Special offer. William Sterndale Bennett: Complete Piano Concertos
Malcolm Binns (piano), Simon Callaghan (piano), Hiroaki Takenouchi (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Nicholas Braithwaite, Martin Yates
Special offer. William Sterndale Bennett: Complete Piano Concertos
Malcolm Binns (piano), Simon Callaghan (piano), Hiroaki Takenouchi (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Nicholas Braithwaite, Martin Yates
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About
Bennett’s first three piano concertos were composed at a rate of one a year, in 1832, 1833 and 1834, each one being started during his summer vacation and completed during the Autumn term at the Royal Academy of Music. The First Concerto made such an impact that Bennett was invited to perform it before King William IV and Queen Adelaide at Windsor Castle. Following his habit of beginning the composition of a new piano concerto during the quieter months of the Summer, the Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor, op. 19, was composed during the Summer of 1838. In July Bennett wrote to both Mendelssohn and the Concert Director at the Gewandhaus that he had composed a new concerto expressly for performance at the Gewandhaus when he next visited Germany. The first performance took place in London on 26 September before a small audience at the RAM, with the slow movement a revised version of ‘A Stroll through the Meadows’, which had originally been composed for his earlier F minor Concerto (numbered in modern times no. 5).
Contents and tracklist
- William Sterndale Bennett: Complete Piano Concertos
Spotlight on this release
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Simon Callaghan on Sterndale Bennett
23rd Feb 2026
Known for his adventurous exploration of neglected repertoire, the British pianist discusses his latest recording of concertos by William Sterndale Bennett (released last month on Lyrita).
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Sterndale Bennett Concertos from Simon Callaghan
2nd Jan 2026
Simon Callaghan joins the Northern Sinfonia and Martin Yates to champion the music of a nineteenth-century English composer who was admired by Schumann and Mendelssohn, but whose music is played and discussed less than it deserves.
