Saint-Saëns: The Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra [CD]

Stephen Hough's recording of Saint-Saëns' piano concertos comes as no surprise: he is our leading champion of once-lost pianistic causes--Scharwenka, Sauer and Mompou being among the composers he has brilliantly committed to disc. For all his fame, Saint-Saëns is a harder cause to champion than any of the above, since his music really is at times mere padding. But what those who deride him fail to see is that the Muse also frequently perched on his shoulder, most notably in the Fourth Concerto with its lovely set of variations. They also miss the central point about his art, which reflected a rigorously anti-Romantic stance: "Art is intended to create beauty and character," he wrote. "Feeling only comes afterwards, and art can very well do without it." As the author of Hyperion's excellent liner-note rightly observes, it's ironic that Saint-Saëns ' anti-emotionality should have damned him in the eyes of critics, when Stravinsky's similar stance earned him accolades. Stephen Hough brings his customary grace and precision to bear in these unexpectedly interesting works, ably abetted by Sakari Oramo in the pit. Sometimes the composer paints intimate tone-pictures, sometimes he evokes vast waterscapes, but at all times Hough keeps you alert and on the edge of your seat. --Michael Church

Poor old Saint-Saëns: he never quite seems to be taken seriously as one of the great French composers of the late 19th-century, and all you ever seem to hear is Carnival of the Animals or the Organ Symphony. You will sometimes come across the Second Piano Concerto, less frequently the Fourth... but it's over 20 years since anyone recorded all five of them. So what's wrong with 1, 3 and 5? If Stephen Hough is to be trusted (and I think he is!) absolutely nothing. The CBSO and Sakari Oramo seem just as convinced by these concertos, partnering Hough with sensitivity and passion - exactly the qualities he employs at the keyboard.

Hough's a rare virtuoso, capable of letting fly dazzling cascades, yet careful never to employ his phenomenal technique for its own sake. He's gentle, thoughtful, generous and committed - there's nothing selfish or insensitive about his interpretations, and these two cds of the Saint-Saëns Concertos plus Rapsodie d'Auvergne, Allegro apassionato and Africa are an excellent opportunity to reassess these undervalued works.

It's a strangely intimate recording, which manages not to sound like Symphony Hall in Birmingham at all, but then it does rather suit these performances.

At first glance it might seem strange that this admittedly outstanding set of these relatively under-appreciated concertos just walked off not only with the Concerto prize at the 2002 Gramophone Awards, but also the top prize: Disc of the Year. Strange, that is, until you've heard them for yourself. Go on, you know what to do...

Andrew McGregor - presenter of CD Review on Radio 3

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Mikhail Pletnev - Live at Carnegie Hall --John Armstrong

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As performed at the Proms 2011