SIMON CALLAGHAN
Reinecke Concertos 1, 2 & 4 Sinfonieorchester St Gallen/ Modestas Pitrénas Hyperion CDA68339 HHHH Jeremy Nicholas’s excellent liner notes to the 85th disc in series from Hyperion state that ‘In the pantheon of great composers, Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) sits just below the salt.’ That’s putting it kindly. So no shame if you’re thinking ‘Reinecke Turns out he was an arch-conservative, and jaw-droppingly prolific. And sort of derivative too: the three concertos here, composed between 1860 and 1900, keep reminding one of ersatz Mendelssohn and Weber. (Yup, even in 1900, he still wrote like that.) But if these worksrather like upmarket muzak, they’re quite sweet and charming too, and pianist Simon Callaghan does a superb job with them. His crisp articulation shines in all the passages, and he has a lovely unforced way with the slow melodies. There’s decent support from the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen under Modestas Pitrénas as well. And after all, what’s wrong with a bit of sweetness and charm?
