[HansZimmer]

Your vote in the poll Best Dramatic Film Score - 1996 can change the destiny of the world.


Here we have the Piano Concerto in G minor of Antonin Dvorak. How do you rate it?

Rudolf Firkušný, piano
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Susskind

 

[Xisten267]

I didn't know this concerto previously and, upon first hearing, I think it's very good. I should probably listen to it again later in other performances to know it better. At the moment, I rate it as a 7.5 out of 10 in terms of how much I like it.

 

[DaveM]

This is a surprisingly underrated piano concerto. It had a period of interest after Firkusny pioneered and promoted it over half a century (early 1960s) ago. It has now been again somewhat forgotten. There are relatively few recordings of it. IMO, Firkusny has a special understanding of it and his recordings are IMO the best. The conductors have been Somogyi, Susskind, Janacek and Szell. I prefer the original Somogyi, but it was the first version I ever heard so there could be some ‘imprinting‘ involved. The adagio is wonderful and worth listening to the concerto alone.

 

[Xenophiliu]

I like Dvořák's PC, but among his concertante works would rank low. The only performance I own is the Richter/Kleiber collaboration, now on Warner.

If I remember the liner notes correctly, Firkušný often performed the Vilém Kurz revision of the concerto but Sviatoslav Richter recorded the original?

 

[Scherzi Cat]

Dvorak's Piano Concerto is a wonderful work to listen to. However from what I have read, it is very awkward to play. This is why there are not very many recordings of it. Women especially have shied away from recording it, as I can only find one that I can confirm is played by a female, and it is a very old recording with very old sound quality. Since the piano part's inaccessibility is a statement about the quality of the composition, I can only vote "good". It is my least favorite of Dvorak's concertos but I do occasionally listen to this one:

 

[EvaBaron]

I have never listened to it yet but really should, since I really like his violin concerto and cello concerto. Since Kleiber is one of my favourite conductors and Richter an amazing pianist I will listen to that recording. I’ve seen Dave Hurwitz praise it to the sky like he does with almost everything Dvorak wrote and he said it isn’t standard repertoire because the piano part isn’t virtuosic at all. No idea if that’s actually the reason though so will have to listen for myself

 

[Brahmsianhorn]

That Richter/Kleiber recording is really something

 

[haziz]

Good. A fine composition but nowhere near the exalted level of his cello concerto.

 

[Rogerx]

Very good, as above said , the Richter is very good , but András Schiff and Vassily Primakov are not far behind.

 

[mbhaub]

Not top-drawer Dvorak, yet given the popularity of the composer I would have expected it to be played and recorded more often. I played it once in a local orchestra; talking to the pianist on a break he talked about the various alternate re-writes of some passages that just had to be done to make it playable. It's obvious Dvorak wasn't a pianist.

 

[Enthusiast]

When played well it is a great work. This is one piece where I don't think the Richter recording is as good as it needs to be. Give me Moravec, Hough or Aimard to hear this work fully realised.

 

[Bulldog]

I enjoy the piano concerto, but it doesn't compare to the violin or cello concerto - voted "good".

 

[Neo Romanza]

I'm in agreement with @Bulldog on this one, although I voted "very good".