Piano Concerto No. 8 (Ries)

The Piano Concerto No. 8 in A-flat major, Op. 151 "Gruss an den Rhein" (French: "Salut au Rhein") (English: "Greetings to the Rhein"), by Ferdinand Ries was composed around 1826 and published in 1829 by Simrock.[1][2] While still showing the structural influence of Beethoven's piano concertos, the writing for the piano is more akin to that of later composers such as Chopin, Mendelssohn & Schumann.[3]

Composition history

Ries composed this work in 1826, some two years after his return from England and approximately two years after the publication of the last of his early piano concerti (Opp. 123 & 132). Allan Badley comments that this would most likely make it the seventh of Ries's eight piano concertos to be written.[lower-alpha 1] [4] As he was no longer an active concert pianist publication by N. Simrock, bearing a dedication to Godefroi Weber followed within a year.[1]

Structure

The concerto follows the traditional three-movement structure:

  1. Allegro con moto
  2. Larghetto con moto
  3. Rondo: Allegro molto

A typical performance of the work lasts around 28 to 30 minutes.

Recordings

Notable recordings of this composition include:

Pianist Conductor Orchestra Record Company Year of Recording Format
Christopher Hinterhuber Uwe Grodd New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Naxos 2005 CD
Piers Lane Leon Botstein The Orchestra Now Hyperion 2018 CD

References
Notes
  1. Concerto no. 8 refers to the order of publication, not composition, and likewise for all of Ries's concertos.
  1. McGorray 2015, p. 58
  2. Wigmore 2018, p. 5
  3. Bradley 2005
  4. McGorray 2015, pp. 59 & 60
Sources
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