Oh My...!
This is easily one of my favorites from the Chandos Hummel Piano Concerto series, at least as far as the extras are concerned.
The actual concerto is perhaps the most faceless of the lot, but I suppose when you get to the last volume, you take what you can get.
Luckily, everything else is a gas! Oberon's Magic Horn is everything I want out of Hummel, but rarely receive - grit, attitude, surliness, angst, and a solo horn feature! More please...
There is just one little sequence of harmonic movement which catches my attention in The Return to London; it makes the whole work sound nostalgic and I love it!
I know the tune of O Du Lieber Augustin more familiarly as The More We Get Together, the Happier We'll Be or Did You Ever See a Lassie?, and indeed Hummel throws in a short bagpipe drone! The variations are Hummel at his very wittiest, and it is a shame he didn't imbue his normal retinue of compositions with as much personality.
Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed my Hummel exploration, but as can be the case with the Classical Era, the composer keeps the listener at an arm's-length distance emotionally, yet inspires the listener through his monster piano abilities, fine orchestrations, and wonderful melodiousness.
Still, like a few of the pairings in this series, there is one 'lesser' work; unusually in this case, it is the main Piano Concerto in A Major. Every other piano concerto has had a feeling of being a major work needing to be heard; I don't sense that here. Of course, as the last entry of the series, what can one expect?
Either way, this is a lovely end to the series. Boy, Chandos missed out by not boxing up all of its Hummel, or at least Howard Shelley's contributions with the London Mozart Players. Such a box would get the Oozy Channel Keep master key, but as it is, each individual entry comes Highly Recommended for its Piano Concerto and less so for its accompaniments, minus this one which works in reverse.
A review from 2024
While the previous volumes of Chandos’ series of Hummel’s Piano Concertos were afforded rather light pairings alongside the meatier concertos, this last entry runs opposite.
The Piano Concerto in A Major, not to be confused with the previously released WoO 24 / S. 4, is Classically delicate and genial. Hummel spins lyrical melodies and many scalular runs, and the work sounds his most traditional of his group of eight-or-so Piano Concertos, although it remains a pleasant listen.
The two Piano concertante works and the orchestral variations are more interesting in comparison. The Return to London is Hummel at his most nostalgic sounding, with a wonderful little bit of harmonic movement which catches my ear every time it passes.
On the other hand, Oberon’s Magic Horn is a stormy, minor-keyed work. Like the two Piano Concertos in A minor and B minor, I wish Hummel would have written in a minor mode more often, for this work is full of gruffness and musical inspiration, more than many of the concertante works I have heard from him.
The O Du Lieber Augustin Variations offer a rare treat of wit from the composer, another aspect I don’t hear too often from Hummel. The tune will be familiar to most and the addition of percussion is a blast. The London Mozart Players give all of this music elegance, and in the case of this particular recording, character. Howard Shelley is a consummate artist, and represents Hummel’s piano music beautifully.
Chandos has reached Volume Five of Hummel’s piano concertos with Howard Shelley, Volume Twelve if you count all of Hummel’s non-piano concerto works, including Stephen Hough’s first concerto recording. I wish they had boxed up all of their Hummel, for exploring his works has been a lovely venture. It remains one of the most complete ventures available of his Orchestral Music, Concertos, and Masses.
Works
Oberon's Magic Horn (17.33)
Return to London (14.26)
Piano Concerto in A Major (28.30)
O Du Lieber Augustin Variations (8.57)
Performers
Howard Shelley, piano
London Mozart Players
Label: Chandos
Year: 2006
Total Timing: 69.41
I like this one more for its extras than the Piano Concerto.
That is not a bad thing, especially as this whole series has been worth its weight in gold.
A worthy end, and kudos to Howard Shelley & Co!
Find more Hummel recordings HERE!
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