Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1961), Sonata for Piano (1952)
PHCD110 | Phoenix CD
| Name | Credit | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Alberto Ginastera | composer |
 |
Hilde Somer | pianist |
| Ernst Maerzendorfer | conductor |
Alberto Ginastera
PHCD110 | Phoenix CD
| Name | Credit | |
|---|---|---|
|
Alberto Ginastera | composer |
|
Hilde Somer | pianist |
| Ernst Maerzendorfer | conductor |
Sonata for Piano (1952)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1961)
Hilde Somer, piano
Vienna Philharmonia Orchestra
Ernst Maerzendorfer, conductor
| 1 | Sonata Piano: Allegro Marcato |
04:26 |
||
| 2 | Sonata Piano: Presto Misterioso |
02:33 |
||
| 3 | Sonata Piano: Adagio Molto Appassionato |
05:29 |
||
| 4 | Sonata Piano: Ruvido Ed Ostinato |
02:56 |
||
| 5 | Concerto Piano: Cadenza E Varianti |
09:02 |
||
| 6 | Concerto Piano & Orchestra: Scherzo Allucinante |
05:16 |
||
| 7 | Concerto Piano: Adagissimo |
05:56 |
||
| 8 | Concerto Piano: Toccata Concertata |
06:26 |
PHCD 110 presents two major keyboard works by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, highlighting his bold rhythmic language, dramatic contrasts, and unmistakable modernist voice. The powerful Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1961) and the virtuosic Sonata for Piano (1952) reveal Ginastera at the height of his creative intensity, blending percussive brilliance with expressive depth. Performed by pianist Hilde Somer with the Vienna Philharmonia Orchestra under Ernst Maerzendorfer, this Phoenix USA edition restores two landmark mid‑century works with clarity and archival precision.
Ginastera’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” was written in early 1961 on commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and is dedicated to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky. When the Piano Concerto had its world premiere during the Second Inter-American Music Festival at Washington, D.C. on April 22, 1961, Irving Lowen wrote glowingly of the Argentine and his work in the usually austere scholarly journal “The Musical Quarterly”: “Good as the Festival was, there was one figure who towered head and shoulders above his colleagues-Alberto Ginastera.”
His “Sonata for Piano” was composed in 1952 for the Pittsburgh Contemporary Music Festival on commission from the Carnegie Institute and the Pennsylvania College for Women. Johanna Harris, pianist-wife of the eminent American composer Roy Harris, premiered the Ginastera Sonata at the Pittsburgh Festival on November 29, 1952.
Composer: Alberto Ginastera
Pianist: Hilde Somer
Conductor: Ernst Maerzendorfer
Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonia Orchestra
Catalog Number: PHCD 110
This Phoenix USA edition is sourced from archival materials and restored to highlight the power, clarity, and rhythmic intensity of Ginastera’s writing.