Glazunov - Piano Concerto 2 [Coombs/ Brabbins-BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra]Glazunov really doesn't get the accolades he deserves, he still remains on the fringes of the Russian greats, there's some truth to the accusation that he didn't create a truly oustanding piece of work, all of his Symphonies are accomplished and nice, but does anything rise into the league of memorable?, maybe his short Violin Concerto, and his Ballet the Seasons, and for me his Symphonic Poem Stenka Razin is thrilling, but his two Piano Concertos are certainly worth hearing again and again, unjustly neglected, they have some good musical ideas.
Stephen Coombs is English, and is now 51, records extensively for Hyperion Records, he recorded this disc in 1996, it's volume 13 in Hyperion's ongoing 'The Romantic Piano Concerto', all the booklets have these small black and white portraits of the Composers, with the background as a sheet of musical score, half in cream, and the other half a different colour for each issue, it gives a uniformness to the whole series, but i certainly wouldn't want to collect them all.
I certainly liked the Scond Piano Concerto, it lasts just over 20 minutes, fairly short i suppose, it's full of tuneful invention, he actually sounds quite English, this Concerto reminds me of Delius and Stanford rather than Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, it was the third movement that i liked the best, and it lasts a tad longer than the first two put together, the movements are in fact linked as one continuous work, it starts off with a very Rimsky-Korsakovian theme, which it explores thoroughly, but soon turns into a jolly Elgarian tune that uses extensive use of the triangle!, i guess it's quite a fantasy as it shifts all over the place with its different themes, Glazunov's Concerto is designed to come to a glorious majestic close, and halfway through we get the beginnings of the fanfare culmination on the brass [5:54+], and afterwards a life affirming warmth on the lower strings [6:24+], with rippling piano underpinnings, the music gets truly majestic [9:07+], and Glazunov gets a glorious close.
Here's Stephen Coombs playing the third movement of the Second Piano Concerto on YouTube.
