Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Sinfonia Varsovia/Hervé Niquet Mirare 127****

Louis-Ferdinand Hérold (1791-1833) is known today for the overture to one of his operas, Zampa(1831) and a Clog Dancefrom the ballet La fille mal gardée(1828). What this CD promises is something altogether different: three piano concertos from 1811 and 1813, as a "missing link between Mozart and Chopin". There is a fourth concerto, Hérold's earliest, omitted because of the difficulty of deciphering the manuscript. The missing link suggestion is not actually as farfetched as you might have expected, and, to Irish ears, the music also shows some of the romantic inclinations of the concertos of John Field, though Hérold's style is more grounded and also lacks the aromatic effects that can make Field so fascinating. Soloist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and conductor Hervé Niquet make a most persuasive cased for these virtually unknown works. See mirare.fr