Il generoso cor (SACD)

Three major works for piano and orchestra by English composers, all of which take different approaches to the traditional nineteenth-century model of a bravura soloist facing an orchestra. Together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Vass, Clare Hammond presents an original program that offers a unique perspective on the way the piano concerto reflects the musical currents of mid-twentieth century Britain. William Walton's Sinfonia Concertante for Orchestra with Piano Obbligato was originally a ballet score. After it was rejected by Sergei Diaghilev, Walton arranged his score into a leaner, more direct and effective work that reveals influences from Stravinsky, Poulenc, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and, at times, Elgar. Benjamin Britten's Diversions was commissioned by the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who plays the left hand. Excited by the challenge of writing for the left hand, Britten designed a work in the form of variations; he did not attempt to conceal the soloist's one-handedness, but reveled in it without sacrificing feeling and grandeur. Michael Tippett's piano concerto rounds off the program. Inspired by a performance of Beethoven's Fourth Concerto, Tippett was convinced that a contemporary concerto could be written "in which the piano is once again used for its poetic capabilities". In his work, the orchestra not only accompanies, but the main players shine when they are given the opportunity for solos or close dialog with the soloist.