Domenico Puccini: Piano concerto

Day 213

Domenico Puccini: Piano concerto in B flat major

Eugene List

Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra

Zlatko Topolinski

The Puccini was the 5th generation of composers in his family. Domenico, the composer of today’s piece, was his grandfather. He lived from 1772-1815 so was quite distant in time from the Puccini, who was not born until 1858. Musically they are many generations apart. This piano concerto is a typical work of the late Classical era. It has something of the spirit of Haydn and perhaps also of Mozart. But compared to their achievements this is very much the music of the local kappelmeister. Attractive and competently put together but without anything much to differentiate it from the hundreds of similar works which were being written by minor composers of the time.  There are attractive moments but also plenty of routine passages where the composer seems simply to be going through the motions. Like most of the pieces I have heard in this little exploration over the last few days one wonders if anybody would have gone to the trouble of performing and recording the piece had it not been for the family connections.