Search - John [Composer] Field, David Haslam, Northern Sinfonia of England :: Field: PIANO CONCERTOS Vol. 1

Early Irish Influences in Europe

Nick | Munich, Germany | 08/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to these piano concertos, I was immediately reminde of Chopin. The way the slow movement uses the entire keayboard, it's melody low-key and, never far away. The way we are taken to a peak with the romance of the music and brought back down is surely a trick picked up from Chopin. I was therefore all the more astonished to find that Chopin preceeded Chopin ! A respected pianist and composer he plied his trade throughout Europe and his influence is almost certain to have been around as Chopin set to work. It's not all slow though of course. The Irish folk tunes, evident in all the concertos (also Russian,-you'll be amazed, the connections this guy had! ) are accompanied by an orcestra that could be a crowd, clapping along with joy as the artist tells us his tale. This is certainly a beautiful collection of romantic concertos made all the more remarkable by the price. The performances suffer in no way as a result of the budget price and, once again, Naxos has given us a gem to savour."