Search - Bela Bartok, Serge Prokofiev, Vladimir Golschmann :: Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 & Chout Ballet Suite; Bartok: Concerto for Piano No. 3

Serve festively in flute champagnes

06/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This convivial release shows two great virtuosi partying it out in their best form...and what form!Pennario's Proky is all over the keyboard, with rattle-and-snap technique, with a kind of nasty insight that reminds us of the Classical symphony and its somewhat cocktail conversation aesthetic. The breathtaking glissi, the rich lows (Pennario gets that by leaning into the keyboard just as a skiier leans into the hill to avoid falling)and the carillon highs bring us an almost architectural sketch with all its transluscence and polish. Trust me, it all comes through very strongly in the 1953 sound because the antecedents were so good. Pennarios Barty is a party, going all-out for Hungarian ethnic, and eschewing all that percussive-guitar soundscape which was the prevailing approach for a long time. Here we get the vitality, the whirl, the stomping techiness, the lights and shadows of dance...and the slow movement with Pennario's bell-highs in concert with Goschmann's luscious strings give us a breather from the festivities, on a perfumed Budapest night, gazing on the Danube from the bedecked balcony. Yesss! You'll be surprised at how good these old sessions sound. With all the enthusiasm and goodwill so inherent here, you wonder if Capitol took everyone out for a festive dinner afterward. I put this on at a buffet in my home and everyone loved it, wanted it, savored it. And so will you. It'll do up a nice brunch, too!"