Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Published:
COMPOSERS: Rachmaninov
LABELS: Decca
WORKS: Piano Concerto No. 2; Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
PERFORMER: Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano)Cleveland Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy
CATALOGUE NO: 440 653-2 DDD
This perfectly good, though not outstanding, recording allows an up-and-coming soloist to have a go at familiar repertoire. Thibaudet produces the correct elegiac gestures for the Concerto and is matched by Ashkenazy’s sensitivity to the work’s careful architecture. The Rhapsody, with Thibaudet capricious and abandoned by turns, is the more exciting performance, but overall the disc lacks anything one might call special. Christopher Wood