) of the d-minorconcerto. None other than András Schiff the outstanding Bach expert has provided fingering suggestions.