Front cover of the publication: Ferdinant Ries Grand Concert Pour le Pianoforte First version of Piano Concerto No.6 in C Major, Op.123 Edited by Adam Swayne
Flyer of the new publication, with the following additional information : This edition presents the first version of Ferdinand Ries's earliest piano concerto, the Grand concert pour le pianoforte (1806), which has gone untouched for over two centuries. Composed upon Ries's return to Bonn after his time as Beethoven's piano pupil, secretary, and copyist, this ambitious and expansive concerto shows the undeniable influence of his former teacher. Following extensive revision, the concerto was eventually published as the Piano Concerto No. 6 in C Major, op. 123, but Ries's preservation of his original autograph supports the idea that he regarded the first iteration of the concerto as not just an early draft but an important score in its own right. This edition not only facilitates comparison with the work's later version, which illuminates stylistic shifts within the piano concerto genre in the context of a single work, but also explores Ries's earliest foray into one of the most significant areas of his compositional output. Dr. Adam Swayne is Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK. He has undertaken research into Ferdinand Ries as a Fulbright Scholar at Northwestern University. Alongside nineteenth-century concertos, contemporary music has been the primary focus of his performing career, following the example of his teacher at Northwestern, Professor Ursula Oppens. He cofounded the London-based Riot Ensemble, which won the inaugural Ernst von Siemens Ensemble Prize in 2020. He has recorded two solo albums with Coviello Classics that address societal issues in the United States. He was the only artist to be nominated in two categories at the 2019 Opus Klassik awards in Germany. The BBC have recommended his performances in print, broadcast, and online. The Times described him as "a pianist of formidable technique and high intelligence," and the Evening Standard as "an ideal blend of panache and subtlety."
A long‑lost 19th-century piano concerto by Beethoven’s pupil Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) - re-discovered, edited, and premiered by Dr Adam Swayne (@adamswayne.bsky.social) - has recently been published for the first time in history by A-R Editions 🎶🎹 🎵
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