Alexander Mosolov - Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 14

Alexander Mosolov (1900 - 1973) - Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 14 (1927) I. Andante lugubre (Lento) [0:00] II. Tema con concertini. Lento sostenuto [9:01] III. Toccata. Allegro comodo [20:23] Steffen Schleiermacher, piano Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Kalitzke (2014) Alexander Mosolov&Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed around the same time as his most famous work, Iron Foundry. The work is in three movements and typically lasts around 25 minutes. "The Andante lugubre (Lento) of Mosolov’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1, Op14 (1927) opens quietly and brooding as a plaintive melody appears. The music rises up as the piano is heard in the orchestral texture, underpinned by percussion before it strides forward rather in the manner of Prokofiev, becoming ever more fractious. Soon a solo limpid, slow passage for piano arrives that becomes increasingly strident. The orchestra re-join to push the music forward to a jazz like slow section for orchestra, a rather curious episode where the music grows in vacuous, rather sleazy sounds. Eventually the music moves stridently forward, again recalling Prokofiev, before quietening only to suddenly start up again to dart to the rumbustious coda. Brass introduces the Tema con Concertini (Lento sostenuto) as the piano is accompanied by a heavy clumping orchestra. Soon a skittish orchestral section moves around the piano theme before a wild violin is heard as the music tries to slow, but a raucous orchestra pushes the music...