Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2/Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Shostakovich's two Piano Concertos lack the seriousness of this four concertos for violin or cello. The first is actually a "double" concerto, having an important part for solo trumpet. It's an early but expertly written work sharing the same musical climate as the First Symphony. The Second Concerto was created for the composer's son Maxim, now a well-known conductor. It's a light- hearted, tongue-in-cheek piece with a Romantic slow movement. It's been a popular favorite since the day it was written, and perfectly compliments Poulenc's madcap send-up of everything from silent movie music to Mozart and the Javanese gamelan. Good for whatever ails you. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.1 In C Minor, Op.35: Allegretto
Piano Concerto No.1 In C Minor, Op.35: Lento
Piano Concerto No.1 In C Minor, Op.35: Moderato
Piano Concerto No.1 In C Minor, Op.35: Allegro Con Brio
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Allegro
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Andante
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Allegro
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Largo
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Minor, Op.61: Moderato

Customer Reviews:

Music to make the heart race and the soul sing.......2007-05-06

I've owned this recording for some time, but I'd forgotten about it until I heard the second piano concerto used as background music on a documentary the other night. The melody from the second movement kept running through my head until I found it on my iPod and sat down to listen to it. I don't know why I ever let it fall out of regular rotation. It's lovely, and this performance is very good. For the price it's outstanding.

The first and second concertos are seperated by over 20 years, Stalin's purges, and WWII. They feel very different. There's an irreverant smartness and swagger to the first concerto that's missing in the second, which is tighter and sharper, though still full of Shostakovich's great sense of humor. It's the second concerto that I like better, though. It's filled with exercises for a piano student (and in fact is technically relatively easy for the pianist), but those exercises are elevated by brilliant polishing and fantastic panache into something more. The second concerto may be a relatively minor piano concerto, but it has some of the most exquisitely lovely music out there, and it's thoughtfully performed on this disk.

I don't consider this desk an essential part of my music collection, but music on it moves me. I could listen to it over and over again (and I have, four or five times in the last two days). Both concertos contain a spirit and a humanity that transcend the time and place of their composition, but they're also wonderful musical artifacts of the USSR, part of a musical tradition that couldn't have come from any other place or time. Listen to both concertos and you can get some feeling for what it meant to survive Stalin's reign. The SPCO under Hugh Wolff is right for this music, and Leonskaja is the right soloist. Definitely worth the money.

Good for the price maybe.......2006-08-11

I'm really surprised this recording is garnering such wholeheartedly positive reviews. I find some interesting moments but, as a whole, think both concertos have been done much better elsewhere.

I'd like to say I could recommend this disk based on the price as a starter at least, but I feel too strongly that Ms. Leonskaja's performance is out of character with the music in many places, and, even worse, she often doesn't display passion or understanding for it.

One instance of this, by way of contrast to her playing, would be how, in his performance of the cadenza of the first movement of the second concerto, Shostakovich's grandson uses textural contrast in playing, rabato, and accelrando to build to the climax of the coda when the orchestra reenters. She, by comparison, plays rather droningly until, suddenly, the orchestra is finishing the movement. Not that she doesn't use or surely know accelrando etc., but she just uses her piano technique haphazardly without larger purpose.

This kind of playing seems to me also evident in the first concerto. She rambles without giving momentum to the music. Her technique is fine, but she doesn't have a large scale perspective down.

I'd have to agree with a previous reviewer that a bright spot is the second movement of the second concerto. This movement is usually played almost apologetically as a quiet interlude. The performance on this disk may be only slightly more dynamic, but gives it romantic depth. It is with NO apologies that this music should be offered. It is simply beautiful, and the conducting is fully in synch with the subtleties of the music. Ms. Leonskaja shines here too. This seems best in synch with her playing .

2 of 2 instant positve reviews? i don't f88cking think so. even my best friends aren't that highly disposed

what a deal!.......2005-10-19

I'll add my 5 stars to those of the other reviewers. For a budget disc the production standards are very high. The orchestral strings are beautifully recorded and the solo work (piano but also trumpet in concerto no.1) is excellent. This CD is generously packed as well. A great deal.

WHAT A PERFORMANCE!!!!!!.......2004-08-23

Brilliance, clarity and beauty beyond measure,
is what we find in this renditions of the
Piano Concertos by Shostakovich(One of my favourite composers).
Leonskaja is ready and well prepeared
for the task. Equally brilliant are Hugh Wolff and the
St. Paul Chamber...The price is great too and the sound
is superb...

Leonskaja is Very Impressive Here; So is the St. Paul CO.......2004-06-18

I had recently reviewed the newish release of the two Shostakovich Piano Concertos played by Marc-André Hamelin. Raved about them, in fact. They were coupled with the all-but-unknown Second Piano Concerto by Rodion Shchedrin, which I'd never heard before but fell in love with. I honestly didn't think I'd hear better performances of the Shostakovich pieces anywhere - and that's saying a lot, considering that virtuosi like Bronfman and Dimitry Alexeyev have recorded them in the last few years. Elisabeth Leonskaja is a pianist I'd only vaguely known of before a friend introduced me to her recording of the Brahms First Concerto; I was stunned at the beauty and brains of her playing. It wouldn't be the usual Brahms player who could make the switch to Shostakovich easily. Brahms is weighty and in these two concertos Shostakovich is, for the most part, the class clown. I'm happy to report that Leonskaja makes the transition beautifully. These performances are light-hearted and deeply felt at the same time. If anything, the second movement of the Second Concerto is better than Hamelin's or anyone else's that I've ever heard. When I first heard it I had to play it three times in a row because I was reluctant to leave it, it's THAT gorgeous. In the concerto she is helped immensely by the fine playing of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff. In that slow movement the muted strings are simply ravishing. Each time I hear the attacca beginning of the last movement, with its silly, gimpy headlong 7/16 insistence, I laugh out loud. The trumpet soloist in the First Concerto is Gary Bordner. His playing is stunning.

Shostakovich's Second Sonata is definitely NOT of a piece with the two concerti. It is a big, introspective, mostly spare essay in Shostakovich's polyphonic style. If you know his Préludes and Fugues, you'll have some idea of the style. Leonskaja plays magisterially here, never afraid to let Shostakovich's spareness tempt her to rush the second and third movements. Very nice, indeed.

Tracks:

I. Waltz - Philadelphia Orchestra
II. Polka - Philadelphia Orchestra
III. Foxtrot - Philadelphia Orchestra
VI. Waltz 2 - Philadelphia Orchestra
Tahiti Trot (Tea For Two) Op.16 - Philadelphia Orchestra
V. Barrell-Organ Waltz - Sir Neville Marriner
VIII. Romance - Sir Neville Marriner
I. Allegro Moderato-Allegro Vivace-Moderato - Dmitri Alexeev
II. Lento - Dmitri Alexeev
III. Moderato- - Dmitri Alexeev
IV. Allegro Con Brio-Presto-Allegretto Poco Moderato-Allegro Con Brio - Dmitri Alexeev
I. Allegro - Dmitri Alexeev
II. Andante - Dmitri Alexeev
III. Allegro - Dmitri Alexeev
The Assault On Beautiful Gorky - Dmitri Alexeev

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Average customer rating:

Stunning
An excellent performance
As always, Lyndon Gee delivers perfecton!

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Hindemith: Mathis der Maler; Violin Concerto; Symphonic Metamorphosis
Poulenc: Concerto for pianos in Dm; Concerto for organ & strings in Gm
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 1-5
Ottorino Respighi: Church Windows/Brazilian Impressions/Roman Festivals
Debussy: Orchestral Music

ASIN: B00000144R
Release Date: 1995-10-24

Tracks:

Festive Overture, Op.96: Festive Overture, Op.96 - Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102
Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102: Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102: Andante
Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102: Allegro 'The Age Of Gold' Ballet Suite Op.22a
'The Age Of Gold', Ballet Suite, Op. 22a: Introduction
'The Age Of Gold', Ballet Suite, Op. 22a: Adagio
'The Age Of Gold', Ballet Suite, Op. 22a: Polka
'The Age Of Gold', Ballet Suite, Op. 22a: Dance - Piano Concerto No.1 in C Minor, Op.35
Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Minor, Op.35: Allegretto- Allegro vivace- Moderato
Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Minor, Op.35: Lento
Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Minor, Op.35: Moderato
Piano Concerto No. 1 In C Minor, Op.35: Allgero con brio

Customer Reviews:

Stunning.......2006-03-26

The quality of this performance is stunning. Performed by the composer, the Shostakovich piano concertos sparkle on this recording. The orchestra that helped to create this stunning performance is lively and rhythmical. Shostakovich's upbeat and intriguing piano concertos draw each individual listener into the music. Whether you are a fan of classical music or just someone looking for some good music, I am sure that you will appreciate this CD. Trust me; I am a classical pianist, and I have won several piano competitions. This stunning CD is an amazing investment.

By the way, if you enjoy this CD, you might want to buy a CD of Chopin's equally stunning piano concertos!

An excellent performance.......2005-01-14

First of all, Shostakovich was a magnificent composer and performer. The works featured on this CD are a very good representation of his satyrical, ironic style, and the performance of the pieces is perfect. Sometimes the music is dischordant, but never to much; it makes its point without going too far. I bought this CD since I play piano and am working on Shostakovich's Concerto No. 2, and I have not been dissapointed. The sheer speed of some of the pieces is stunning, and the grace and beauty of the slower pieces also amaze me. I highly recommend this recording.

As always, Lyndon Gee delivers perfecton!.......2003-05-17

This CD is a magnificant listen! Christopher Lyndon Gee is an amazing conductor, and being a student of his I can say he's a brilliant man as well. If you want the best...go get and Lyndon Gee CD!

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 2 [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 2 [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2; Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119 [Hybrid SACD]
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Roslavets Piano Music / Marc-André Hamelin
Catoire: Piano Music

ASIN: B0000LPKGS
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 2

Average customer rating:

A superior concerto disc
Simply beautiful.
Hamelin Triumphs Again
Buy this cd, now!

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 2

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No. 4; Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 1
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Godowsky: Sonata; Passacaglia
Rachmaninov, Villa-Lobos, Chopin, Schulz-Evler

ASIN: B0000DJEND
Release Date: 2004-01-13

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Lento
Moderato
Allegro Con Brio
Allegro
Andante
Allegro
Dialogues: Tempo Rubato
Improvisations: Allegro
Contrasts: Andante - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

A superior concerto disc.......2005-05-20

On this disc the digitous demon from the City of Brotherly loves offers us a generous serving of two familiar piano concertos and one unfamiliar one.

In all three works Hamelin may, indeed, encounter scores that provide limited challenge to his technical skills. Yet, to keep up the level of precision and clarity without braking the idiom of these works at any moment equals the highly challenging task of playing a Mozart Concerto really well. Throughout all the three concertos the piano playing and interpretation is at the 10/10 level. The Schedrin concerto, in a way that reminded me of Zimmerman's opera "die Soldaten", contains some abrupt changes from the clustered barely tonal to the light and rhythmic jazz genre, which Hamelin makes without the blink of an eye.

My only critique on this disc is limited to the orchestra part in the first concerto. Especially due to the sound of the strings here, which sound appropriate for a work like Vaugh-Williams' Tallis Variations, I missed the timbral idiom that one is used to from the classical Russian interpretations. Whether it is due to the bigger impact of the winds on the orchestral sound in the second, or to better prep work, here the timbre was far more accurate.

The recording quality is excellent, so what are you waiting for?

Simply beautiful........2004-04-02

This is by far the best interpretation of Shostakovich No.2 I've encountered. His performance on Schedrin's Concerto is simply breathtaking. This recording proves how both technically and artistically complete Hamelin is and deserves more than 5-stars. What we deserve, I believe, is Hamelin's complete cycle of Shostakovich solo piano works.

Hamelin Triumphs Again.......2004-02-16

Somehow this issue got past me when it was released. I usually get everything Marc-André Hamelin records immediately after it comes out; this time a whole month went by! But it's never too late and I was certainly delighted to come by this release from January 2004. The disc contains three of the most insouciant piano concertos ever written. Shostakovich has two personalities: the somber, angst-filled one as in the two violin concerti, and the class cut-up as in these two piano concertos. Here we get Shostakovich the scamp, and in a somewhat similar style, the piano concerto by Rodion Shchedrin (b. 1932). Hamelin is perfect for these concerti because, even though they are not the super-virtuosic type he often records, they require a certain devil-may-care quality which he possesses in abundance (just listen to his recordings of the over-the-top Alkan minor key tudes or the Godowsky recastings of the Chopin Études). Further, because he has accompanied his wife, singer Jody Applebaum, in some down-and-dirty cabaret songs by Bolcom, Britten and Schönberg, he has the experience to play barroom piano as required in the both the Shostakovich concerti. And he seems to be right at home with the bop piano sections of the Shchedrin. You can't tell me that Shchedrin wasn't familiar with Lenny Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' Symphony; the piano style is right down that alley. He's given terrific backing by the BBC Scottish Symphony under Andrew Litton. The superb trumpet soloist in the First Concerto is Mark O'Keeffe.

I'd never heard the Shchedrin Concerto before, so I can't compare it with any other performances. But I've long had and loved the recording that Shostakovich made as pianist with André Cluytens conducting. That has been reissued, with somewhat cleaned-up sound, on EMI and is still available. The sound is somewhat brittle compared to this issue and obviously is to be valued because of Shostakovich's presence, but I think I like the Hamelin performances more. I also like Yefim Bronfman's recording of the Shostakovich concerti, available on Sony, and it has the advantage of also including a terrific performance of the Piano Quintet with members of the Juilliard Quartet.

Heartily recommended.

TT=63:11

Scott Morrison

Buy this cd, now!.......2004-02-02

Great performances of great music. Marc-Andre Hamelin is excellent, as always, and the orchestra is first-rate. Sound is excellent. Disk packaging is very attractive. There's no other recording I'd rather hear of the Shchedrin (with its amazing last movement), and I would easily list this recording as my favorite of the Shostakovich concerti, along with those of the composer himself... Dear Marc-Andre Hamelin, please record Prokofieff's Second Piano Concerto!!!

Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich: Cello Sonata, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Average customer rating:

Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich: Cello Sonata, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Dmitri Shostakovich , Mstislav Rostropovich , Alexander Gauk , and Samuil Samosud
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0000261VF
Release Date: 1995-02-07

Average customer rating:

Undramatic
not suitable for elevators
Impish Shostakovich in pretty good readings
From a trumpeters perspective, kind of dissapointing
Sensational Shostakovich

Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Shostakovich , Rudy , Bpo , Lpo , and Jansons
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Sonata No. 2

ASIN: B000083LR6
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Tracks:

I: Allegro Moderato
II: Lento
III: Moderato
IV: Allegro Brio
I: Allegro
II: Andante
III:
I: Allegretto
II: Allegro
III: Lento
IV: Allegro Molto

Customer Reviews:

Undramatic .......2007-03-01

The first concerto is beautiful intrinsically but the reading by Rudy is not dramatic enough. It is somewhat facile playing that does not capture the dark humor or sarcastic nature of the piece.

The second concerto is played as it should be. Facile and etude-like with not much personality. Of course the 2nd movement is beautiful, but it is a less interesting piece.

not suitable for elevators.......2006-12-25

Lovers of Dmitri Shostakovich's music are likely to experience the first blush of passion through the eyes rather than the ears. The distinctive cover art of the EMI Classics series juxtaposes the EMI angelic theme to Kazimir Malevich's Supremus No. 58: Dynamic Composition in Yellow and Black, then gives the mentioned artwork pride of place on the inside of the cd cover itself.

The musical and the visual art complement each other perfectly. And that's before you've turned on your stereo. It gets better after that.

Latvian conductor Mariss Janson makes the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic sound like all-Shostakovich shops, with pianist Mikhail Rudy and trumpeter Ole Edvard Antonsen completing the line-up in the composer's unlikely Concerto for Piano, Trumpet & Strings.

This is not an album to be utilized as mood music, except in those cases where schizophrenic preferences are already too advanced for treatment. Rather, Shostakovich here - as elsewhere - demands the listener's concentration. When that is conceded to him, he surprises with some gorgeous melodic lines that are almost startling for a man whose output is so easily categorized as spare, atonal, abstract, and even strident.

One catches first wind of such melodic capacity in the second movement of the First Concerto ('Lento'), then is almost overtaken by it in the Andante of the Concerto No. 2.

Still, it is misguided to seek only those melodic passages that most appeal to one's aesthetic palate, so I must mention that Shostakovich's pathos and power reside also in those tranches of challenging dissonance that are for many an acquired taste. Though the composer might not agree with the urge to write his story across the historical canvas or to see them principally againt that backdrop, one can almost hear the events of early twentieth-century Russia in these pieces, as Mother Russia writhed.

All in all, some brilliant Shostakovitch being played here. It's even affordable. Kudos to EMI for the artwork.

Impish Shostakovich in pretty good readings.......2006-01-11

Though a noted pianist himself, Shostakovich did not exploit the instrument for virtuosic display--his two concertos are impish and light-fingered. Jazz and vaudeville bump noses with Haydn. The second cncerto, written for his son Maxim, age 19, is even saucier. The prominent trumpet part in the first concerto--here played too soberly and without pnache--is a leftover of Shostakovich's original intent to write a trumpet cncerto.

A lack of panache flaws Mikhail Rudy's piano playing also. Although a favorite of Jansons', who used Rudy in his set of Rachmaninov concertos for EMI, this pianist never quite panned out: he is too sober-sided and lacking in imaginaiton. That doesn't kill these performances, but it doesn't help. The plainness of the usually infectious First Sym. makes me wonder if Shoshtakovich's humorous side just isn't suited to Jansons. Despite that, as a bargain release in excelent sound this one is recommendable, without relish.

From a trumpeters perspective, kind of dissapointing.......2005-12-16

I got this recording because of the trumpet part of it. This reading uses a more piano-centralized edition of the concerto #1 and so it wasn't quite what I expected. I love the piano, and these two concertos are great and a pleasure to listen to. I was just used to the Timofei Dokshizer recording of the piece where its practically a trumpet concerto and that wasn't what this recording was at all. Still a welcome part of my collection, but trumpeters beware. Find the Dokshizer, it's really really good!

Sensational Shostakovich.......2003-10-22

For those unfamiliar with Dmitri Shostakovich, this wonderful EMI compilation offers three of his greatest works and shows the variety of music he produced during his long career. Shostakovich himself was a gifted pianist, so it's no wonder that his two piano concertos are quite spectacular and showy. They are a lot of fun to hear, too. The performances are exciting throughout, including the spectacular trumpet solos in the first concerto. The first symphony was Shostakovich's first great triumph and it is given an excellent performance on this CD. There are so many different moods in this work, which is filled with drama, passion, and tragedy, as well as some Shostakovich's biting sarcasm and satire. Mariss Jansons is a veteran Russian conductor who has lately had an international career that has been distinguished by performances and recordings of Sibelius and some of the Russian composers. This is an extremely enjoyable album.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Blues Helping [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Music Review: 3 Historic Tenors in Concert

Genius + Soul = Jazz/My Kind of Jazz

Cry Me a River [Import]

I'll Be Here Awake [Explicit Lyrics]

Life Trip [Import]

Grenadilla

John O'Sullivan, Tenor

Here There And That Way

Jazz of the 1940's: Greatest Hits

Heavier Things [Enhanced]

Hits of Elton John, Vol. 1 [Karaoke]

Discography

Private Party Collectors Edition

Look of Love (Hybr) (Ms)