ALOYS SCHMITT
Schmitt: Piano Concertos / Rondeau brilliant Howard Shelley (piano) / Ulster Orchestra / Howard Shelley [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 84 / CD - released 1/Jul/2022 ] Great Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 84. Composer and conductor, pianist and pedagogue: Aloys Schmitt (1788-1866) was respected by his peers and largely forgotten by posterity. As so often in this series, the three works recorded here will have... |
SIR LENNOX BERKELEY
Berkeley: Piano Concerto,Op. 29 in B flat major / Berkeley, Michael-Gethsemane Fragment; Four Poems of St Teresa of Avila, Op. 27 Catherine Wyn-Rogers (contralto) Celia Craig (cor anglais) Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Richard Hickox [ Chandos Berkeley Edition Vol 5 / CD - released 6/Dec/2004 ] "This eloquent father-and-son series restores the scintillating concerto." Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (February 2005) |
SIR MICHAEL TIPPETT
Tippett: Symphony No. 4, Fantasia Concertante & Fantasia on a Theme of Handel Howard Shelley (piano) / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD ] Penguin Guide 3 Star Awarded for general excellence of the disc |
GEORG BENDA
Benda: Piano Concertos Howard Shelley (piano/conductor) / London Mozart Players [ Hyperion The Classical Piano Concerto Vol 8 / CD - released 1/Oct/2021 ] 'It's almost a commonplace to remark upon Shelley's unstinting advocacy of all‑but-forgotten and sometimes rather inconsequential music. That's to do Benda a disservice, however … where these works really score … is in the slow movements' Gramophone |
MENDELSSOHN
The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 4 Howard Shelley (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 31/Dec/2015 ] The Op 35 set of Preludes and Fugues is the most substantial single opus Mendelssohn wrote for solo piano, a mark of his reverence for the mighty Bach. |
HENRI HERZ
Herz: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 74 / Grande fantaisie militaire sur La fille du régiment, Op. 163 / etc Howard Shelley (piano and conductor) / Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 66 / CD - released 25/Jul/2015 ] "Shelley by turns charms and dazzles…unless your doctor has prescribed some strict froth-free diet (and how tedious would that be) I can heartily recommend a dose of Herz." Gramophone |
HENRI HERZ
Piano Concerto Nos. 1, 7, & 8 Howard Shelley (piano and conductor) / Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 35 / CD - released 13/Jul/2004 ] 'Shelley and the Tasmanians are persuasive advocates for these three piano concertos: this is charming, tuneful music, deftly orchestrated by a man who obviously knew his Chopin, Rossini and, in the nocturne-like slow moverments, John Field' - The... |
KENNETH LEIGHTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leighton: Orchestral works Vol 3 (Incls 'Symphony No 1') Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] "Shelley proves a marvellously stylish, involving exponent and is backed to the hilt by Brabbins and the BBC NOW. Chandos's sound and balance, too, are beyond reproach." (Gramophone) |
CYRIL SCOTT
Scott: Piano Concerto No.1 / Symphony No.4 Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 8/May/2006 ] 'Scott's scoring is extravagant but lucid, his harmony sensuous and involving, and his structures are free but controlled… This is a CD of terrific music, its demands comprehensively met by the musicians, and the recording' International Record Review |
SIR WILLIAM STERNDALE BENNETT
Sterndale Bennett: Piano Concertos Nos 1-3 Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Mar/2018 ] The 'air-spun brilliance and stylistic elegance' which Gramophone so admired in Howard Shelley's previous recording of Sterndale Bennett is in abundant evidence in this new release of the first three piano concertos. |