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Music Kurt Leimer and Richard Strauss – Piano Concertos for the Left Hand The first CD performance of the Special edition Kurt Leimer (Colosseum Nürnberg, COL 9200.2) unites two outstanding piano concertos for the left hand: Richard Strauss’ Panathenäenzug, Symphonic Etude in the Form of a Passacaglia for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra op. 74 and Kurt Leimer’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in One Movement. Both concertos are presented in a historical recording by Kurt Leimer which has been carefully re-mastered with the help of state of the art technology. The recording clearly shows Kurt Leimer’s phenomenal virtuosity. Richard Strauss’ concerto was composed in 1927 for the Viennese pianist Paul Wittgenstein who had lost his right arm during World War I. The concert was first performed in 1928, but unfortunately disappeared relatively quickly from the concert halls. It is Kurt Leimer’s merit to have re-discovered this composition for the public. Leimer first played the piece for Richard Strauss who was so impressed by Leimer’s playing that he dedicated the Panathenäenzug to Leimer exactly 20 years after its creation in 1947. The first public performance took place in 1947 in Lugano played by the Orchestra della Radio Svizzera Italiana conducted by Otmar Nussio. The new CD recording presents Strauss’ concert in a performance from 1954 which Kurt Leimer played with the Philharmonic Orchestra London conducted by Herbert von Karajan for Electrola records. Kurt Leimer’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in One Movement was composed in 1944/45 after a college friend of Leimer’s had lost his right arm due to a grenade injury. Leimer’s concerto not only carries on the tradition of the genre “Piano Concerts for the Left Hand”, but it also demonstrates that the composer belonged to the generation of the 20th century which was characterized by a moderate modernity. Leimer’s piano concerto fascinates the listener with its vivid melodies and interesting and extremely artistic inclusion of Jazz idioms as well as impressionistic musical elements. The concerto’s degree of technical difficulty proves Kurt Leimer’s phenomenal pianistic abilities. The source of this new CD is a 1972 recording of a performance which Kurt Leimer played with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Günter Neidlinger. Since 17 October, 2005 the CD of Richard Strauss’ and Kurt Leimer’s Piano Concertos for the Left Hand has been available in record stores worldwide under the title: Kurt Leimer – Richard Strauss. Klavierkonzerte für die linke Hand / Piano Concertos for the Left Hand. Colosseum Schallplatten, COL 9200.2 (2005). All of the proceeds from the sale of this CD will go to the Kurt Leimer Piano Contest. Sound-Examples for download (Format *.wma) Kurt Leimer, Concerto for Piano (Left-Hand) and Orchestra Kurt Leimer (Piano), Herbert von Karajan (Direction), Philharmonia Orchestra London. Recording: Electrola, EMI F 65 348 (1954), Re-Edition: Colosseum Schallplatten, Nuremberg, COL 9200.2 (2005). Richard Strauss, Panathenäenzug op. 74 Symphonic Etudes in the Form of a Passacaglia for Piano (left Hand) and Orchestra (Cadenza by Kurt Leimer), Kurt Leimer (Piano), Günter Neidlinger (Direction), Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. Recording: Colosseum Schallplattten, Colos SM 562 (1972), Re-Edition: Colosseum Schallplatten, Nuremberg, COL 9200.2 (2005). Reviews (Selection) http://www.proclassics.de Piano News. Magazin für Klavier und Flügel, September / Oktober 2006 Musik & Theater, Juli / August 2007
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Kurt Leimer Stiftung | info@kurtleimer.ch |