Piano Concerto No. 2

Sergej Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) wrote his Russian Rhapsody Op. 45 (1935) and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op. 28 (1924) for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein. After having lost his right arm in the First World War, the latter subsequently commissioned works from important composers. Whereas some of the contributions by Ravel, Britten, Hindemith, Richard Strauss and others sounded too modern to Wittgenstein, he had a particular liking of Bortkiewicz's Concerto, which paid homage to the 'pharaonic-virtuoso' late Romantic tradition à la Rachmaninoff. It was precisely this 'sound' that recommended the Piano Concerto No. 2 for a new version for two hands, which is now available here and opens up a wider range of possibilities for this delightful, emotional work. The arranger Alfonso Soldano offers not only a new arrangement of the solo part, but also a new cadenza that provides a smoother transition between tempo and tonal changes.