The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol.62

The Romantic Piano Concerto series reaches volume sixty-two and makes an interesting (although temporary) departure: these four works are for pedal piano (a piano that includes a separate keyboard for the feet, to be played in the manner of an organ). Gounod was inspired by the talent of the young and apparently very attractive Lucie Palicot whom he heard performing Alkan's music for pedal piano in 1882. Gounod is far better known for his operatic and liturgical compositions. These works show a different side to this nineteenth-century luminary. Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda makes his debut on Hyperion. He gave the first modern performance of Gounod's Concerto for pedal piano and orchestra, and his repertoire fot the instrument also includes the original works by Schumann, Boely and Alkan.