Bache / Sterndale Bennett: Piano Concertos

"This recording demands recognition for three reasons. Firstly that the best of early nineteenth century music holds up well against virtually anything written elsewhere. Secondly that Sterndale Bennett and Bache are composers who are totally worthy of our attention, especially for their craftsmanship and invention. Thirdly, we have to be thankful that Hyperion continues to produce fine recordings of 'lost' or 'forgotten' piano concertos." (MusicWeb Nov 2007)

The Romantic Piano Concerto series returns to England, and explores further fascinating and little-known repertoire. Indeed, the concerto by Francis Edward Bache (1833-1858) has perhaps never been performed. The composer, a pupil of Sterndale Bennett, and acclaimed at a young age by contemporaries all over Europe as a prodigious talent of whom great things were expected, died of TB at the age of 25, leaving the manuscript of his Piano Concerto in the library of the Royal Academy of Music, where it has languished until this recording. This enchanting work is a great discovery. Also on the disc are two accomplished works by the composer-pianist Sterndale Bennett. The indefatigable Howard Shelley directs the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from the piano.