Khachaturian: Piano Concertos

On this CD:

1. Concerto for piano & orchestra in E minor, "Piccolo mondo antico"
Composed by Nino Rota
Performed by Ana Claudia Girotto

2. Piano Concerto, in D flat major (also arranged for 2 pianos)
Composed by Aram Khachaturian
Performed by Ana Claudia Girotto

Customer Reviews:

The young Fischer has a definite "wow" factor.......2007-03-11

Even a jaded listener would blink twice at this recording, which showcases the German violin prodigy Julia Fischer. She's quite a dynamic player, and although lightning-fingered virtuosos aren't that rare nowadays, Fischer also possesses real charisma. She exudes confidence in every bar, and besides her gorgeous tone, she has an uncanny ability to phrase for someone so young. In all three works here she's able to shift effortlessly from Khachaturian's brash, semi-kitschy Soviet fireworks to Prokofiev's lyrico-ironic modernism and finally Glazunov's plush-velvet sentimentality. Only the Prokofiev concerto comes close to being a masterpiece, but you'd never know that from Fischer's complete dedication to each one.

PentaTone's remarkably vivid sonics make a big impression--this company has been in the forefront of SACD sound for a while--bringing Fischer's violin to life quite remarkably. Even better is Yakov Kreizberg's conducting of the exuberant Russian National Orch. His style is extroverted, like Gergiev's, with unihibited Russian vitality. I'm on the verge of gushing, but how can one help it when confronted by such a brilliant all-around production?

THE FUTURE IS IN GOOD HANDS.......2007-01-03

The very young Violinist Julia Fischer demonstrates in this recording that (to me) the future for the performance of masterpieces of so-called classical music is very bright indeed. Julia gives very sensitive, virtuosic, and beautiful in tone performances of these Russian concertos for the violin. She is rhythmically astute in the Khachaturian concerto and very gorgeous in tone in the overtly romantic Galazunov concerto. Likewise, the Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto is given a finally nuanced performance with Yukov Kreizberg leading the Russian National Orchestra splendidly.

I heard Ms. Fischer in Aspen, Colorado in the summer of 2006 and was very impressed with her; this recording certainly confirms that most favorable impression.

If you want to hear some great violin playing, buy this disc.

By the way, the recorded sound is great-- very full and rich!

An Impressive Début Disc.......2006-07-26

Although this is not the young Julia Fischer's first recording, it is the first she has done in SACD format on the PentaTone label with whom she has signed as an exclusive artist. The CD came out in late 2004, if I'm not mistaken, and she has since released the Bach Partitas and Sonatas, and most recently a disc of Mozart Violin Concerti. I gave a rave to the latter here at Amazon. I had not heard this début disc until recently and was, I will admit, a little concerned that she might be too 'classical' a violinist to make the most of these mostly extrovert Russian concerti. I was wrong to have any hesitation; she plays them with verve, wit, style and plenty of extroversion where needed. But she also brings to them an inwardness -- particularly in the Prokofiev First, which certainly has a veil of mystery about it -- that makes them seem fresh.

In recent times the Khachaturian Concerto has to some extent fallen from favor. When I was a youth it was one of the big modern Russian concerti along with Prokofiev 2 and, late in the 1950s, the Shostakovich 1, and one heard it in concert with some regularity. Happily there has been a bit of a revival lately, in spite of the tendency of some critics and programmers to think it is rather lightweight and too much of a populist work. Whatever the drawbacks it might have, it is an extremely effective piece with plenty of Khachaturian's Armenian flavorings, lots of rhythmic interest and virtuosity galore. Fischer brings to it a musicianly concern for dynamic subtlety and nuanced phrasing along with complete mastery of the concerto's technical difficulties. She eschews the Oistrakh edition of the concerto -- he extended the first movement cadenza and cut some measures in the finale -- and uses Khachaturian's original version. This is a first-class performance of a wonderful concerto which is worth one's attention.

One cannot but adore Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto. And one cannot say enough about the masterful orchestration Prokofiev provides, with harp intertwined with violin harmonics and extraordinarily plangent woodwind writing. The Russian National Orchestra, a group formed not long after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the stirrings of a new freedom in Russia, is a marvelous group. Their conductor here is Yakov Kreizberg, incidentally the brother of the probably better-known conductor Semyon Bychkov, who is making a very favorable impression these days. I've heard a number of his recent recordings and am mightily impressed with his formally clear approach that is, ironically, coupled with a really poetic sensibility. Clarity and poetry make wonderful partners in his recordings. Both Kreizberg and Fischer show us the darker side of the Prokofiev and in the process present it as the lyrical yet fierce work it is.

Glazunov's concerto is a late Romantic work in one movement. It is notable for its heartfelt lyricism, gorgeous tunes, and the equality of the orchestral principals with the violin soloists. It is really more like a symphony with violin obbligato, particularly in the long and lovely andante middle section. That aspect of the work is emphasized here and one must give credit to Fischer and the recording engineers for allowing that to shine through. Fischer is more generous, even self-effacing, in this than some soloists in other recordings the concerto has had (Perlman, Heifetz) and this is to the benefit of the work's effect. (A comparable concerto, to give you some idea of what I mean, is Brahms's Second Piano Concerto where the piano is not always the spotlighted star.) This is a genial reading with Fischer's burnished tone riding above and around the contributions by the orchestra. The folksong aspects of the finale are emphasized and one is left with a kind of uplift that makes one want to start the concerto all over again.

This is, make no mistake, a marvelous disc and I cannot recommend it highly enough. In addition, all three concerti are given strikingly lifelike sound.

Scott Morrison

Quality Classical Music Listening.......2006-04-08

I am not an expert in classical music but I do enjoy listening to good classical music. This recording of Russian Violin Concertos is one that I have enjoyed listening too many times. I would not hesitate recommending it to anyone who enjoys classical music that highlights the romantic violin.

3 Russian Violin Ctos - Verve, Lilt, Dash, & Elegance.......2005-07-15

Julia Fischer is a violinist whose name is news to me, but then, What good news she is. Like the young Anne Sophie Mutter, she appears to have sprung whole from the head of Jove. She plays with a simply huge command of her instrument, and she grasps the music in both local nuances and larger paragraphs. Her intonation and fingerwork and bowing are well nigh faultless, so far as I can hear. She has a sort of wicked ease that actually might remind an older listener of the late, great Heifitz. He used to tell his student violinists to warm up by playing fingered octaves, which is rather like telling people to start just where most others are leaving off in happy achievement.

Nowhere are these capabilities put to better use than in her resuscitation of the much hackeneyed Khachaturian concerto, which she has the gruff to play as her opening. She obviously loves playing it, and has such a good time that it is quite easy to forget all the kitsch renderings you may have heard over the years. The RNO under Yakov Kreizberg (who is also a rising star among conductors now active in Europe) keep up with Julia all the way. Somehow all the flash just sounds scintillating, and the orientalisms just sound atmospheric and colorful. You think in some beautiful spots that Khachaturian knew what he was doing, after all.

Then Julia and company move on to the Prokofiev first violin concerto, and make deft, stunning magic of it, too. Again she and the conductor and the orchestra demonstrate remarkable unanimity of musical purpose. And, they have a good time with the Prokofiev, shattering our stuffy stereotypes that genius in classical western music is always tendentious, fat, and dressed in over-starched shirts with very stiff collars.

Thirdly, we get the Glazunov concerto. This, too, benefits from a completely fresh and straightforward reading, rooted in the players love of the music. Julia realizes the more brilliant moments of the Glazunov without forgetting that its heartfelt pusle is mainly lyrical, and her lyrical is so lithe and athletic that you don't feel for once that Glazunov was tempted to outstay the melodic welcomes embodied in his main themes.

The SACD surround sound is equally wonderful. It completely serves the music and the musicians, without calling attention to itself. You simply get a good, multichannel sense of everybody, including Julia, the super RNO as a whole body and as an unnervingly talented nexus of virtuosos, and of course, of conductor Kreizberg. The hall acoustic adds air and resonance, which is quite an accomplishment considering that we are talking about a recording studio and not one of the historic Moscovite venues like Tchaikovsky Hall at the conservatory.

If you like superior violin playing that is above all musical, with an orchestra and conductor that can keep up with such a soloist; then this disc will do fine. Five stars, fading into sunrise pinks and whites and blues. Where did the slow night go? Oh, well, play that SACD again, will you?

PS. Keep your ears and eyes on the lookout. Julia Fischer is now an exclusive Pentatone artist, and Yakov Kreizberg, maybe, too.

Glazunov, Khachaturian, Kabalevsky: Violin Concertos

Average customer rating:

Transcendent...
Excruciatingly Beautiful
Superb recordings by Oistrakh

Glazunov, Khachaturian, Kabalevsky: Violin Concertos
Aram Khachaturian , Dmitry Kabalevsky , A. Gauk , and Kiril Kondrashin
Manufacturer: Classica D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000062XA5
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Tracks:

Allegro Con Fermezza
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Vivace
Moderato
Andante
Allegro
Allegro Molto E Con Brio
Andantino Cantabile
Vivace Giocoso

Customer Reviews:

Transcendent..........2006-03-29

An astounding performance of some exceptional music; this is one of those older recordings in which the somewhat limited fidelity is transcended completely and wonderfully by the music itself. Wow! ;-)

Excruciatingly Beautiful.......2004-04-28

I have a special affection for the excruciatingly beautiful Khachaturian Violin Concerto, and this is my choice for the best recording. Here is the spectacle of brilliant young David Oistrakh in 1940 during the depths of World War II, standing on stage in Moscow with a single violin engaging in mortal battle with the USSR State Orchestra -- a sublimely beautiful battle that cries out the overwhelming change and struggles of the 20th century. Oistrakh caught up in the maelstrom of history, and emerging. On the surface the score has an ethnic "oriental" Armenian romanticism, timeless, beautiful and moving, yet at it's core it is modern, gritty, frantic, gigantic, and this conflict reinforces the feeling of the collision between the past and future ages. Or of the lone individual caught in the forces of history, fate and society enlarged beyond human scale. As for the performance, Oistrakh is able to bend the tones, dig for the raw textures and build the tension to wring intense passion that literally flies off the recording. In the Allegro, at times the strange harmonies and rhythms flood forth so rapidly they are almost too fast to hear. The force of Oistrakh's playing makes me wonder if he will break his violin. In the dark Andante his soul overflows with sadness and regret. The word virtuoso barely begins to describe the dexterity and soul of this amazing performance. What art! The orchestra under conductor Alexander Gauk captures a certain older native tonal quality of Russian music that seems to belong to some eastern tone system, slightly different than our ears are used to. Khachaturian asked Oistrakh to premier the piece, and I believe this is the first recording of it. It is interesting to compare this version with Oistrakh's 1960s recording with the composer conducting, also very beautiful, but in the extreme moments a more careful performance, and so less passionate.

Superb recordings by Oistrakh.......2002-07-15

Soviet recordings in the 1940's cannot possibly compare to the engineering of today, so allowances must be made for the sound quality in these archived performances. That being said, there is little to diminish superb performances by Oistrakh. Only two recordings compare with this Khachaturian - Kogan's phenomenal contribution and Oistrakh's second recording with the composer conducting. Like the Kabalevsky, it is thrilling in pace and the evocation of its folksy soundscape. The Glazunov is beautifully played, offering a lyrical, poised alternative to Heifetz's dazzling panache, though the latter remains this reviewer's favorite.

Khachaturian, Sibelius: Violin Concertos

Average customer rating:

Khachatryan and Sibelius
the best
Sibelius & Khatchaturian, by Khachatryan: Superb Music
STAR FROM THE EAST
A Stunning Début

Khachaturian, Sibelius: Violin Concertos

Manufacturer: Valois
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Piano Quintet in F Min / Complete String Quartets (1, 2, 3)

ASIN: B0000CNTJH
Release Date: 2004-03-16

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio Di Molto
Finale (Allegro Ma Non Tanto)
Allegro Moderato
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro A Battuta

Customer Reviews:

Khachatryan and Sibelius.......2007-02-10

I was curious to hear this recording because one of my students recommended it highly. Sure enough, I was quite impressed, especially by the Sibelius. But I had objections, too. In terms of tone, general technique and intonation, Sergey lacks very little. His playing is often very beautiful. He has the gift of expression 'between the notes', the notes falling naturally and gracefully on the fingerboard. The playing is never boring. There is great clarity in the general execution. Nothing inhibits him. Phrases make sense. They breathe.

What's wrong? He occasionally looses presence as the soloist. There are two occasions in the first movement, at the beginning of an entrance, where there just isn't enough sound to carry the musical argument. At first I thought it might be a problem with the recording balance. But after the second movement, I was convinced otherwise. Sergey generally takes a symphonic approach to this work, at times participating on an equal footing with the orchestra. This can be admirable, especially in Mozart or Beethoven. But not in Sibelius. For instance, at the very opening of the second movement, the violin is much too soft. It is an intimate opening, for sure, but the violin has to dominate nonetheless. Another instance, at the ascending octave scales against the descending ones in the winds, the soloist is barely heard (especially at the bottom). Because of this curious lack of presence, the 2nd movement hardly resonates. The violin part seems almost an obbligato voice to the full orchestra. The third movement fares much better. Sibelius often pits the natural tessitura of the violin against low sounds in the orchestra, so the violin stands out more. But even the scales right before the final flourish are much too subdued.

All in all, I would say that this was a bold attempt to interpret the Sibelius in a personal way, by an extremely gifted, young violinist. And to that extent, Bravo! Whether it is entirely successful or not depends on the listener. To this one, not quite so.

the best.......2005-06-04

By no means whimsically or freshly swayed by the beauty of the music itself, and after having listened to various interpretations including those of patent greats, it is clear to me that this work of Khachatryan's is the most measured, exact, and mellifluous of all. There is simply so much symmetry, meter in his notes. Yet, there is also fire, and so much more ever suggested. The only critique I can think of is that I WISH I could hear it live. This rendition belongs in the place where music meets itself -- realizing it sometimes forgets where it comes from: the genius of 2, and not one!

As for Khachatryan on Kchaturian, the oddysey continued.

Sibelius & Khatchaturian, by Khachatryan: Superb Music.......2004-10-05

We all know that fields of gravity cross and criss-cross our local solar system as planets spin in their orbits around our sun. We also may know of the immense amount of space debris that flurries this way and that, here and there and seemingly everywhere. When you put the two realities together, you may feel you are walking down a historic but neglected city street where the character of the neighborhood has fallen prey to transience and forgetfulness and poverty. We peer dimly into an unglorious human future for our civilization that promises only to be punctuated with inevitable crisis as one brute hand of circumstance or the other hammers in fits against the nearest wall of the human heart. If you find yourself noticing the dimming lights of humanism in our current era, then by all means you should get this CD and listen to it repeatedly before you make any major decisions.

Like a rising star against the velvet horizon edging an otherwise vaulted and gloomy night sky, the fiddler here is a new talent named Sergey Khachatryan. After listening to this disc, I am very pleased to report that he is indeed the genuine article. His energy and innocence demonstrate how much he still loves music. Unlike some artists of his generation, ... he is barely out of his late teens, ... the sheer physicality of his playing somehow demonstrates how profoundly one with his instrument a great artist may become. Sergey has apparent complete mastery of all that his fiddle may offer .... as if he were that magic Rumpelstiltskin of fairy tale who could spin gold from straw. This Sergey can also spin music shining with silver, platinum, and that rarest of metals ....joi de vivre. His fiddle is a Guarnerius on loan from some German fans, and he uses it to incredible and glorious effect. You are no doubt vulnerable to this spell to the extent that you may have been feeling like a princess locked in a high tower, away from the air and the sun and the green beauty of the fields. You may start to think that the violin is surely the King of Instruments.

Though Sergey is undoubtedly a representative of the true Russian school of violin playing, he represents an uncommon amalgam of talent with heritage. His string tone has a true emotional center, glowing with the sort of hot penetrating fire we have previously come to know and love in many Russian string players. Sergey's hot sound does not suffer any detriment from being compared with, say, David Oistrakh himself. But Sergey also has something else, something more. He has a kind of celestial luminosity and a Russian elegance (think, Leonid Kogan?) that transform and complete his string tone. The result is that his upper registers penetrate directly to the heart, without requiring any added noise or over-acting. At fast or slow tempos, his musical sound breathes or hovers or dances. Phrased alchemy purges all the base metals and leaves only the purest and most gleaming tonal treasure behind. This sort of fiddle playing is more ballet than athletics or tumbling.

It is no surprise to read that Kachatryan won the Helsinki Sibelius prize, several years back when he was only fifteen years old. Here on this CD he surely recreates, or perhaps even surpasses, that pinnacle. Sergey puts his considerable gifts completely at the disposal of the composer. He conjures both the composer as ordinary human being and as a kind of Finnish mystic. This CD is the first one in a very long time that I thought could rub shoulders with the legendary Jascha Heifitz recording, and hold a decent musical conversation with that great master as an equal. If anything, Khachatryan surpasses Heifitz in depth and breadth of deep humanity. Sergey has an uncanny yet musical heart as big as the famed Finnish forests.

To fill out the remainder of the disc, we are treated to Armenian composer Aram Khatchaturian's only violin concerto. On most fiddles, with most players, this concerto turns into an over-heated folk-festival of garish colors and heavy-handed dramatic pointing for both the solo violin and the rest of the orchestra. It is too easy for this concerto to go nowhere.

Applying himself, Sergey returns this concerto safely and brilliantly to the musical center. He finds narrative where other fiddlers find only repetition. He never, ever has to be loud to be convincing. The orientalized musical noodling in the slow movement that wears on your nerves with so many other fiddlers, becomes ever so mysteriously whispered. You find yourself hearing the authentic yet exotic voice of that famous story-teller, Sheherazade herself. There is perfume and romance, but communicatively embodied. I don't think I have ever before wanted to repeat the slow movement. But Sergey made me hear the Armenian soul of this concerto.

Well I have been so taken with the fiddler that I have hardly mentioned the conductor and the orchestra. They deserve high praise, too. The Sinfonia Varsovia is a wonderful band that can sound perfect for Mozart, but too small for Beethoven. Let loose upon the late Romantic breadth of each of these concertos, they finally sound perfectly fine for both. Emmanuel Krivine keeps tempos moving, but he never sounds superficial or rushed. He never seems to be embarrassed by the music's large gesture or the massed heft of the orchestra. He is content to be background for the soloist without lapsing in attention. The woodwinds are particularly distinguished. Thus, the wonder of this young fiddler is recognized and encouraged and fully supported by all involved. You feel as if everyone in Sinfonia Varsovia was paying just as much attention to their music, as was Sergey to his own. You feel that Krivine values both concertos as music of symphonic scope and power. In short, this CD can be very highly recommended on all counts. It is, indeed, a five star labor of great love.

STAR FROM THE EAST.......2004-07-24

It would be interesting to try a minor experiment with this record. Play some extract from it - almost any part would do - to some experienced musicians and ask them simply to picture the soloist. If the image of a small and slightly-built teenager comes to anyone's mind I shall be very surprised indeed. In his contribution to the liner note Sergey Khachatryan notes that his next project is to be Shostakovich. It was in Shostakovich that I heard him two weeks ago with the BBC Philharmonic, and mightily impressed I was. What Khachatryan's playing has is quality - quality in the tone, quality in the phrasing, quality in the rhythm, and I need hardly say total and perfect quality in the intonation.

This record was made in July 2003. It was time to get a cd version of the Sibelius anyhow to supplement my LP account of the first recording of the work, done in 1935 but sounding surprisingly well still, by Heifetz and Beecham, and this particular soloist struck me as a good bet. So it has turned out. For me, the Sibelius concerto sometimes works and sometimes not. In his thoughtful book on the composer Robert Layton hints that its style is not completely consistent, and I have heard many performances that leave me feeling the same way. From the symphonies it would be hard to imagine Sibelius as a concerto writer, not a difficulty one would experience in listening to Mozart Beethoven or Brahms as symphonists. Nothing in the finales of the Sibelius symphonies is remotely suggestive of concerto style for one thing. When it comes to the bit, Sibelius turns out a finale in something at least resembling the normal idiom of such, a slow movement with more 19th century lyricism than is customary from him, and a first movement that is a strange mixture of that kind of lyricism and a remote cold idiom that reminds me that the fourth symphony was not far in the future. This is presumably what left Mr Layton less than convinced, but the right artists can overcome the difficulty as I have always felt Heifetz and Beecham do triumphantly. And now here is Khachatryan, with the Sinfonia Varsovia under Emmanuel Krivine, pulling off the trick again. Speeds in the outer movements are a little slower, but speed is not the issue. The issue is -- is this work really coherent? If it can be, it must be.

Khachaturian, for me, is not really a heavyweight composer. He is not quite so relentlessly traditional in idiom as Myaskovsky, but nothing here and not much elsewhere in his work can surely have given much difficulty to Zhdanov. Naturally the Armenian elements in his music have a special significance for the soloist, and even from my own standpoint the slow movement, a very long one, rises to real eloquence particularly near the end. The soloist shows the same mastery as in the Sibelius, although I fancy his task was a little easier, and the work is a thoroughly welcome addition to my collection.

In general I was impressed by the Sinfonia Varsovia, particularly by some vivid woodwind work in the first movement of the Sibelius. The recording is good in general too, if just a touch rowdy in some of the bigger tuttis, but we have got used to such a high standard these days that we can now afford to be very particular indeed. I feel privileged to have heard an emerging superstar so early in his career. If he is as mature and accomplished as this now, what is he going to develop into? I read his plans with interest in the liner note. These are fairly conservative, as I suppose we might expect at this stage, and I might even be persuaded to listen to the Tchaikovsky concerto if I get the chance to hear it from Khachatryan.

A Stunning Début.......2004-06-05

I had the pleasure of hearing the American recital début of violinist Sergey Khachatryan a year or so ago. I was extremely impressed by his playing - not only his virtuosity and élan but the remarkable maturity for someone so young; he was born in 1985. I've been on the lookout for any recordings he might make. This disc containing both the Sibelius and Khachaturian concerti lives up to my expectations. Indeed, I would put his Sibelius performance up against any I've ever heard. I can't pretend to have heard all the extant recordings of the Sibelius but I am familiar with those of Leonid Kavakos (in both versions - with the original finale as well as the one Sibelius replaced it with), Mutter, Mullova, Perlman, and of the irreplaceable Oistrakh. The best performance I ever heard live was an incandescent one by Pinchas Zukerman. Khachatryan may be over the top at times in this piece, especially in the finale, but the concerto can benefit from this kind of all-out approach. The Sinfonia Varsovia, which I take to have a rather smallish string section, has a lean sound that actually benefits the piece. Conductor Emmanuel Krivine occasionally lets the music almost bog down in the second movement and I truly believe he is led away from that by the relaxed but always forward-moving playing of his soloist, young Mr Khachatryan. The sound of the orchestra at the beginning of that second movement is ravishing and it is matched by the stunning sotto voce entrance of the soloist.

The Khachaturian benefits from a red-blooded performance; this is not subtle music. The orchestra's lean profile could have benefitted from a fuller string sound, but it's not a big matter. I feel fairly sure that Khachatryan's Armenian background informs his feel for the folk-inflected melodies used by his Armenian near-namesake, Aram Khachaturian; this is particularly true in the melismatic Orientalisms of the second movement. In the faster passages there is a raw energy and edge in Khachatryan's playing that makes the music almost unbearably visceral, and I suspect that this is precisely the approach Khachaturian had in mind. Whether or no, it is an exciting reading. Young Khachatryan has slancio to spare and he is matched in this by Krivine and his Polish orchestra. Again, the benchmark recording for this concerto is David Oistrakh's 1944 effort, but Khachatryan's is in very nearly the same class and has the advantage of being in modern sound. I must add, though, that there is a spiffy new recording on Naxos played by Mihaela Martin that also includes Khachaturian's less-known 'Concerto Rhapsody' for violin and orchestra. Still, this one is a bit more exhilarating.

Highly recommended.

Tracks:

Piano Concerto in D flat Major-Khachaturian
Piano Concerto No.1 in D flat Major-Prokofiev
Piano concerto No.2 in F Major-Shostakovich

Album Description

Khachaturian was a late starter in music and largely self-taught. Like Prokofiev and Shostakovich, he burst on the Soviet music scene while still a student but, unlike his precocious confreres, he was already well into his thirties. His "Piano Concerto", one of the two or three works that brought him to public notice, was written in 1936 and premiered on July 12, 1937, the year he completed his studies at the Conservatory.

Prokofiev described his " Piano Concerto No.1" as his first "more or less mature composition, both with regard to the conception and its fulfillment." It was begun in 1911 as a brief one-movement showcase for himself but, by its completion the following year, it had grown into a considerably more ambitious project. He played it for the first time on July 25, 1912 at the Moscow People's House, with an orchestra conducted by Konstantin Solomonovich Saradzhev and again in August at an outdoor concert in Pavlovsk, an eighteenth century palace and park near St. Petersburg. The results, both times, were sensational.

The Shostakovich "Second Piano Concerto" had its first performance in Moscow on May 10, 1957. His son Maxim, who was 19, played the solo with Nikolai Anosov conducting the U.S.S.R. State Symphony. On January 2, 1958, Leonard Bernstein gave the American premiere, playing and conducting the New York Philharmonic. American commentators seemed to treat the work as if it were some kind of children's music but Maxim was hardly a child and sometimes the fun house romp is almost scary. Is this simply high spirits, high jinks and good, ol' socialist optimism? Or is there something else going on? There's really no way to tell for sure. Maybe it doesn't matter and that's just the fun of it. A Russian concerto, certainly, but of a very different kind.

Customer Reviews:

Astounding!.......2003-02-21

This is a tremendous album. Joshua Pierce plays with a lot of passion and tremendous tone. His technique is a given, but he also goes beyond the notes and supplies an individuality and brilliance that you do not hear too often. As far as I am concerned, this recording is on par with the old Kapell/Koussevitzky RCA Victor recording. In a way, it goes much deeper. Simply astounding!

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio Di Molto
Allegro Ma Non Tanto
Allegro
Adante Sostenuto
Allegro Vivace

Customer Reviews:

Rosand at his best-again.......2001-12-11

No superlatives can do justice to the music-making of Aaron Rosand. Here are more examples: The somewhat somber Sibelius embellished with Rosand's usual romantic touches - simply superb,
and an incredible performance of the seldom-heard Khachaturian.

Temperament and Tone.......2001-11-06

Though all the usual attributes of a Rosand performance are present --- technique, temperament, and tone --- I can't say these recordings rank in the top third of his many recorded performances. Rosand has been consistently let down by his orchestral partners. The Sibelius, in particular, lacks heft here. The bristling utterances that should reinforce the violin's dramatic statements do not excite; I felt an overall lack of involvement from the orchestra. The Sibelius is rife with passionate themes, and when a first-class string section such as the Philadelphia carries them, you feel it in the gut. If Dylana Jensen could get Ormandy (what a partner!) as a virtual unknown, then where does that leave Mr. Rosand? It's sad.

At this stage in his career, Rosand cannot quite generate the whirlwind of sound that placed him in the forefront of his generation, so it is all the more important that he have a strong ally. The Khachaturian comes through much better; the Malaysian group has the necessary mechanical precision to bring it off and the recording is generous with the color.

In summary, the Sibelius is worth it only if you want to hear Rosand's ideas on the solo part.

Fanfare Magazine March/April 2001.......2001-03-15

At an age at which Heifetz was contemplating retirement and Elman should have been, Aaron Rosand issued a commanding, authoritative recording of the Beethoven and Brahms Concertos (Vox VXP 7902, 22:4). Now, two years later, he has paired a craggy Sibelius with a kinetic Khachaturian, evincing full command of the works' power and exoticism, respectively. Only Milstein and perhaps Shumsky could boast such violinistic longevity (consider, for example, Elman's senescent and deliberate, if genial, reading of Khachaturian's Concerto from his 69th year, which hardly approaches Rosand's in technical assurance).

Aaron Rosand's sound has varied little through his recorded career: it's robust and rugged, with a mild acidity that, highlighting almost every note, sets his tone apart from the blander, smoother, and smaller timbres of younger players (and almost every player now is younger). That sound owes a share of its individuality, of course, to the magnificent Kochanski Guarneri of 1741, which, as Rosand says, has been his voice for 43 years; but it's the result of a complex interaction between that violin and a master who undoubtedly could, as Heifetz did, project his individuality through any instrument (having heard Rosand try violins at William Moennig and Son's shop in Philadelphia, I can confirm the stability of his sound, at least in that setting, across platforms). But far from merely luxuriating in his recognizable tone, Rosand laces whatever he performs with strong fiber, an essential toughness that reveals itself as tellingly in lesser-known works like Joachim's Hungarian (Vox CDX 5102) and Arensky's (Vox 7211, 23:4) Concertos, which were for a long time almost his private domain, as in masterworks like Tchaikovsky's Concerto (again Vox 7211) or Bach's Solo Sonatas and Partitas (Vox VXP2 7901, 22:2).

Rosand's waves of inspiration lash against granite in the Sibelius Concerto's first movement; he sings warmly in its second (the trace of acid in his tone ensuring that the music won't cloy) and slashes masterfully through the finale's craggy darkness-all the while demonstrating the durability of his tonal and stylistic personality through his 71st year. If Khachaturian's Concerto doesn't provide him as many such opportunities for discovery, he and conductor Kees Bakels engage in a cogent dialogue in the first movement's middle section, and he brings a jazzy cheek to the cadenza's closing passages. The second movement's sprawl may be due more to its materials than its performers; but, in any case, Rosand and Bakels come to life again in the alternately sprightly and brassy finale.

The decline in influence of Heifetz's benchmark recordings has freed violinists to invest Sibelius's Concerto with fresh insight; and Rosand's new performance joins recent ones by Maxim Vengerov and Joshua Bell in transfusing new personality into the work. And whether or not Mozart's Emperor would judge that Khachaturian's Concerto has too many notes, Rosand plays each of them with twangy zest. That sizzle sets him apart from violinists like Oscar Shumsky, who, despite-or because of-their unvarnished merit, appeal more to colleagues than to general audiences. By comparison, Rosand's a demagogue, rotund in oratory and resonant in vocal quality. Vox's engineers have provided depth and clarity appropriate to Sibelius' Concerto (but with a close focus on the soloist) and have captured reasonably well Khachaturian's dollops of sound, generously dished out by Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

All lovers of the violin, and general listeners as well, may count themselves fortunate that Rosand's artistry isn't available only in reissue, and that his playing maintains, or exceeds, a level familiar from his recordings a generation ago. Strongly recommended.

Robert Maxham

Outstanding new recording.......2001-02-07

This is an outstanding new version of these 2 masterpieces. Rosand plays with as much passion as anyone, and the orchestral accompaniments are excellent. At the bargain price this cd is a must.

..........2001-02-02

I love everything about this recording -- the Sibelius is absolute magic and the Khatchaturian is as exciting as they get.

Great Concertos - Great Artists, Vol. 1: Violin

Average customer rating:

Great Concertos - Great Artists, Vol. 1: Violin

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00070DKRS
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

Rondo (Tempo Di Menuetto) - Erika Morini
Allegro Molto Appassionato - Nathan Milstein
Introduction And Rondo Capriccioso Op.28 - Alfredo Campoli
Prelude - Allegro Moderato - Nathan Milstein
Allegro - Albert Sammons
Andante Sostenuto - Jascha Heifetz
Andante Sostenuto - David Oistrakh
Finale: Allegro Vivacissimo - Ruggiero Ricci

Khachaturian - Prokofiev- Shostakovich - Piano Concertos

Average customer rating:

Khachaturian - Prokofiev- Shostakovich - Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: FanFare-Hallmark
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0009EFNLI

Product Description

Works: Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D Flat Minor//Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.1 in D Flat Minor, Op. 10//Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102

Average customer rating:

Great pianist!

Khachaturian: Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Lindoro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004W1K3
Release Date: 2000-07-25

Customer Reviews:

Great pianist!.......2003-03-29

The performance of Claudia Girotto is outstanding! She is not only a talented lady, but also has amazing sensibility when it comes to interpreting Khachaturian. One word can describe this cd: BRAVISSIMO!!!

Music Track:

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