Thursday 14 July 2011

Grieg - Piano Concerto [Tanyel/Burgos-London Symphony Orchestra] 

This is so good to visit this Piano Concerto again, this is one of the early entries in my blog last year [22nd January 2010], and it's good to hear it again, on this listen i somehow didn't quite find real power behind the playing, maybe it's just me, maybe it was my mood, but i did find wonderful lyricism from Tanyel.

Seta Tanyel is Armenian, and this recording was made in 1990, the front cover photograph is great, a nice sharp shot with a blue background, Collins Classics made some great discs in their time, and it's a shame about their demise, this is one of the very best Grieg / Schumann discs that i own.

The last two movements were tremendous, but it was the middle movement, full of tenderness and passion that really got my heart, there's a serene two minute orchestral introduction, laying down some wonderful preliminary ideas, but it's when Tanyel comes in [1:57-2:18] that the mood is just so perfect with those first few notes, and she repeats the same notes a second time [2:44-3:06] just for heavenly emphasis, right near the end there's some lovely soft pianism from Tanyel [5:25-5:53], being a fairly short movement,the whole thing is over too soon, but it's one of the very best creations from Grieg, so moody.

Here's Julia Fischer playing the slow movement on YouTube.