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Piotr Il’yich
TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No.2 in G major, Op.44 (1879-80) [40:39]
Concert Fantasyin G major, Op.56 (1885) [28:20]
Konstantin
Sherbakov (piano)
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/ Dmitry Yablonsky
rec. Studio 5, Russian State TV and Radio Company KULTURA,
5-9 May 2005. DDD NAXOS 8.557824 [69:00]
The
once rare Second Piano Concerto by Tchaikovsky now boasts
a pretty impressive list of advocates on disc. Readers need
to be aware that my own loyalty has always been with a 1960s
Melodiya recording – at the moment unavailable – featuring
Igor Zhukov as soloist with Rozhdestvensky conducting the
Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Even with some less-than-tidy
orchestral support in places, that version has a sweep and
bravura that this piece needs to succeed. I do tend to prefer
Soviet soloists here, so among recent versions I rate Pletnev
(Virgin), Leonskaya (Apex) and Postnikova (Ultima) - all
inexpensively priced - slightly above the much-praised Donohoe
on EMI.
This
brings us to the excellent Konstantin Sherbakov, a pianist
who’s made waves on Naxos with a number of virtuoso showpieces,
including some Godowsky and indeed the Tchaikovsky First
Concerto. He certainly has the requisite technique and displays
some really barnstorming pianism throughout. The opening
orchestral tutti nicely sets up the mood, with plenty
of gusto and a healthy tempo. Sherbakov’s first entry is
slightly lumpy rhythmically, almost as if he’s so desperate
to get on with things that he leaves the orchestra in his
wake, but he does settle down soon enough. The first big
cadenza (7:43) shows what he’s made of, and whilst he can’t
equal Zhukov here, there’s a marvellously controlled abandon
at work, the sort of thing Argerich is so good at. He does
at one point put in some questionable accents during those
whirlwind glissando runs - they’re not in the score, and
no other pianist does it on disc – but it’s undeniably exciting.
The second, and even harder, cadenza (around 15:05) has a
veritable torrent of notes that Sherbakov tosses off as child’s
play.
The
lovely ‘triple concerto’ slow movement is most affecting,
and thankfully played virtually complete, with just a small
composer-sanctioned snip towards the end. Indeed, it’s good
to note that the old severely truncated Siloti version definitely
seems a no-no these days. This movement is one of Tchaikovsky’s
finest inspirations (note that Donohoe is joined here by
Kennedy and Isserlis!) and Sherbakov’s colleagues compliment
him very nicely. The finale rips along with authentic Slavic
dash, rounding off a very fine performance.
The Concert
Fantasy Op.56 is the well chosen filler, same key and
far more than an encore at nearly half-an-hour. It is said
to have been inspired by the playing of Eugen d’Albert
and was a favourite of Gilels for a while. It’s full of
the composer’s thumbprints, with a very Russian opening
theme and a second movement that derives its melodic material
from rejected sketches of his Suite No.3. The brilliant
closing section restates the opening motif in true Tchaikovskian
fashion, and this team of players clearly enjoy it.
The
recording is generally fine, with plenty of depth and detail,
and Keith Anderson’s notes are useful. Though my existing
loyalties aren’t particularly swayed, this new one has to
be a contender as a modern digital recording in the Naxos
price band: bear in mind that all the best competition is
just as cheap, so this one could depend on choice of fillers.
If you’re the sort of casual buyer Naxos often gets, or just
fancy investigating the repertoire, this will serve you very
well.
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