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Ottorino Respighi Piano Concerto in A Minor / Toccata / Fantasia Slava Konstantin Scherbakov, Piano Howard Griffiths, Conductor
Piano Concerto in A Minor Toccata Fantasia Slava
"how could anyone with the slightest weakness for Respighi hesitate?" Gramophone
"Konstantin Scherbakov is brilliantly sympathetic, and accompanied persuasively by the Slovak Radio SO" Classic CD 5*
"Recommended for those wanting to explore Respighi a little further than the usual orchestral works. I can't imagine you will find better performances of these works, whatever the price of the disc." Amazon.co.uk
"All these pieces are otherwise available in decent performances, but at this price how could anyone with the slightest weakness for Respighi hesitate? Scherbakov and Griffiths do a good deal more than dutifully go through the motions, the soloist in particular playing with delicacy and affection, grateful for the opportunities to demonstrate how well he would play Liszt or Rachmaninov, but in the Toccata he's interested as well in Respighi's more characteristic modal vein; as a Russian, he demonstrates that this too, like so much in Respighi, was influenced by the time he spent in Russia. Russian soloist, English conductor and Slovak orchestra all enjoy the moment in the Fantasiaslava where Respighi presents a morsel of Smetana in the evident belief that it's a Russian folk-dance, but the Concerto and the Fantasia, both very early works, aren't patronised in the slightest. The Toccata isn't so much an exercise in the neo-Baroque, often though its dotted and florid figures promise it, more of an essay on how far one can be neo-Baroque without giving up a post-Lisztian keyboard style and comfortable orchestral upholstery. But in a slow and florid central section, a rather melancholy aria that passes from the soloist to the oboe, to the strings and back again, there's a real quality of Bachian utterance translated not unrecognisably into a late Romantic language. Scherbakov sounds touched by it, and obviously wants us to like it. The recordings are more than serviceable...” Gramophone Classical Music Guide
"Scherbakov and Griffiths do a good deal more than dutifully go through the motions, the soloist in particular playing with delicacy and affection, grateful for the (quite frequent) opportunities to demonstrate how well he would play Liszt or Rachmaninov... Indeed these are likeable performances of music that needs that sort of help, but repays it. The recordings are more than serviceable..." Gramophone
"32-years-old Russian pianist Konstantin Scherbakov - another exeptional talent from Eastern Europe - has discovered three other works of the viola player Respighi... The performances of the technically perfect pianist belong to the absolute world-class level... Convincing discovery..." Attila Csampai, Stereoplay
"The Russian pianist Konstantin Scherbakov is brilliantly sympathetic... Excellent recording." Classic CD |
