{"id":1217,"date":"2009-12-28T14:29:47","date_gmt":"2009-12-28T13:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2009-12-28T14:29:47","modified_gmt":"2009-12-28T13:29:47","slug":"2009-repertoire-report-stephen-hough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2009\/12\/28\/2009-repertoire-report-stephen-hough\/","title":{"rendered":"2009 Repertoire Report- Stephen Hough"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far, all of our 2009 Repertoire Reports have been on either conductors or orchestras, and I thought it would be very interesting to look at a report for a leading non-conductor. Pianist Stephen Hough<\/a> is certainly by every measure one of the top artists in the world these days- he was practically the house band for the Proms this summer, playing all the Tchaikovsky works for piano and orchestra. He\u2019s had a busy year, but he seems to have been careful to not commit to too much- only 15 works on his list, essentially one recital program (which got tweaked a couple of times through the year) and 7 concerti, including 4 by Tchaikovsky. \u00a0There\u2019s no Beethoven, no Brahms and very little German music at all. Chopin figures highly, but Debussy and Ravel are absent. Stephen is a composer in his own right, but there are no works by living composers on his list for this year.<\/p>\n

I wonder if he was a little extra cautious with repertoire this year because he was doing some of the Tchaik\u2019s for the first time. The pressure of doing such a huge project under the spotlight of televised concerts at the Albert Hall must have been extraordinary. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s hoping that he continues to get opportunities to re-visit pieces like the Concert Fantasy, which must have taken a lot of work to prepare even for him and is almost never played- it\u2019s not going to be an easy sell to presenters. Still, whether he\u2019s succeeded in bringing more of Tchaikovsky\u2019s output into the mainstream (I\u2019ve always loved the 2nd<\/sup> concerto), it was a wonderful project and one that deserved the attention and profile of an artist of his stature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0We\u2019ll look forward to a 2010 repertoire report to see if the number of works and range of projects is typical. Will there be other cycles like the Tchaik? New recordings? You can see a preview of next year here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, Stephen writes one of the most interesting blogs out there<\/a>– do check it out.<\/p>\n

1-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bach\/Cortot\/Hough: Toccata & Fugue in D minor<\/p>\n

2-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Faur\u00e9: Nocturne No. 6, Op. 63<\/p>\n

3-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Faur\u00e9: Impromptu No. 5, Op. 102<\/p>\n

4-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Faur\u00e9: Barcarolle No. 5, Op. 66<\/p>\n

5-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue<\/p>\n

6-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Copland: Piano Variations<\/p>\n

7-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chopin: Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1<\/p>\n

8-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chopin: Sonata in B minor, Op. 58<\/p>\n

9-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No.1<\/p>\n

10-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mozart: Piano Concerto K. 467<\/p>\n

11-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rachmaninov: Paganini Rhapsody<\/p>\n

12-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 1<\/p>\n

13-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 2<\/p>\n

14-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tchaikovsky: Concert Fantasy<\/p>\n

15-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 3<\/p>\n