César Franck (1822-1890) – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 11, Martijn van den Hoek (piano), Arnhem Philarmonic Orchestra, Roberto Benzi (conductor)
“In his earlier career as a virtuoso pianist, it was natural that Franck should provide music in the expected style of the time, operatic variations and fantasies and concertos. His Deuxième Grand Concerto in B minor, Opus 11, was probably written in 1835, when Franck was thirteen, the period of the Première Grande Sonate and of the Variations brillantes sur la ronde favorite de Gustav III, among a series of virtuoso compositions for the piano. The concerto has its own interest, beyond that of an exhibition of precocity. ”