Great Piano Concertos

The Great Classics series from Naxos is the perfect introduction to myriad genres of classical music. Comprising both complete and compiled selections from the greatest works in the repertoire, the boxes are bursting with wonderful pieces of music, both recognizable and unfamiliar. The boxes take the listener on a thrilling tour of some of the world's most dramatic musical media, encompassing music from six centuries and featuring sensational performers. All boxes come with a fascinating booklet with detailed information on the genre itself, chronological placement of each work, and a comprehensive study of the music. A fitting celebration of 25 years of superb music from Naxos, the world's favourite classical label.

At the very heart of a concerto is the interplay and contrast of a solo instrument within a larger instrumental ensemble. The natural progression from the Baroque concerto grosso, the concerto as we know it was fully established as a concert staple in the eighteenth century, and many works dating from this period are still a key part of the repertoire today. The opportunity for dazzling virtuosic display from the soloist has resulted in the concerto becoming a vital musical force both on the concert platform and in the audience arena.

The most important composer in the development of the early piano concerto was Mozart, whose masterly compositions for the instrument paved the way for expansion of the form by composers such as Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Grieg. In the Romantic era, composers such as Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky lent a distinctly Russian fluency and passion to the idiom, whilst no pianistic survey would be complete without the transcendent concertos of those great piano masters, Chopin and Liszt. The twentieth century transformed the piano concerto yet further with splendid offerings from a delicate Ravel, fiery Prokofiev and jazzy Gershwin to name but a few.

Artists:
Jenö Jandó (piano), Stefan Vladar (piano), Idil Biret (piano), Eldar Nebolsin (piano), Sequeira Costa (piano), Bernd Glemser (piano), Francois-Joel Thiollier (piano), Kun-Woo Paik (piano), Kathryn Selby (piano)

Concentus Hungaricus, Cappella Istropolitana, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Andras Ligeti, Matyas Antal, Barry Wordsworth, Antoni Wit, Vasily Petrenko, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Robert Stankovsky, Gyorgy Lehel, Richard Hayman