Search - Aram Khachaturian, Neeme Järvi, Scottish National Orchestra :: Khachaturian: Piano Concerto; Gayaneh Ballet Suite; Masquerade Suite

You may find it cheaper under its other entry

Discophage | France | 10/21/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Here continues the review begun under the disc's other entry, where at the time of writing, you can find it for significantly cheaper: Khachaturian: Piano Concerto; Gayaneh Ballet Suite; Masquerade Suite. There I expound at some length why I find that, as good a "traditional" view of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto as Orbelian and Järvi's may be, the traditional view isn't all that good for Khachaturian's Piano Concerto: not only does it, by playing slower than the composer's indicated metronome marks, exaggerate the composition's bombast - and other versions have proven that, by playing actually FASTER, one can turn the bombast into hair-raising drive and intensity -, but it disrupts the tempo relationships within each movement intended by the composer. And while that kind of approach may seem unexceptionable on its own terms, one only needs to turn to the composer-conducted version with the work's dedicatee and first performer, Lev Oborin (not reissued on CD but available on U-tube) to realize how (much more) convincing it is to do exactly what Khachaturian wrote.



Although my comments will be more tentative, as I don't have many other versions to compare his to, I'm more convinced by Järvi's excerpts from Masquerade. The lush recording brings out the orchestral colors, and Järvi plays with fine character: the Waltz has great sweep, and the Nocturne flows naturally. The same is true with Gayaneh's Lullaby, but Järvi's Lezghinka (still from Gayaneh) has more epic sweep and decibel power than the frenzy elicited by the composer in his recording made for EMI in 1954 (Khachaturian: Gayane Suite for orchestra No1; Concerto for violin in Dm), and likewise with his Sabre Dance, which doesn't come near the wild fury of the composer, sounding civilized and almost tame instead. On the other hand, these same two number under Järvi are very similar to the composer's stereo remake with the Vienna Phil in 1962 (Khachaturian: Symphony No. 2; Gayaneh - Suite), even slightly more rambunctious in Lezghinka. Also note that, unlike what is announced on the disc's cover, Järvi doesn't play the complete Gayaneh-Suite but only four excerpts. I regret the absence of the Adagio, of "2001 A Space Odyssey" fame (Kubrick used the DG recording by Rozhdestvensky, which you can find on Les Chefs-d'aeuvre de la musique Russe).



"

The best modern recording available

Bloomzilla | Colorado | 05/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Orbelian/Jarvi is the best modern recording of the piano concerto bar none. Majestic and breath taking. Full of emotion and changing moods. Fair warning: Obelian playes heavy and Jarvi pulls all the stops. The result, however, is pure magic. Brilliant. If you want a lighter reading, try Serviarian-Kuhn. However, I find Serviarian's flat and lacking any emotion at all. I recommend Orbelian but music is a matter of personal preference so I encourage you to get both. You will find one of them to be a desert island CD!"