https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iXawr9iVjY

I AM SO SORRY Мой котик Рахманинов!! I feel like I’m cheating on him but I can ’t not to decimate the first blog to my very first obsession due to sentimental reasons.

Growing up listening to classical music, I can’t recall when the first time I heard this piece was. I’ve always loved classical music, but this one was my first ever goosebump moment, which gave me the feeling of being electrically shocked and melting at the same time. It’s such a beautiful romantic and lyrical piece.

I have to start by talking a bit about the composer Moszkowski. He is not really a mainstream composer and is more widely known among the piano community (I heard that he is a monster at creating piano études, but I’ll defer to my pianist friends to confirm). This breathtaking concerto was composed in 1898 when Moszkowski was 43. It was apparently attributed to Josef Hofmann for their significant teacher-student relationship. It is a bit strange for me to see a teacher dedicating a piece to their student 🤔 but I guess Hofmann’s virtuosity deserved it.

This piano concerto has 4 pieces in total, but Andante was the one that really got me. It is a 9 min piece – when I showed it to friends, most of the time it starts with a comment of “can you turn the volume up?” When you just start listening to it, the first 6m30s can make you wonder where this is going; then, starting minute #7, you may have trouble breathing. *If you don’t have the patience, please fast forward to 7:00. For an E major piece, it ended with a D instead of resolving back to E major, which just sounded like it was unfinished. This creates a sense of suspension and anticipation, leading directly into the Vivance III. I strongly recommend listening to them together because it gives you a way more satisfying feeling. After shuffling it many times, I also find the 4th part interesting when it had the theme recall on arpeggios 🫠.

For the recordings, there were quite a few versions available online. Among all these, I personally adore the version by Markus Pawlik with the Polish National Radio SO. I believe the most famous recording might be the 1991 one with Piers Lane and the BBC Scottish SO (by Jerzy Maksymiuk) – a very strong piano and the strings are also respectful, but to me, it was a teeny bit too fast for an Andante, and I’d like a softer oboe, and maybe a softer harp too. It could also be just a recording issue back then. I find the Markus version a bit more solid and harmonious.

Sadly, this concerto is extremely underrated. I am also sad that the last recording was in 2015 ☹️. With my limited knowledge and resources, I haven’t been able to find it being played anywhere live, and I found out that I am not the only one looking for it: https://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/bjkyjg/discussion_lets_talk_about_moszkowskis_2nd_piano/.