Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 3 / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Composer: Rachmaninov
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Orchestra: Mariinsky Orchestra
Format: SACD
Price: £9.99
Release Date: 01 February 2010
Released 1st February 2010. Pre-orders posted 25th January 2010
Mariinsky label recordings are made available by LSO Live. To complete your order you will be transferred to the London Symphony Orchestra website.
The Mariinsky label’s fourth release features the acclaimed Russian pianist Denis Matsuev joining Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra for recordings of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Reviews
24 March 2010
‘quel pianiste! Denis Matsuev est un phénomène. Il prouve ici qu’il associe sa virtuosité à un réel sens stylistique et esthétique’
Artistique 10 Technique 10
24 March 2010
‘a magnificent performance. The longer, more taxing version of the first movement cadenza has rarely been more thrillingly captured on disc, but the slow movement shows that Matsuev can also swoon with lyrical grace’ *****
24 March 2010
'Here, for once, is the level of artistry that the work needs. Denis Matsuev's phenomenal deftness is such that he can launch into the finale at an eyebrow-raising speed which he then has no trouble sustaining. And for all his seemingly endless reserves of technical power, he never makes an ugly sound ... The Paganini Rhapsody is another memorable experience, with Matsuev and Gergiev darting unerringly between the music's extremes of fantastical virtuosity and tight-reined lyricism.'
17 January 2010
'As one might expect from someone hailed as Horowitz’s successor, Matsuev holds that most titanic of piano concertos in a passionate embrace, lavish with his rubato, devastatingly certain in his articulation, sensitive to colour and balance, aware of how to pace and thus make coherent the architecture of this massive work. Importantly, for all his physical power and energy, he never makes a hard sound. There’s commensurately sympathetic playing from the Mariinsky, who also match Matsuev’s deft, vibrant musicianship in the brittler Rhapsody.'
Read the review on the Times website
17 January 2010
'Denis Matsuev is an amazing pianist. He shapes the Third Concerto's fistfuls of notes with consummate mastery. The work's opening theme has an easy elegance that's very beguiling, and Matsuev shapes the more massive of the two cadenza alternatives with great power. In the finale, the opening theme never sounds merely scrambled, and the massive chordal second subject builds in huge crescendos, but Matsuev never bangs or loses control. With the Paganini Rhapsody, each variation has shape and character, and the closing few really do offer a clinic in virtuoso keyboard artistry. The variation in triplets right before the famous 18th is particularly noteworthy: very ominous, louder, and darker than usual.'
Artists
Denis Matsuev, piano
Since winning the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998 Matsuev has established a reputation as one of Russia’s greatest and most dynamic pianists. Over recent years he has begun to perform regularly on the international scene and recorded for BMG Russia. He has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras and gave his first recital at Carnegie Hall in 2007.
Matsuev is particular renowned for his interpretations of music by the Russian composers and has collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninoff Foundation. He was chosen by the Foundation to perform and record unknown pieces of Rachmaninoff on the composer’s own piano at the Rachmaninoff house Villa Senar in Lucerne.
This recording was made possible through the generous support of Mr. Andrei Cheglakov
Recording Details
Recorded at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, St Petersburg, 15-20 February 2009 Producer: James Mallinson
Engineers: John Newton and Dirk Sobotka
Notes in Russian (Cyrillic), English, French and German.
Hybrid SACD. Compatible with all CD players Includes multi-channel 5.1 and stereo mixes
