Georgy Catoire
Piano Concerto op.21 (1909)
i. Moderato, con entusiasmo Dramatico cadenza
Tema: Moderato Tranquillo (misterioso) Variations:
Allegro con spirito
(Interlude) Moderato
L'istesso tempo
Allegro scherzando Tranquillo (misterioso)
Tempo del tema
Allegro risoluto Animato Molto piu mosso, agitato
Tempo del tema, dramatico
ii. Andante cantabile Poco animato Tranquillo Tempo I
iii. Allegro risoluto Tempo del comincio, maestoso

Percy Sherwood
Piano Concerto no.2 in E flat major (1932-33)

i. Allegro
ii. Andante, ma poco tranquillo
iii. Allegro molto

World Premiere Recordings

Hiroaki Takenouchi (piano)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Martin Yates (conductor)

Recorded at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 3-4 August 2011

Pianist Hiroaki Takenouchi (featured in the critically acclaimed television documentary The Prince and the Composer) has recorded his first programme for Dutton Epoch. He explores piano concertos by Georgy Catoire (1861-1926) and Percy Sherwood (1866-1939), two worthwhile but neglected contemporaries who came to musical maturity in the closing years of the nineteenth century. The Russian Catoire who came into the circle of Tchaikovsky, Arensky and Lyadov wrote in that glorious musical time in Russia before the dissolution of the Revolution, and it is remarkable that his heart-warming, lyrical Concerto of 1909 has been unrecorded until now. To all intents and purposes, the German-born Percy Sherwood was a late romantic composer, who made a significant career as both pianist and composer in Germany until 1914, but he died in London in June 1939. His output derives from the late-nineteenth century romantic tradition, a character particularly apparent in the gorgeous slow movement of his Second Piano Concerto (1932-33). These two delightful additions to the piano concerto repertoire are issued in Dutton Epoch's International Series.

Like all Catoire's instrumental works, the Concerto bears the mark of his close encounters with Tchaikovsky, Taneyev and Scriabin.

Takenouchi ... is impeccable in his pianism and unfailing in his idiomatic grasp.

... this too is a must have for anyone interested in the post-history of the Romantic piano concertos. With decent orchestral support and recording, and excellent documentation, it all adds up to a more than welcome issue.

David Fanning, BBC Music Magazine, August 2012