Piano Concerto No 8 in A flat major ‘Gruss an den Rhein’ Op 151[29’55]
1
Allegro con moto[12’40]
2
Larghetto con moto[5’45]
3
Rondo: Allegro molto[11’30]
4
Introduction and Polonaise Op 174[14’49]
Piano Concerto No 9 in G minor Op 177[28’37]
5
Allegro[13’10]
6
Larghetto con moto[6’48]
7
Rondo: Allegro[8’39]
Ferdinand Ries may once have been celebrated as ‘one of the finest piano-performers of the present day’ (the 1820s), but he is now remembered chiefly for his association with Beethoven. Yet the music here is never slavishly imitative: Piers Lane makes a persuasive case for rescuing these works from the pages of musical history.