Reinecke: Piano Concertos

A prolific composer, respected and influential in his lifetime-the Romantic Piano Concerto again turns up trumps with three concertos by Carl Reinecke.

In the pantheon of great composers, Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke sits just below the salt. But only just. Pianist, violinist, conductor, composer, arranger and teacher, Reinecke's prolific and high-quality output commands, at least, our respect if not admiration. His 288 opus numbers take in all genres except ballet, and though most of his music has disappeared from the repertoire, his name has by no means disappeared from reference books-unlike some recent releases in this series, such as Gablenz and Elmas.
Reinecke's flute sonata 'Undine' remains popular; the cadenzas he supplied for nineteen piano concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Weber are known to many pianists (some even play them); his Toy Symphony was famous in its day; he wrote one of only two known nineteenth-century piano sonatas to be composed for the left hand alone; and for many years after its premiere, the present Piano Concerto in F sharp minor enjoyed great popularity-though not enough for it ever to have been performed at any Henry Wood or BBC Promenade Concert. Indeed, not a single note by Reinecke has been heard at the Proms since 1909, when his flute concerto was played.