Search - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergey Rachmaninov, Jorge Bolet :: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Lush and elegant

Robert L. Berkowitz | Natick, MA United States | 09/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After having come across a CD of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 that I didn't like (Weissenberg/Karajan), I decided to search for other recordings that combined the Tchaikovsky 1st with the Rachmaninov 2nd. I've reviewed three elsewhere on this site (Cliburn/Kondrashin, Ohlsson/Marriner and Weissenberg/Karajan). The coupling is also available in the Arthur Rubinstein Collection (volume 15) and I'm sure many other CDs I haven't seen.



I just came into contact with this one and am so very impressed. I was familiar with Bolet's recording of the Rachmaninov 2nd concerto (and his very elegant account of Rach 3 with Ivan Fischer and the London Symphony). Bolet plays with such command and panache, and he is beautifully balanced and supported by Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony.



Like Weissenberg's performance, the general tempo for the Tchaikovsky concerto is slow and langorous, but for reasons I cannot fully discern it works much better for Bolet and Dutoit than it did for Weissenberg and Karajan. The stereo sound is rich and luminous. Bolet does not seem in the top of his form in the Tchaikovsky (especially noticeable in the second movement), but he is in command enough and this is a very appealing performance.



All in all, I recommend this disc highly to anyone searching for this coupling of two of the most famous and popular romantic piano concertos."