Louis Lortie (piano)

BBC Philharmonic, Edward Gardner

Saint-Saëns: Rapsodie d'Auvergne for piano & orchestra Op. 73
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major Op. 29
Saint-Saëns: Allegro appassionato for piano, or piano & orchestra, Op. 70
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103 'Egyptian'

Louis Lortie completes his survey of the piano concertos of Saint-Saëns with Nos 3 and 5 (the Egyptian), adding the Rhapsodie dAuvergne and Allegro appassionato for good measure. As before, he is joined by Edward Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic.

"Lortie truly has the measure of this music. The Third Concerto (1869) is thrown off, despite its many technical challenges, with breathtaking bravura (though even he fails to persuade that the Allegro non troppo finale is not overlong). The ‘Egyptian’ Fifth – so named because it quotes a Nubian song in the central Andante – fizzes along as convincingly as any competitor. The accompaniments are superb, as is Chandos’ sound." - International Piano, February 2020.