Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 [Kissin/ Spivakov-Moscow Virtuosi]

This was a fantastic experience, every now and then a very familiar work really hits you like a ton of bricks, this happened today with me, the whole thing just flows like molten lava, Kissin and Spivakov do everything right, i was just in the mood for this today, Mozart's number 20 is my favourite Piano Concerto of his, must have heard it roughly 125 times, but this disc only gets its second playing, and on feeling for it, i'm sure it will get many more, Kissin also has another newer crack at this work, on EMI coupled work Piano Concerto 27, with Kissin conducting the Kremerata Baltica, i'll look out for that one too, this disc appeared in my Blog in 2011 [11th November 2011].

Evgeny Kissin is Russian, he's now 43, he made this recording in 1992 when he was roughly 20, the front cover photograph [by Bette Marshall], shows Kissin at the keyboard, i think this picture came out when he recorded the other work on the disc when he was 16, he certainly looks young, the photo is lit in a lovely way, especially the keyboard, the lettering is great, well laid out, a really pleasing booklet cover.

The first movement was absolutely tremendous, i was doing some writing while listening to the work, and i had to keep stopping, i just couldn't concentrate for the music, Kissin is so intense, the music moves along in a menacing way, and the D Minor key hostility is brought out to the fore, this is no pleasant 'happy tune' Mozart, it's a real demon, here's my synopsis,
The opening introduction is ominous, restless strings, until the whole thing explodes [0:28+], the invention of the whole thing before the piano arrives is a creation of genius, it's less of an introduction, and more of a statement that the piano now has to 'fight' to get heard, and when the piano does come in it sounds innocent [2:20+], but quickly the piano ends up in turmoil too, i like Kissin's tone, a really beautiful sounding piano, in lovely clear sounds, the orchestral tutti's keep switching from sweet to angry, and i just love those 'braying' strings with their opening motif, just listen to Kissin's call and response to the orchestra [6:50-7:10], he seems to be quite a hard hitter of the keys, and creates a real argument with Spivakov, there's a real feel of the whole thing just going round and round as a nightmare that won't ever end, but from the listeners point of view it's a wonderful effect, in the long cadenza [10:47-13:08], which i guess must be by Mozart, Kissin gets to shine solo, i love the way he really thrusts into those braying opening chords [12:00-12:10], nice and loud and menacing, and gives a spectacular lead in as he leaps into his finale [12:52-13:08], the orchestra has the last laugh as it winds down [13:53-14:08], the woodwind especially in reflective mode.

Here's Kissin playing this Concerto on YouTube.

Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 [Ax/Ormandy-The Philhadelphia Orchestra]

Only last week i reviewed Weissenberg / Skrowaczewski playing this same Concerto, and the recordings are like opposites, with this one the sound is more duller and bassy, the timings are almost the same, except the middle movement, which is 93 seconds slower here, Weissenberg was brash and up front, Ax is bogged down in the orchestra, i like the former the better, but this was a good experience as well, and i'm certainly warming to Chopin's Piano Concertos.

Emanuel Ax was born in Ukraine, but is now an American citizen, he is now 64, this disc came out in 1984, just before Ormandy died, the front cover shows Ax presumably sitting on his piano stool, facing away from the piano, the lettering is very symmetrical, and RCA certainly like their logos multicoloured, but i like it.

Well i must admit that it was the central movement Larghetto that really got to me this time, it has some beautiful stuff in there, Ormandy takes a nice leisurely view of the movement, Ax comes in dreamily, and plays the main tune with lots of romantic overtones [0:41+], there's real space there for him to develop his ideas, the lovely gentle dive down the keyboard is exquisitely done [2:16-2:23], there's a darker central section [4:22+], where Ax plays very gentle and quiet [4:37-4:42], shimmering low strings, and the basses string low notes in reply, now that's a nice moment, towards the end of this middle section, Ax plays some very delicate work [5:50-6:09], there's a depth of spirituality there, in retrospect the sound isn't as bad as i made out in my opening paragraph, in fact it's really quite good, well this is an amazing achievement for 20 year old Chopin.

Here's Ax playing the second movement on YouTube.

Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 [Weissenberg/ Skrowaczewski-Orchestre De La Societe Des Concerts Du Conservatoire]

This is the very first time i've played this disc, and i was surprised at how good it was, it's a 1967 recording, and i can hear it's age, but it's been remastered very well, quite a bright recording, but really thrilling too, maybe Skrowaczewski takes the slow movements a little too slowly, but he holds it up well, the piano is very alive and forward in the recording, somewhat spotlit in the aural picture, i'm not all that enamoured by the Chopin Piano Concertos, and i don't have that many recordings as a consequence, but today i feel i've developed a new love for these works.

Alexis Weissenberg was Bulgarian, he died three years ago [1929-2012], and he recorded this disc in 1967, this is a re-issue on the red line series for EMI, with some really nice discs in this series, and i certainly enjoyed this one, the front cover photography is really excellent, showing ornate windows with shutters, and balconies with iron railings, there's a gorgeous symmetry to it all, and the white box for the lettering, and the dash of red, make the black & white photo really stand out, a lovely finished product.

So onto the music, and the first movement was tremendous, and yes i must admit that i've never been so thrilled with this work as on this disc, i now have a new appreciation of it, because of the recording fortes can sound a little shrill, but regardless the 1967 recording is a marvel, Skrowaczewski develops real drama in the orchestral introduction [0:00-2:55], whipping up the players into a nice passion, and when Weissenberg comes in, yes it really is louder than life, very spotlit in retrospect, but it's so good to hear Weissenberg precisely and clearly, great piano sound, i feel that he's a hard hitter of the piano, if i could only turn the piano down a notch, and turn up the orchestra a notch too, it would sound more balanced, it's amazing how quiet the background is, you can even hear the slight creak of a chair clearly!, also i appreciate more than ever Chopin's beautiful melodies and ideas, there's real romance hear, even though it may seem that in this Concerto the orchestra are reduced to accompanists, Weissenberg's playing is virtuosic in complex passages, and compassionate in quieter passages, the final conclusion is that yes, i do have a problem by the balance between the piano and orchestra.

Here's Weissenberg playing this movement on YouTube.

Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 [Brendel/ Mackerras-Scottish Chamber Orchestra]

It's great to have this coupling, with Mozart's two Minor key mature piano Concertos together, they make an apt 'twin', and like yesterday this is in D Minor also, and my favourite Mozart Piano Concerto, and my favourite Pianist too!, and with a Chamber Orchestra, it's perfect for Mozart, altogether a great combination, this disc has featured highly in my Blog before [20th October 2011 & 28th October 2012].

Alfred Brendel is Austrian, he's now 84 and retired, he recorded this disc in 1998, the front booklet cover shows a grainy black & white photo of Brendel's head [by Regina Schmeken], a mustard coloured band at the bottom, with Mozart in large letters, and different fonts of black and white for the rest, it's a great and clever idea, the back inlay is roughly the same, all cleverly done.

I just can't help loving this opening movement Allegro, it has some of the greatest Mozartian ideas, it reminds me of ideas in his Requiem [also in D Minor], braying brass, instruments seemingly grating on each other, but in actuality sounding the other sort of great!, the introduction by the orchestra is a moment to savour, full of anxiety and trouble, high strings and low strings competing against each other [0:00-0:31], and the brass come in shocking us with their brashness [0:31+], if the D in D Minor represents Death in his Requiem, then D minor here stands for Danger, themes of this opening are repeated by the orchestra as the introduction [0:00-2:24], the piano has at first a more brighter view of the music, while the orchestra remains dissonant, but quickly the piano adopts the same dark forebodings [2:57+], it's so easy to examine every little phrase by Mozart, and find something incredible in there, this work is so choc full of great things everywhere, rarely but at certain points you can hear Brendel groaning, really getting into his playing, like some idee fixe, the opening motif keeps coming back again and again, and it's such a joy to hear, it creates an incredible power, Brendel uses his own cadenza in this movement [11:17-13:08], strange at first, as your expecting the usual, but it's actually good to hear music composed by Brendel!, of course it's kept around the themes of Mozart's music, and it fits within the era of the times, Brendel's a great exponent of Mozart.

Here's Brendel playing the first movement on YouTube.

Delius - Piano Concerto [Lane/Handley-Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra]

This is a lovely copupling of three less known Piano Concertos, and all English to boot, it's a disc that i've played over twenty times, it's amazing that these concertos aren't more into the central repertoire, my favourite here is the Delius, now i have to admit that i'm not some Delius expert, i haven't listened to him extensively, but what i have heard hasn't impressed me much, his miniatures seem so trivial, other longer works seem to meander and go nowhere, there isn't enough interest to keep my attention, however his Piano Concerto is another matter, a real work of genius, a long lost English masterpiece, even though this work on this disc hasn't appeared in my Blog before, the disc has twice with the Finzi work, plus Piers Lane has featured in my Blog twice with this work in a performance on the Hyperion label [19th March 2010 & 7th October 2011].

Piers Lane is Australian, now 57, he has recorded extensively for Hyperion, these EMI Eminence discs can be a great way to add to your collection fairly inexpensively, this is one of the very best of the series.

So it was the first movement which i find tremendous, it starts with a lazy and atmospheric intro on the low strings [0:00-0:17], maybe an English version of something you'd get from Dvorak, it's really beautiful and memorable, the piano appears right after, and at first Delius has this tendency to use the piano not as a 'soloist v orchestra', but rather they work as one together, very symphonic, and the recording seems to help here as the piano isn't spotlit, it's equal with the orchestra, the main tune to the whole movement is introduced by the horns [2:01-2:21], and taken up by the piano [2:06+], and in a really sweet way too [2:28+], almost developing into a cadenza at times, after sweetness there's forebodings of darker clouds [4:40+], there's a nice little episode where the opening intro comes back as a theme, disguised on the flutes at first [5:55+], but then the whole orchestra comes in, and Delius works this up into the main theme in full glory [6:39+], it's not particularly a long movement, less than ten minutes, so we're already developing threads for its eventual ending at roughly the seven minute mark, it actually ends with a whimper, the whole thing winds down to nothing, when you're expecting a big finale finish, but the Concerto is played 'as one movement', so things are resolved at the very end of the third movement as it were, it's a strange concoction really.

Here's Justin Bird playing this Concerto on YouTube.

Beethoven Piano Concerto 5 'Emperor' [Brendel/Haitink-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

Only listened to Brendel a few days ago, and here he is again, got the chance to listen to the other work on this disc, the Choral Fantasia, and i've only listened to this performance on this disc a few times, and with Helene Grimaud, it's still 'unknown' to me, but today i understood its structure more, it's coming, the Piano Concerto 5 was heaven, i'm still stunned in the realisation that after probably a few hundred times, this work can still make me sit up and be just wowed by it's joy and happiness, will i ever get 'used' to it?, i hope not!, here's the other two times it's enjoyed exposure in my Blog [13th February 2010 & 10th May 2012].

Alfred Brendel is Austrian, now 84, he recorded this work in 1976, i love these Philips 'insignia' discs, they really hit a spot, nice re-issues, nicely packaged, this one sports a lovely portrait of Brendel on his back / front porch [by Alecio De Andrade], a great little shot, love the way it's taken from a lower position, the lettering is great on these 'insignia' discs, and the colour schemes work out well, this one's a dull pink.

The first movement is nearly 21 minutes long, that's longer than the other two movements put together, but if anything it's over too quickly, here Beethoven produces something of sheer joy and exuberance, there's no respite, one joyous theme blends into the next, and today i was swept along with the ride, unlike say a Mozart piano Concerto, there's no orchestral intro for a minute or two, but rather a piano solo, almost a cadenza to start things off [0:00-1:10], extremely revolutionary, but each time punctuated by an orchestral fanfare, almost sounding like the pianist playing the Concerto without the orchestra, and then comes what can be considered a Mozartean orchestral introduction of the full theme [1:10-4:15], a massive four minute thing, it also follows the usual piano and orchestral tutti back and forth, i just can't help feeling that there's this major 'laugh' at times, whether in the orchestra or in the piano, it gives it it's sunny joy, and even more so in the final movement, i love the way the opening comes back again and again, the whole thing is a real statement of fanfare and celebration, Brendel is loud and purposeful, emphatic at times, but i love his way with his forthrightness, the ending seems to mirror the opening somewhat, and there's a real cadenza of sorts at the end [17:56-18:42], i love the way Beethoven brings a nice resolution at the end of the movement, arpeggios going down the keyboard [20:13-20:29], and just when your reeling from that, then comes the achingly spiritual Adagio... 

Here's Brendel / Masur playing the Concerto on YouTube.

Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 [Schiff/ Vegh- Camerata Academica Des Mozarteums salzburg]

Probably my second favourite version of this Concerto, i seem to play this quite a lot, last appeared in my Blog in 2012 [30th September 2012], Andras Schiff is a great interpreter, and the Orchestra is somewhat of a chamber outfit, so you get a smaller feel for these works, probably more like what Mozart would have experienced in his day, plus Schiff plays a Bosendorfer i believe, a shade more toward what Mozart would play, rather than a Steinway, of course a pianforte 'original instuments' version it ain't, but Schiff gives you a feel for things, and i think good ole Wolfgang himself would have been pleased with the results.

Andras Schiff is Hungarian, he's now 61, he recorded this disc way back in 1989, i didn't realise this recording was that old, Schiff has recorded the full cycle of these Concertos, available in all sorts of packages, i love sampling individual discs, and i believe this is the best of the bunch, each of the front booklet covers show photography by Phil Sayer, showing Schiff i guess in Vienna?, with architecture in the background leaning, and low down shots with wonderful lighting, i love the blue theme throughout the cycle.

Well it the first movement Allegro that always gets me, it's Mozart's greatest Piano Concerto movement in my opinion, it's just so revolutionary, it has an incredible drive to it, it starts off quiet enough to begin with, but there's this undercurrent of unease and dread, a braying on the lower strings gives it a certain menace, and a sharp blast from the horns make you jolt upright! [0:28], i love this opening tutti from the orchestra, it's not a mere intro just to announce the piano, it's the music itself, the orchestra gets equal billing here, the piano also starts innocently enough [2:20], except for the fact it's in D Minor!, the same key for his Requiem [D for death as far as i'm concerned!], but of course the niceties are cast aside as the full force of the Minor key is exerted, the tension and knots it delivers are breathtaking, the way Mozart makes it all weave and thread together is masterly, i love the sound of the piano in this recording, the bass has a certain growling / rumbling tendency, very appropriate, i must admit Schiff can be a little too staccato and lumpy at times, a more delicate and flowing touch would have done better [Uchida?], i love the way that right after the cadenza, the orchestra come right back in with a jolt! [13:32], nicely knocks your socks off.

Here's Andras Schiff playing and conducting this Concerto on YouTube.

Grieg - Piano Concerto [Vogt/Rattle-City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]

Ah, one of eight Schumann / Grieg couplings i have in my collection, there's certainly reasons for twinning these two concertos together, but why not Grieg and Rachmaninov 2, or Schumann and Tchaikovsky 1?, however much i love the Schumann, in a side by side comparison, it's always the Grieg that gets the nod, and so it is here, this work very much has things in common with yesterdays disc, beautiful romantic works, heartbreaking melodies, this might just be my favourite interpretation, it got into my Blog in its early days [3rd May 2010].

Lars Vogt is German, he's now 44, but he made this recording half a lifetime ago when he was 22, he really looks young on the booklet.

It's the Grieg middle movement Adagio which wins my heart, again i can't help noticing the similarity between the two, starts with a fairly lengthy orchestral intoduction before the piano comes in, over two minutes [2:26], and considering it lasts only just a shade over seven, that's a big chunk!, they set the tone, it's the piano that announces that aching melody [2:26-2:47], Vogt's first notes break a sort of silence as it were, i guess there's a sort of middle louder section, where the melody is played with more passion, and there's a coda of sorts, gentle tinkling of the keys [6:23-7:18], but of course there's a surprise in the following Allegro, where the central Adagio makes a heartening return.

Here's Vogt playing the Grieg concerto on YouTube.

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2 [Grimaud/ Ashkenazy - Philharmonia Orchestra]

This sounds like the perfect coupling, Grimaud and Ashkenazy, with Ashkenazy as a Rachmaninov Pianist, means that he knows this work from the keyboard, it must mean something when you come to conduct the work as well!, a dynamic duo?, well the jury's out i guess, some people love this disc, others feel it's quite a weak reading, i like it a lot, but i have my reservations too, but even a dull performance can never dilute those beautiful Rachmaninov tunes that comes shining through, the central Adagio Sostenuto has some of the most heavenly romantic / nostalgic music ever committed to record, this disc got in my Blog a couple of times before, [15th August 2010 & 7th April 2012].

Helene Grimaud is French, and now 45, she was 30 when she recorded this work, and although she has young looks anyway, she really does seem to have that 'little girl' aura about her, and yet she really knows what she wants, she plys her trade on the Deutsche Grammophon label these days, and have virtually given her musical licence to do whatever she pleases, her record releases are more like concert dreams rather than organised traverses through the repertoire, but there's something maverick about her, it's always an event when she brings out a new disc.

Well in listening to this disc again [roughly clocking up twenty listens i guess], the recording is a bit murky in the orchestra, but the piano is fairly up front, like a front row seat, like i said the middle movement Adagio Sostenuto is fantastic, after the storm of the first movement, the calm of the second is all the more telling, it has heart tugs all over the place, it can reduce you to tears, the opening melody is so beautiful, the clarinet and piano interweave the main theme to perfection at the start [1:11-2:07], the piano plays the simple melody, one of Rachmaninov's greatest tunes [3:05-3:31], the piano descends into a sour but sad aching longing that Rachmaninov is so expert at doing [4:08-4:33], the way Grimaud gets the piano to chime out those nostalgic 'bells' is tremendous [5:23-5:48], towards the end Rachmaninov restates a lot of the opening, but this time instead of the clarinet interweaving with the piano, it's now the sweet strings [9:00-10:26], the whole thing is so satisfying.

Here's Helene Grimaud playing the second movement on YouTube, with Claudio Abbado conducting.

Saint-Saens - Piano Concerto 4 [Collard/ Previn-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] 

This is the first time a Saint-Saens Piano Concerto gets into my Blog, i guess a strange Composer of the Piano Concerto, he's not in the same league as other greats, and yet his Concerti aren't mere trifles either, and there's some very nice things going on in these Concertos, especially in 2 & 4, Hough / Litton have a newer set out on Hyperion, supposedly better performances, no doubt better recorded too, and yet i'm really quite fond of these performances, i like this set, and i played the whole thing, even though i have to admit that his output is uneven, and just recently i've listened to the Piano Concertos 2 & 3 of Tchaikovsky for the first time, now they're very much in the idiom of Saint-Saens, but Tchaikovsky is weak, whereas Saint-Saens is really quite inventive, these are really worth getting to know.

Jean-Philippe Collard is French, he's now 65, he recorded this work back in 1985, so the recording is nearly 30 years old, and it somewhat shows, a bit muddy in textures, the front cover is a painting by Paul Signac entitled 'Saint Tropez Pine Wood', a nice little example of pointillism.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto 1 [Lang/ Barenboim-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

About a month ago i played this Concerto, [by Engerer / Krivine, [11th February 2013], and after a long freeze i felt the thing was opening up to me, a great thaw was occurring, and now here's another version, and he cements the feelings i've had about this work, it does have its vulgar moments, and it does sound like it's cobbled together like a patchwork quilt, but maybe that's the point that Tchaikovsky was trying to make, and if you go in with ears attuned to this structure, i feel it can begin to make more sense, this is only the second time i've tried this disc, and the first Blog appearance of it, whatever you feel about Lang Lang, and yes he is a showman, and he is a crowd drawer, but i feel he's maturing and getting better, getting away from his initial image, i hope he continues to improve.

Lang Lang is originally from China, he's now 30, not so young anymore, he made this recording in 2003 when he was barely in his twenties, the front cover photo [by Andrew Eccles] is a great full length shot of Lang leaning up against the piano, and if you take the opposite side of the back insert when the plastic case is closed, a full width shot of the piano also, what makes it nicely unique is the angle of the camera, almost low down floor shot, so you can see the underside of the piano, a glorious shiny instrument, and a smile on his face, the lettering also is in different colours, nicely laid out, i like the whole thing.

And again it was the first movement that i found to be the centre of the whole work, and like i've said before, it lasts roughly 50% longer than the other two movements put together, so it's huge, making it similar to the Brahms Violin Concerto timewise, of course it starts off with its memorable and phenomenal calling card tune, which lasts almost 4 minutes, a tune which could easily stand up as a solo virtuoso piece, but if Tchaikovsky showed this opening to anyone, they would never guess what would come next, after a horn fanfare, Lang Lang plays thunderous chords rather than a tune, that's left to the orchestra [0:00-0:59], and then he plays the tune, in almost the same heavy handed style, and after a short 'cadenza', the whole thing explodes back into life as at the beginning [2:42+], but this time the Pianist plays more complex chords, plus the orchestra is more violin orientated toward a higher manic sound, and Tchaikovsky fulfills a sort of denouement solution of having the return more glorious than the first, no wonder what comes next can seem like an anticlimax, and i guess a similar experience can be found in Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, the glorious 'Sunrise' then plunges down into 'Of The Backworldsmen',

Here's Lang Lang playing the first movement on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto 1 [Engerer/ Krivine-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] 

A very nice listening experience, you know i have a problem with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, it was a work i heard very early on in my Classical listening experience, and i heard the Pogorelich / Abbado version on DG, and well it put me off, apart from the glorious first three minutes, it just seems a virtuoso workhorse, with emphasis on the 'work', the second and third movements i felt were weak [and Pogorelich weakened them all the more], i've just got it into my head that it's just a bunch of musical episodes cobbled together badly, and therefore i haven't really bothered with this work a great deal, i haven't bought a number of competing interpretations, and therefore i just haven't been exposed to it a lot, but on this listen, i feel it starting to make sense, the whole thing does have a certain poetry about it, and maybe this is the recording to really open my ears to it.

Brigitte Engerer was a French Pianist, she died last year [1952-2012], she recorded this disc in 1991, now the way the front cover is laid out is a model in perfection, the photo [by Alex Von Koettlitz] is excellent, showing Engerer at the piano, with Krivine standing behind her, i like the portrait, i like the colours too, the lettering is well done, even the blank cream bar actually adds to the visuals.

Well it was the first movement that really grabbed me, it just made perfect sense, and i just love the way something that used to sound like a muddle, now sounds obviously logical, and i love that transition between the two, the first movement is huge, 50% longer than the other two movements put together, of course the celebrated opening is justly famous, and even those who know next to nothing about Classical music, recognise the tune, the opening is a fanfare of sorts, the brass heralding in the piano, and certainly the piano doesn't play the tune, the strings do, and the Pianist hammers out blocks of chords [0:00-1:00], and the opening 3 minutes comes as a triptych, with the central as part the piano still hammering out the notes, but this time playing the tune [1:03+], and the descends into a sort of cadenza [1:27+], and Engerer gets to show off her virtuoso skills, and then there's the glorious moment where the opening returns [2:38+], somehow it's even more intense than at the start, maybe because those blocks of chords are now more complex, and more rolling,

Here's Yuja Wang playing the first movement on YouTube.

Brahms - Piano Concerto 1 [Curzon/ Szell-London Symphony Orchestra] 

Now this was such a wonderful experience, it was a cold day, but i went out for a long walk and played this, i always enjoy this work [it was the first Piano concerto i ever listened to], but on this day it all came together, the first two movements were scintillating, there are times when you hear a work, and you forget about the performers, and just revel in the music, not being 'distracted' by by interpretation, in fact the interpretation is so perfect that it becomes 'invisible', and you're 'free' to just wallow in the music, that's what happened today, this disc is now very rare, and i'm glad to have secured a copy, and it turns me on to more Curzon, what else has he got that's worth hearing?.

Clifford Curzon is English [1907-1982], he recorded this work in 1962, and it's certainly amazing that this recording is now more than 50 years old, it sounds so good, lovely and clear, i can hear wonderful inner textures, it would put some modern recordings to shame, the front cover photo is an excellent one [by Fritz Curzon], a dark photograph, that especially emphasises the light areas, a certain glow around the face, nice pose, and the lettering nicely placed, a great visual product.

Prokofiev - Piano Concerto 3 [Toradze/ Gergiev-Kirov Orchestra] 

Ah the first Classical disc in my Blog of this new year, i was feeling that non Classical music might be taking over, and that's not a bad thing, i really do need to make Classical music less than 50% of my musical love, so on to this fabulous two disc set from Toradze and Gergiev, it's good to have the whole of the five on one set, even if 2 and 3 are superior to the rest, i've actually played this set fairly extensively, more than a dozen times, and yet still crazily this is its first appearance in my Blog, and even more crazily pre-Blogging i have some sort of amnesia towards the interpretation of certain performances, i really couldn't tell you what makes this set unique from other sets of the same, but one of the great things about a Blog, is that i'm 'forced' to analyse the music i listen to, now i'm looking at that 'why', not just the why of a certain interpretation, but the why of 'why did a Composer compose it this way?', i'm glad for another chance to analyse this set.

Alexander Toradze is Georgian, he is now 60 years old, he recorded this Concerto in 1996, this is one of those inch thick fatbox double disc sets, very nice, and a great addition to any growing library / collection, the front cover photograph is by Maarten Corbijn, a black & white double portrait of Toradze and Gergiev, in a nice candid moment, the red and black lettering goes very well.

The second movement Theme and Variations are just full of incredible invention by Prokofiev, here it's over 10 minutes of music, with a theme and five variations, the movement is couched in the key of E Minor [and makes its bedfellows with Shostakovich's Tenth, and Vaughan Williams's Sixth],
Theme [0:00-1:00] is very much a lazy woodwind affair in a way, dominated by the flute, nice gentle dissonances,
Variation One [0:58-2:08] the piano comes in as a solo, basically copying the orchestral opening, though towards the end there's some delicious ringing treble notes [1:38-1:50],
Variation Two [2:07-2:53] and then the fireworks break loose, lots of nice dissonance that Prokofiev is so expert at, the trumpet blows out some discordant stuff, and nicely grates against the piano, with a mute i believe,
Variation Three [2:53-4:12] next up is a gallumping piano thing, almost as if Toradze is playing with his clomping feet instead of his fingers, i love the way the bass notes resonate, or is that augmented by the orchestra?,
Variation Four [4:13-7:27] makes gentle mysterious sounds Ravel would have been proud of, the piano plays solo for a good portion of the time, conjuring up a magical kingdom,
Variation Five [7:27-8:48] another Allegro, building up and up, in speed and volume,
Coda & Ending [8:48-10:23] bringing back the main theme, but this time with a more complex piano accompaniment, there's a slow and solemn ending where the piano has the last word in the deep bass. 

Here's Martha Argerich playing the second movement Theme and Variations on YouTube.