I like listening to (classical) music. When I was still living in Amsterdam, I was a regular visitor of the Concertgebouw . Here in Malaysia I have visited several times the Petronas Filharmonik Hall. Nowadays I am mostly listening to YouTube…:-)
At YouTube you will find not only recordings of compositions by the “great” names (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, etc), but also works of lesser well known composers. Recently I have collected many of these recordings, limiting myself to piano concertos composed between 1805 and 1830. Why piano concertos and why these dates?
The piano developed and became accepted in the late 18th century (successor to the harpsichord). Not surprisingly many composers wanted to explore the possibilities of this “new” instrument, in combination with an orchestra. What I like in piano concertos is the contrast between the sound of the piano and that of the orchestral instruments, because the piano is not represented in the orchestra already (in contrast with concertos for violin, flute, hobo, cello, etc)
The dates are of course rather arbitrary. In 1805–1806 Beethoven wrote his Piano Concerto no. 4, here performed by Mautizio Pollini. It is my favourite Beethoven concerto. And in 1830 Chopin composed his Piano Concerto nr 2 (when he was only 20 year old!). Another favourite of mine. The recording is by Rosalía Gómez Lasheras (19 year old!). You might say that the dates mark the transition from Classical to (Early) Romantic
Before I started searching YouTube and Wikipedia, I was not really aware of any other piano concerto composed between those dates.
Here is what I found. I have ordered them according to the birth date of the composer. The first link refers to a Wikipedia article about the composer. All concertos are worth listening to, but of course I have my favourites. They are marked with *****
Johann Baptist Cramer (1771 – 1858), English musician, from German origin, a renowned pianist, highly appreciated by Beethoven.
Piano Concerto No.7 (1816)
Piano Concerto No 8 (1825)
Ferdinand Ries (1778 – 1837), German, friend, pupil and secretary of Beethoven. He wrote eight piano concertos
Piano Concerto No. 3 (1812)
Piano Concerto No. 8 (1826) *****
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 – 1837) , Austrian, pupil of Haydn and Salieri in Vienna. After his death, he was quickly forgotten. Only recently interest has revived, and rightly so!
Piano Concerto No 2 (1816) *****
Piano Concerto No 3 (1821) *****
Franciszek Lessel (1780 – 1838), Polish, pupil of Haydn. He wrote only one piano concerto. Worked as a court musician. Not much info available
Piano Concerto in C-major (1814) Mozartian style. In this recording it is played on a pianoforte
John Field (1782 – 1837), Irish, influential composer of the Early Romantic period, admired by Chopin and Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1816) *****
Friedrich Kalkbrenner 1785-1849, French of German origin, pianist, composer, piano teacher and piano manufacturer. A vain man, thinking that after Bach, Mozart Beethoven, he was the only classical composer left.
Piano concerto No. 1 (1823) *****
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826), German, considered one of the first Romantic composers. Of course I knew his name (opera’s), but not that he had written piano concertos. He wrote two:
Piano Concerto No.1 (1810)
Piano Concerto No 2 (1812)
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791 – 1844), youngest son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, pupil of Salieri and Hummel.
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1818)
Ignaz Moscheles (1794 – 1870), Bohemian, lived in London and later in Leipzig. Long time neglected, now more interest, but not much of his work has been recorded.
Piano Concerto No. 3 (1820) *****
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski (1807 – 1867), Polish, a classmate of Chopin at the Warsaw conservatory. He wrote this concerto when he was 17 year old.
Piano Concerto in As-major 1824 *****
Norbert Burgmüller (1810 – 1836), German. Friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann. Died young by drowning after an epileptic seizure. Wrote the piano concerto when he was 19 year old.
Piano Concerto in F♯-minor (1829) *****