Sauer & Scharwenka: Piano Concertos (The Romantic Piano Concerto 11)

Featuring

Lawrence Foster
Stephen Hough
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Xaver Scharwenka
Emil von Sauer

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Notable Performances

Scharwenka's first public performance of his Piano Concerto No 4 was conducted by Gustav Mahler at a New York Philharmonic Society concert on November 27, 1910.

Critical Reception

During Emil von Sauer's 1908 American tour, Chicago critics praised his playing as a return to 'pure pianism,' contrasting it with contemporary pianists who focused on orchestral effects.

Composer Biography

Franz Xaver Scharwenka (1850–1924) was largely self-taught as a pianist until his family moved to Berlin in 1865, where he enrolled in Theodor Kullak's Neue Akademie der Tonkunst.

Composer Biography

Emil von Sauer (1862–1942) was granted the 'von' by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1917 for his services to music.

Composition History

Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No 4 in F minor was first performed on October 31, 1908, in Berlin, with his pupil Martha Siebold as soloist and Scharwenka himself conducting.

Cultural Impact

Scharwenka's "Polish Dance in E flat minor, Op 3 No 1" was so popular that it earned nearly a million dollars for its publishers, Breitkopf and Härtel, and was arranged for every conceivable instrumental permutation.

Composer Biography

Emil von Sauer's passion for piano was ignited after attending a concert by the great Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein in 1877, leading him to study with Rubinstein's brother Nicholas.