Adolf von Henselt: Piano Concerto in F minor, Op.16 (Schumann provisional version), Lev Vinocour

Adolf von Henselt - Piano Concerto in F minor Op. 16 (Schumann's provisional version), Lev Vinocour (piano), Radio Symphony Orchestra Wien, Johannes Wildner “When Clara Schumann premiered Henselt's Concerto in 1845, it had not assumed the final form the composer was to give it in 1847. Robert and Clara Schumann were fans of Henselt's works, and Schumann prepared this "performing version" for Clara. Henselt subsequently took back all of the performance materials, and finalized his own version two years later. Again, the interest is for historians, although certainly the present performance of Schumann's provisional version is very fine indeed.” (review by Dace Gisclard) I.Allegro moderato - Religioso - Tempo I – 00:00 II. Larghetto – 15:00 III. Allegro agitato – 24:37 Adolf von Henselt (alternative names : Georg Martin Adolf von Henselt, Adolph Henselt, Adolf Hänselt), 12 May 1814 – 10 October 188, was a German composer and virtuoso pianist. He was born at Schwabach in Bavaria. After commencing violin and piano studies at an early age he went on to study under Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) in Weimar. He later travelled to Vienna, where he undertook composition lessons with Bruckner’s teacher, Simon Sechter (1788-1867), whilst becoming successful as a concert pianist. To some ears, Henselt's playing combined Franz Liszt's sonority with Hummel's smoothness. It was full of poetry, remarkable for his use of extended chords and technique. His cantabile playing was highly regarded. "Find out the secret of Henselt's hands", Liszt told his pupils. In 1837, he settled at Breslau, where he married but the following year migrated to St. Petersburg where became court pianist and inspector of musical studies in the Imperial Institute of Female Education. He made a number of visits to England but St. Petersburg was his home until his death during a visit to Warmbrunn, Germany (now in Poland). Most of Henselt’s compositions are for piano and date from the earlier years of his life. His influence on the next generation of Russian pianists was immense, his playing and teaching greatly influencing the Russian school of music. Sergei Rachmaninoff held him in very great esteem and considered him one of his most important influences. (Bruce Reader in The Classical Reviewer 25. Januar 2017)