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FERNANDO OLIVA   07/2/2003	Subject: RAFF´S PIANO CONCERTO Message: Dear Friends, I had a great luck to found in a little music shop in my city a CD with Raff´s Piano Concerto in C minor & Konzertstück "Ode au Printemps" (CLAVES/Antonioli/Foster/Ch. O. Lausanne). This CD includes Busoni´s Konzerstück in D minor. Inmediately I bought it. Somebody wants give me an opinion about this two pieces? For me, if another composer (for example X) most famous (today) than Raff wrote a "Andante quasi larghetto" like that appears in Raff´s Piano Concerto, this movement will be named forever and ever "X´s Andante quasi larghetto" (like Albinoni´s Adagio). I hope you understand me and my "terrible english". Thanks for anticipate. Friendly, Fernando.
John Boyer   07/2/2003	RE: RAFF´S PIANO CONCERTO IP: Logged Message: You can get decent information on the Raff concerto right here at this web site: look up the analysis in the "Close Up" section. It contains an informative discussion of the work. As for the Busoni, perhaps that's best left to the Busoni Society! It's not a bad work by any means, but I'm no great fan of Busoni. Neither it nor his gigantic, 5 movement, 65 minute long Piano Concerto (with male chorus in the finale) has ever excited me. But even that monster has its advocates and there are several well-received recordings available (Hyperion, Telarc, CPO, etc). You might like it, Fernando. It's a sort of piano concerto Mahler might have written (in terms of length and scope, not thematic material or development). I like the Antonioli/Foster recording, as do many others. It is the preferred recording of this web site. I was less impressed by the Aronsky/Bamert. My favorite, despite its many shortcomings, is the Ponti/Kapp. Yes, the orchestra is scrappy, the piano is too much in the foreground, and Ponti bangs too much, but I find it by far the most exciting performance yet. Perhaps things are bit rushed, but it has an energy I miss in other recordings. The coda of the first movement is absolute edge-of-your-seat exhilaration. He made a 2nd recording in the 90s (reviewed on this site), but it's definitely inferior. Still, by general consensus the Antonioli/Foster is the best overall recording, so you've made a good choice.
Mark   07/2/2003	RE: RAFF´S PIANO CONCERTO IP: Logged Message: Yes the Antonioli/Foster recording is the best all round version that's currently available in my view - but not my all-time favourite. That must be the old Genesis LP recording with Frank Cooper paired with the Nuremberg Symphony under Zsolt Deáky. It came out at just before Ponti's madcap (but yes, fun) dash and has a breathless but controlled excitement in the outer movements and an ardent passion in the wonderful slow movement which has never been bettered. The sound is far superior to the VOX clatter too. A shame that Genesis have never reissued it. It was coupled with a much slighter, but still very attractive Konzertstück by Alexander Dreyschock. An altogether superior work than the vapid Piano Concerto released by Hyperion a year or so ago. About Busoni I have nothing constructive to say - he leaves me stone cold. Cheers,
Steve   21/3/2003	RE: RAFF´S PIANO CONCERTO IP: Logged Message: Not a Raff expert, but an afficianado of Romantic piano concerti Have M.Ponti- its exhilerating, with his typical impulsive swaggering playing; like no-one else! I also have the Deaky conducted Genesis version. Are these Lps still available anywhere? Are they rare? Are they on CD transfers? Like the Vox/Turnabout/Candide Ponti and Blumental Lps, they are a treasure trove for little heard Rom concerti.