Mendelssohn, Goodyear, Schumann in Bloomington, MN

With hundreds of available recordings for
Robert Schumann
's
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
, and only a bit fewer for
Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
, pianist
Stewart Goodyear
faced challenges in making this one stand out. He has succeeded impressively. Things start well with the
Schumann
, where he runs counter to type and pulls it off. The opening heroic gesture in the work is treated almost as just a little ornament, with a quick tempo and an emphasis on its offbeat rhythm leading into an interpretation that tends toward the nervous, settling only intermittently into the Allegro affettuoso
specifies for the first movement. It is an offbeat reading, to be sure, but one that is carried through consistently. The
G minor concerto
is more conventional, but
Goodyear
delivers thoroughly satisfying energy in the composer's brilliant passagework. Perhaps the best news of all is the pair of original works
contributes to the program. In the 19th century, virtuoso pianists might easily have rounded out a concert with works of their own. This is rarely done nowadays, and when it is, the new music has little to do with what has been heard up to that point. However,
's two works refer to Romanticism without being neo-Romantic. They have repeated notes derived from minimalist textures. The
Rhapsody
fits beautifully with the
concerto, and the
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
is even better, suggesting and delivering a close connection with
Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14
, but animating it with rhythms from sub-Saharan Africa.
has worked several times with the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
under
Andrew Constantine
, and the synergies are plainly growing. An impressive new take on the most standard of Romantic piano concerto programming. ~ James Manheim