Welcome to a genuinely outstanding disc in the Romantic Piano\nConcerto series. Sometimes the works found along the unfrequented\nbyways of the Romantic piano tradition can exhibit no more than\nsurface brilliance, but that cannot be said of these two splendid\nconcertos by Stenhammar, recorded for the first time together on\none CD.

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The original orchestration of Stenhammar’s Piano Concerto No 1\nis recorded here: a version which was long thought lost when the\npublishers were bombed during the second world war – a copy of the\noriginal was discovered in the Library of Congress in 1983. The\ntwenty-two year old’s Opus 1 is a masterpiece, majestic and\nvirtuosic at its opening; bringing the listener into a world of\nNordic mystery at the start of the third movement; the finale\nending with music of sad, reflective sweetness. The second concerto\nis a distinctly different work, with an novel, some have said\n‘improvised’, structure, and a sense of tension between soloist and\norchestra which is only resolved in the glorious virtuosic\nfinale.

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Hyperion is delighted to present the distinguished musician\nAndrew Manze in his new incarnation as a conductor. Directing the\nHelsingborg Symphony Orchestra, he is truly a force to be reckoned\nwith. Pianist Seta Tanyel has featured on previous RPC recordings,\nalways gaining the highest critical acclaim; however her\nmagnificent playing on this new disc transcends her previous\nachievements.

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