Notes and Editorial Reviews
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
The Mariinsky Orchestra recordings with Denis Matsuev, "the Siberian bear with the fastest paws in the Arctic," have all offered classic Russian virtuosity at its best. This one, containing three distinctly high-spirited works, makes a great place to start with the series, and it's hard to imagine the listener who wouldn't succumb to its charms. The program ends with a bang that plays to Matsuev's talent for jazz as well as classical music: the ebullient Piano Concerto No. 2 (1966) of Rodion Shchedrin, which, after 12-tone experiments, explodes into jazz in the finale. It ought to be played more often in the West. It fits beautifully
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with the Capriccio for piano and orchestra of Stravinsky, in its 1949 version, a sort of wry farewell to the composer's neoclassic period (which would continue for a few more years). The Matsuev performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1 may not be the equal of the later concertos in terms of tunes, but full of youthful energy (it was a student work), it catches the sense of burgeoning talent and is entirely idiomatic. The Mariinsky live recording is clear and immediate, and this is in every sense a delightful evening at the great St. Petersburg concert hall.
- James Manheim, AllMusic Guide Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Piano no 2 by Rodion Shchedrin
Performer:
Denis Matsuev (Piano)
Conductor:
Valery Gergiev
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1966; USSR
Venue: Live Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, S
Length: 22 Minutes 39 Secs.
2.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1 by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performer:
Denis Matsuev (Piano)
Conductor:
Valery Gergiev
Period: Post-Romantic
Written: 1890-1891
Date of Recording: 11/16/2014
Venue: Live Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, S
Length: 26 Minutes 3 Secs.
3.
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra by Igor Stravinsky
Performer:
Denis Matsuev (Piano)
Conductor:
Valery Gergiev
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928-1929; France
Venue: Live Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, S
Length: 17 Minutes 36 Secs.
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