Customer Reviews

Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg: Piano Concertos

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In the 1950s and 60s, CBS/Columbia (now Sony Classical) had the great fortune to have three of America's best orchestras and their conductors on its recording roster -- Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. Nearly a half-century later, only Leonard Bernstein remains a name that even the non-classical music world knows well. But in the world of the compact disc, this is a wonderful thing, because while Leonard Bernstein analog stereo recordings sell at mid-price, classic performances by Ormandy and Szell are regulated to the budget line. Well, my friends there is justice in the world because the vast majority of these "budget line" recordings are simply amazing. This particular disc features Ormandy and the Philadelphians with the great pianists Philippe Entremont on the Grieg Piano Concerto, and Rudolf Serkin on Schumann's Piano Concerto and Konzertstuck. The Grieg/Schumann coupling is a frequent one -- both composers only wrote one concerto for the instrument, they are both from the romantic period, and mostly both concertos are written in A Minor. There are many great recordings out there -- Kovacevich/Davis, Lupu/Previn, Perahia/Davis, Rubinstein, even classic mono performances by Lipatti and Michelangeli -- but they are all midline, and even without price as a factor this would be my first choice. Enjoy!

You cannot go wrong with this disc: two of the most popular piano concertos (the "Cav 'n Pag" of their genre) on a super-bargain disc which is almost being given away on Marketplace, in excellent sound for 1958 and 1964 respectively, played in the grand, old-fashioned style by two master pianists accompanied by the lush, velvety sound of the Philadelphia in their prime under Ormandy.

Comparisons between Barenboim on EMI (conducted by Fischer-Dieskau!) and the peerless Serkin in the Schumann are revealing. Barenboim sounds positively clumsy and jerky, as he clatters away on a piano with suspect tuning, and he completely fails to find the poetry created by Serkin with his beautfully judged arpeggios; Barenboim is simply matter-of-fact, lacking Serkin's gravitas and majesty. Osorio, in an excellent 1984 account with Batiz and the RPO, is jaunty and fleet; both approaches are preferable to Barenboim's mundanity.

In the Grieg, Entremont is similarly grand and wise if not as rhapsodic or delicate as Bäkkelund in Oslo, recorded around the same time and I think this is marginally the weaker of the two interpretations here - but this is still a very satisfying performance, full of elan.

Martha Argerich has made such a rousing specialty of the Schumann Cto. that it's hard to remember a time when another pianist attacked the work with as much passion and spontaneity -- but here is Rudolf Serkin from 1964 to remind us. Ormandy was at his best as an accompanist, yet he excels himself here with an orchestral part that is vivid and urgent, not what one expects from him. Serkin always favored very close miking of the piano -- essentially under the lid -- and we're lucky that this cheap digital remastering isn't hard or glassy; in fact, it has considerable visceral impact while still sounding fairly natural -- a bit of shallowness is all that I can complain about.

The hallmark of this reading is that it takes in the whole concerto at a sweep, in one long romantic flight. Serkin plays with a clean, direct tone that is quite bracing, but he applies enough rubato here and there to allow for breathing room in the phrasing -- that said, this is a boldly masculine reading in the heroic style of Beethoven. Nothing could be more thrilling, and among the great stereo recordings of the Schumann, Argerich, Pollini and Richter are given a run for their money. Serkin recorded the op. 92 Konzerstuck the day before, and although I've never heard it programmed in concert, he gives a sympathetic reading that makes the pie e sound better than it actually is.

The Grieg cto. form Entremont dates from 1958 when the pianist was a brilliant 23-year-old, and he plays with vibrancy and attack. ormandy is also energized, and the reading would be an outstanding one if it didn't have to stand comparison with Serkin's Schumann. What's lacking is depth, a rare commodity in readings of tis warhorse, but Richter on EMI shows that depth and greatness are possible. Short of that summit, Entremont is exciting in his own right.

Philippe Entremont's performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (recorded in 1958) is, quite simply, the best performance of the work I have ever heard. Ormandy was always a great accompanist in concerto performances and the Philadelphia strings are just what this lush, Romantic concerto needs. Pianist Philippe Entremont demonstrates again (as he did with his Tchaikovsky First performance with Bernstein/NY Philharmonic) that he grasps the essence of the great Romantic piano concertos better than almost anyone else. He plays it grand and triumphant but without ever sounding pretentious or artificial. His virtuosity knows no bounds and his musicality is of the highest caliber. Many people will say that Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli's live performance of the Grieg from 1965 (with New Philharmonia and de Burgos on BBC Legends) is the best recording of this work, but I will say that, in my view, it is the second best recording of the work. The best one is this Entremont performance.

Rudolph Serkin's performance of the Schumann concerto with Ormandy/Philadelphia, featured on this CD, is outstanding, better in my view than the classic Richter/Warsaw Philharmonic account on DG, but the Grimaud/Salonen performance (also on DG) is better still. Serkin's account of the opus 92 Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra is the most compelling performance of the work I have ever heard.

The sound quality on all of these performances is quite good for their time, though they of course don't compare with the finest digital recordings. At this price, this CD is a steal. Sony Classical seems to be deleting their Essential Classics series, so grab this one while it's still available!

Pure elegance Yes, this music can be compared to Rachmaninoff pianoconcerto 1 and 4. Of that record I own an EMI registration from Mariss Jansons and St Petersburg Philharmonic and Mikhail Rudy. Very much tension and intense music. Elegance simply everywhere.

La introducción del primer movimiento del concierto para piano de Grieg es una clara señal de lo que este CD nos entregara, es soberbio de principio a fin, Entremont lo hace denuevo es totalmente genial, es una esplendida interpretación que le erizara la piel, este concierto en si es una maravilla, una introducción que junto con la del 1º concierto para piano de Tchaikovsky son para no olvidar, un tema musical inusitado, extenuante, energizante, supremo. Ormandy hace su trabajo a la perfección y la orquesta de Filadelfia suena a plenitud, vibrante, riquisima, es un concierto de concierto, no puede un amante de la música quedar fuera, es inevitable tener que apreciarlo y atesorarlo, simplemente grandioso.

El concierto de Schumann es mas simple en estructura, pero para los oídos, para los que adoran la música es de una belleza enternecedora, magnifico, claro, sutil, hermoso. Rudolf Serkin se hace cargo de este concierto y logra a plenitud todos los objetivos musicales que se propone, se desliza en el piano dando lo mejor de si en beneficio del auditor, es sublime y electrizante. Serkin tambien tiene a su cargo otra obra de Schumann, ahora es el turno de Introducción & allegro apassionato, menos sútil que el concierto es una obra llena de fuerza, de vigor y por cierto de gracia y alegría. Es un final fastuoso en música, pero nada pomposo para los oídos.

Ormandy y la orquesta de Filadelfia logran como siempre hacer que el solista resalte y la música sobresalga más aún.