Notes and Editorial Reviews
An admirable Concerto‚ but a really special Rhapsody from a mature young pianist.
This is thoroughly musical and satisfying Rachmaninov playing‚ and I don’t intend that as a backhanded compliment. Many performances of the Concerto and the Rhapsody set their sights higher than Jon Nakamatsu does‚ but end up falling flat on their faces. Winner of the Gold Medal winner at the Van Cliburn Competition in 1997‚ he is clearly a mature and self-possessed artist‚ one who has no need to hide behind a smokescreen of dubious originality. He is not afraid to set a tempo ordinario and stick to it‚ if that strikes him as the right thing to do. Christopher Seaman and the Rochester Philharmonic are admirably tasteful and
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well-prepared partners. That means that this disc is at the very least an impressive calling card. It establishes Nakamatsu’s presence as a pianist to be reckoned with‚ even if it does not declare much by way of compelling individuality. When there are so many recordings of the Concerto – preeminently Argerich’s – that dare to catch the bigger waves‚ and others – preeminently the composer’s own – that draw on a larger reservoir of cultural experience‚ it is difficult to award Nakamatsu more than an admiring nod. But when he dares to express himself more freely‚ as he does from time to time in the Rhapsody‚ you sense a major artist about to blossom (for the finished article‚ try the last of Ashkenazy’s recordings of the Rhapsody). For future recordings I hope Nakamatsu will be in a position to insist on a less dry‚ congested acoustic – this one gives the impression that piano and orchestra have been squeezed onto a stage slightly too small to accommodate them.
-- Gramophone [2001/11]
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Piano no 3 in D minor, Op. 30 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Jon Nakamatsu (Piano)
Conductor:
Christopher Seaman
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1909; Russia
Date of Recording: 2000
2.
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Op. 43 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Jon Nakamatsu (Piano)
Conductor:
Christopher Seaman
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1934; USA
Date of Recording: 2000
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