March 10th, 2011
Program notes for London Orchestral Debut,
Arthur Hinton Piano Concerto
Music from the beginning of the Twentieth century—especially conservative Romantic music—has recently been undergoing a revival. We are discovering that some of these works have been unfairly neglected. The Piano Concerto in D Minor of Arthur Hinton (1869-1941) is one such overlooked musical treasure. Although the copyright is dated 1920, a reference in an old London Illustrated mentions a performance as early as 1911 with Hinton’s wife, the well-known concert pianist Katherine Goodson (1872-1958), as the soloist.
The D Minor Concerto is certainly a late Romantic virtuoso work, but not in the clattery and ponderous manner of so many other similar works. It is a thoughtful and passionate work, skillfully constructed. The first movement opens with a timpani statement of the motive. This motive plays an important role throughout the movement and is repeated by the full orchestra leading to the opening piano cadenza. A poignant second theme beautifully contrasts with the bold opening material. The second movement, a scherzo, is a charming visit to an elfin eyrie. The movement contains a transparent orchestral texture, leggiero piano configurations, and a waltz midway through the movement.
The brief third movement is perhaps the most “british” of the movements. The cor anglais presents an eloquent and melancholy theme. The piano responds with reminiscences of the first movement’s second theme. The final rondo movement brilliantly combines the 9/8 theme in a transition to what might be the high point of the concerto, the lyrical 2nd theme that is almost Brahmsian in its expansiveness.
I located this work in the archive collection at the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center in New York City. I learned subsequently that Hinton and Goodson summered for a number of years in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Both artists were enthusiastically received by American critics over the years in the early twentieth century. I hope this performance helps to restore a most worthy piano work to the great British music repertoire.