Ronald Brautigam Does Wilms Concertos Justice

Johann Wilhelm Wilms wrote, "The knowledge that you have not produced anything trivial, that you have achieved honourable things through your achievements, is in itself the best reward." 

He did have tremendous talent as a pianist and composer. But Wilms was never more than a regional celebrity in his lifetime. 

That region was Holland. Wilms was the most prominent musical figure in Amsterdam in the early 1800s. He was an admirer of both Mozart and Beethoven. He premiered Beethoven's piano concertos in Amsterdam with himself as soloist. 

Part of the problem was that Dutch audiences wanted light entertainment. Wilms was writing on an entirely different level. Fortunately, recordings such as this album let us reevaluate his work. 

Volume Two of the Wilms piano concerto series presents his two largest works. The Piano concerto in F major was written in 1814. Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto had premiered five years before. 

Wilms seems to take inspiration from Beethoven. His motifs are clear-cut, and he develops them in a manner like Beethoven's. But Wilms' music isn't derivative. He knew the capabilities of the piano and wrote accordingly.

This concerto takes some unexpected turns that keep the listener engaged. So too does the Piano Concerto in E-flat major. Wilms completed this work in 1820. Here the gestures are bigger, and perhaps a little reactionary. By 1820 the newer Romantic style was beginning to coalesce. But not with Wilms. 

The work has the elegant balance of a Classical Era concerto. And it has the large, dramatic gestures Beethoven brought to the genre. 

Ronald Brutigan delivers an exceptional performance. He uses a fortepiano, rather than a modern piano. The timber is different, and it gives us a better idea of the sound Wilms had in mind. 

I normally don't like the sound of the fortepiano. But when played by Brutigam, I do. Attacks are clean, and the mechanism is virtually silent. The instrument's sound is truly expressive.

Johann Wilhelm Wilms: Piano Concertos, Vol. 2
Ronald Bautigam, fortepiano
Kölner Akademie; Michael Alexander Willens conductor
BIS SACD 2524