Search - Kabalevsky :: Dmitri Kabalevsky 4

Quite the rare find...

Vasily V Vylkov | Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. | 09/10/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must agree with 'lilmspiano' - Gilels has little in the way of breathing room when under Kabalevsky's baton in this instance (or perhaps they were running out of magnetic tape already, during the first movement?). Concerto 3, which should sound optimistic and innocent, is delivered hastily and often with quite some abandon from the clarinet section, awfully prominent at the oddest times because of some strange recording track misbalance. What can one say? It is an old recording - but a rare find. Nonetheless, while it is true that the Piano Concerto #3 is not done full justice by this particular rendition, the electrifying performances of both #2 and #4 on this CD more than make up for it. The clean, clear, and shearing opening of Concerto 4 is downright shocking after the ears become accustomed to the muffled sonority of the previous three tracks. Concerto 2, grandiose and brooding, spans the depressed Russian romanticism of the eighteenth century and calculated modern sonorities in many places. The collection on this disc is altogether a prize for us scattered Kabalevsky fans. One must honestly turn to plastinki, records, to find quality nostalgic material, even in these days of digitalizing every archaic excerpt. Well, it is one of my favorites! Call me sentimental, but it speaks to me."

Rare recordings of underrated works

Albert Combrink | Rondebosch South Africa | 06/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is a wonderful LP of Pavel Stepan playing the 2nd Concerto that beats this one, but it has not been available on CD. The Gilels recording of #3 is barely adequate, it being an OLD Melodiya live recording with Kabalevsky on the podium and they all race asif they have a train to catch. But there are hardly any recordings of these works, let alone couplings of #s 2,3 & 4.There is a new recording out with Kathryn Stott playing #2 and #3, in which the third is fabulous. Crisp and clear. But #2 is a large concerto in the vein of Prokofiev or Rachmaninoff, even Khachaturian, and Stott makes it sound a bit lightwheight.So. If you are looking for a good #2, this is the one to get. If you want a good #3, skip this one and go for Stott. I think this is the only recording of #4, and it is a very solid version of the work.All are live recordings, with some wrong notes and coughs. All these works need modern recordings. Pity that Stott got #2."

Good but glossed over

Debbie | New Haven, CT | 02/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Conducted by Kabalevsky himself, this is the definitive recording of his playful yet insightful Piano Concerto No. 3, played by Emil Gilels. However, the tempo is much too fast for Gilels to ever catch himself, take a breath, and begin to play with true feeling, giving the recording a glossy feeling, lacking any true depth, except for the beginning of the second movement."