IDAGIO | Sterndale Bennett: Piano Concerto No. 4 – Bache: Piano Concerto (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 43) 00602458140248

Featuring

Howard Shelley
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
William Sterndale Bennett
Francis Edward Bache

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Historical Context

The 19th-century British musical scene is often considered a low point for composition, with European composers dominating concert halls after Handel's popularity waned.

Composer Biography

William Sterndale Bennett, an English composer, was orphaned young and sang in the choir at King's College, Cambridge, before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Music at age ten.

Composition History

William Sterndale Bennett's Caprice in E major, Op 22, was almost certainly conceived two years before its 1838 premiere, with a first version ready for performance in Leipzig in 1836.

Composer Biography

Francis Edward Bache, an English composer, played piano at age four and violin in an orchestra conducted by Mendelssohn at age thirteen.

Critical Reception

Robert Schumann, a German composer and critic, reviewed William Sterndale Bennett's Caprice, praising its excellences but expressing concern that Bennett's 'power of invention has seemed to decline'.

Composition History

The second movement of William Sterndale Bennett's Piano Concerto No 4 was originally titled 'A Stroll through the Meadows' but was replaced by a Barcarole after Mendelssohn heard it.

Composer Biography

William Sterndale Bennett's first symphony attracted the attention of Felix Mendelssohn, leading Bennett to study with Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann in Leipzig.