Orchestra NOW Archive

RIES: Piano Concerto Nos. 8 & 9  – Piers Lane, piano/ The Orchestra NOW/ Leon Botstein – Hyperion 

by Audiophile Audition | May 28, 2018 | Classical CD Reviews

The virtuosic, colorful style of Ferdinand Ries has a potent acolyte in Piers Lane. RIES: Piano Concerto No. 8 in A-flat Major, Op. 151 “Gruss an den Rhein”; Introduction and Polonaise, Op. 174; Piano Concerto No. 9 in G minor, Op. 177  – Piers Lane, piano/ The Orchestra NOW/ Leon Botstein – Hyperion CDA68217, 73:23 (4/27/18) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****:  A piano virtuoso celebrated for his ‘romantic wildness,” Rhinelander Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) had been a piano student of Beethoven, and he later served the great Bonn master as secretary and copyist. After various stints and interruptions in his career in Vienna and Paris, Ries made his way to London, where he had residence from 1813-1824. Having befriended Johann Peter Salomon, Ries became involved in the Philharmonic Concerts, encouraging his gift for compositions, including six symphonies, piano concertos, individual keyboard pieces, and chamber works.  In 1826, Ries celebrated his return to the Rhineland with his Piano Concerto No. 8 (pub. 1827) with its subtitle “Greetings to the Rhine.” Ries follows Beethoven in his penchant for broad orchestral introductions to his first movements, here, a lyrical Allegro con moto that includes trumpet and tympani work that might be attributed to Beethoven […]