Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2,Opp.35,102 / Piano Quintet,Op.57

Dmitri Shostakovich (Composer), Salonen (Conductor), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Yefrem Bronfman (Performer), Julliard String Quartet (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Yefrem Bronfman, Julliard String Quartet
• Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Salonen
• Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
• Audio CD (November 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000034CZ5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,804 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Piano Concerto No. 1, for piano, trumpet & strings, in C minor, Op. 35: Allegretto

2. Piano Concerto No. 1, for piano, trumpet & strings, in C minor, Op. 35: Lento

3. Piano Concerto No. 1, for piano, trumpet & strings, in C minor, Op. 35: Moderato

4. Piano Concerto No. 1, for piano, trumpet & strings, in C minor, Op. 35: Allegro Con Brio

5. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102: Allegro

6. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102: Andante

7. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102: Allegro

8. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: I. Prelude: Lento

9. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: II. Fugue: Adagio

10. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: III. Scherzo: Allegretto

11. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: IV. Intermezzo: Lento

12. Quintet for piano & strings in G minor, Op. 57: V. Finale: Allegretto

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is a splendid recording, featuring three of Shostakovich's major works involving his own instrument, the piano. They display all the mercurial, contradictory aspects of his style, from dance-hall banality to sophisticated counterpoint and inspired melodic inventiveness, from mournful desolation and bleak hopelessness to the wild, obsessive, sardonic humor of desperation. The two piano concertos, though written over 20 years apart, show a certain similarity in their melancholy slow movements and frantically rollicking Finales, though the first, more popular one, opens with a highly dramatic movement, the second with a relatively peaceful one. The recording brings together a Russian-born virtuoso pianist with a special affinity for the composer's style, a great quartet steeped in 20th-century music, and a first-rate orchestra. The resulting performances are brilliant, moving, and exciting; Bronfman's virtuosity is stunning and the solo trumpeter in the first concerto is terrific. The string playing is wonderful--rich and colorful in sound, rhythmically incisive, deeply expressive; the first violinist's tone soars radiantly in the many stratospheric passages. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fizzy and infectious in the concertos, uplifting in the Piano Quintet, January 11, 2006

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2,Opp.35,102 / Piano Quintet,Op.57 (Audio CD)

After dulling my senses listening to the two Shostakovich piano concertos in lackluster readings by Mihail Rudy and Mariss Jansons, I needed a tonic. This CD jumps out of the speakers with infectious joy. It's also in Sony's best 24-bit sound, and on that basis alone would rank among the veyr best. Bronfman and Salonen have decided to cut loose (something neither does that often), catching Shostakovich's witty side perfectly. The composer himself is even more unbuttoned in his classic EMI recording, but in inferior sound.

The major work here, however, is the Piano Quintet, a large-scale work in the affirmative mode of the Fifth Sym. Shostakovich seems to be parodying nothing here; although there are haunting moments, particularly the string canon in the first movement and the solo violin that opens the slow movement, the Quintet, rare for this composer, is not clouded by melanchily. The Scherzo is rollicking, the finale presents a dancing tune one could almost whistle, alternating with ghostly memories of the first movement. Sony captures the sound of Bronfman's piano and the Julliard Quartet with amazing depth and fidelity--I've never heard any chamber work recorded so brilliantly.

In all, this is Shostakovich at his most lovable--a very unlikely word applied to him--played with geniality and tremendously appealing sonics.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful romp, April 13, 2000

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John "[e-mail]" (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2,Opp.35,102 / Piano Quintet,Op.57 (Audio CD)

I must say that the two piano concertos of Shostakovich are the most fun-filled of any I've heard in the genre. Not since the finale of Rossini's William Tell Overture have I heard a piece of music so wonderfully suited to bounce along to than the first movement of the 2nd concerto. The two concertos display a playful, humorous side of Shostakovich, the opposite of the bitter sarcasm of his masterful symphonies. Salonen and the LA Philharmonic play wonderfully, as does Stevens in the first concerto. Bronfman never misses a note and the Juilliard String Quartet's performance packs a wallop.

The first piano concerto is one of the most original that I have ever heard. I particularily like the final movement with its wildl, gallopping melodies and hammering ostinato trumpet.

The second piano concerto still remains my favorite on the CD; The wonderful first movement always entertains me as it picks up from a simple, happy little tune to the toe-tapping, mock-military march. The dark, menacing chords that follow lead to one of those thrilling Shostakovich passages that sweep in, carry you away and then drop you off, bewildered and breathless. The second movement is one of absolute, lyrical beauty, and as its final chords quietly fade away another simple little tune is picked up, which leads into the madness of the third movement.

The Piano Quintet took me by surprise. I am not a big fan of chamber music, but the more I listen to this work the more subtleties I notice and the more I realize what a masterpiece it is. The scherzo is one of Shostakovich's best (and there are a lot in his works).

So, if you've read this far, you can probably guess that I highly recommend this CD, it's spectacular to listen to, and kids certainly seem to like to bounce around to the 2nd concerto.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More of the Spectrum of Shostakovich, November 26, 2005

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Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2,Opp.35,102 / Piano Quintet,Op.57 (Audio CD)

During the past two years the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been delighting audiences with a Shostakovich Festival and during that time frame the orchestra is performing all fifteen symphonies, most of the concerti and chamber works as well as the quartets by both members of the orchestra and visiting ensembles. It is a time to respect the spectrum of the genius of Shostakovich as well as to broaden each of our exposures to works we might not know.

This CD recorded in 1999 serves as happy adjunct to this Shostakovich Festival. Yefim Bronfman is the fine soloist who offers both piano concerto numbers 1 and 2 (with the excellent assistance of trumpeter Thomas Stevens on the first) in collaboration with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LA Philharmonic. The performances wink and dazzle and then turn to the quiet nostalgia in the slow movements. This is simply excellent Shostakovich in writing and performance!

The final work on this ambitious CD is the Quintet for piano & strings in G Minor here performed by Bronfman and the Julliard String Quartet. The balance is perfection! This is a very fine recording that stands with the finest for the concerto recordings and adds the tasty dollop of the Quintet as a superb bonus. Recommended. Grady Harp, November 05