There’s undeniable appeal to the broad-shouldered, red-blooded sound of a Russian orchestra and piano soloist working together to create musical intensity.
The two Piano Concertos of Dmitri Shostakovich contrast the expansive grin of a 27-year-old composer in the flush of his first fame with the jaded smile of a 51-year-old. Russian pianist Denis Matsuev is masterful at overcoming the works’ many technical demands.
The 37-year-old pianist lends the piano forward-moving power while giving his overall interpretation smoothly rounded corners.
Conductor Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra are magnificent in achieving the same kind of balance, giving the music weight without ever making it ponderous. The slow movements in both concertos are magical as they waft gently by.
The 1999 Piano Concerto No. 5 by living Russian composer Rodion Schhedrin is an odd and compelling mix of sweet and sour, slow-moving and rhythmic, muscular and effete that makes a nice program closer for this album. The amazing buildup of the pianist’s tiptoe toccata in the final movement is a treat.
For details of the album, including a couple of audio samples, click here.
Matsuev is in Toronto for an all-Russian solo piano recital at Koerner Hall on Sunday afternoon. There were about a dozen first-balcony tickets still available on Friday morning. Details here.
Here is Matsuev in solo mode, with an Op. 90 Impromptu of Franz Schubert, followed by some crazy-fun Grieg:
John Terauds