Though barely remembered now, both Salomon Jadassohn and Felix Draeseke were major figures in German musical
life in the second half of the 19th century. Both began their studies at the conservative Leipzig Conservatory but after
independently encountering Liszt and his work at Weimar in the 1850s both became disciples of that composer and the
New German School he established. Jadassohn subsequently returned to Leipzig where he composed and had a long
and distinguished teaching career, his pupils including Delius, Grieg and Busoni, while Draeseke finally ended up in
Dresden teaching at the Conservatory there.
In a further paralleling of lives, both composers’ concertos were written at almost the same time—Draeseke’s sole
example in 1886 and Jadassohn’s two the following year. All three are expertly crafted and feature wonderfully
idiomatic piano writing, as one would expect of Liszt pupils. Stylistically they show their links both to Liszt’s single
movement forms (Jadassohn 1) and also to more traditional models. While not ground-breaking these are thoroughly
enjoyable examples of the genre and one must question why the Jadassohn works in particular, which have truly
memorable themes, have been so completely forgotten.
We are delighted to welcome Markus Becker in his first concerto recording for Hyperion; expect more soon!