Gounod : Oeuvres pour piano à pédalier et orchestre. Prosseda, Shelley.

Piano International (Nov, 2013)
As the name suggests, the pedal piano has a pedal keyboard, usually connected to a second set of strings. Gounod composed four works for pedal piano and orchestra, and these are expertly captured on this Hyperion disc, No 62 in the Romantic Piano Concerto series. Roberto Prosseda employs the Pinchi pedal piano system, the brainchild of Italian organ builder Claudio Pinchi, applying it to two Steinway D grand pianos. The sound world is fascinating; a multi-textured tapestry woven by an empowered soloist. The neoclassical Suite Concertante in A major has fire in its belly, full of swooping melodies and earworm motifs. The Concerto juxtaposes light and dark, yet retains a playful …