Search - Sergey Prokofiev, Vladimir Krainev, Dmitri Kitaenko :: Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5

Insane Brutality

Seth Premo | Newark, DE | 05/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't listen to the first disk much at all. With Prok's 2nd and 3rd both on one disk, who would? Krainev is quite an incredible player. In listening to the piano solo in part one of the 2nd Concerto, you have to just sit there and think... "Could it be that Prokofiev had an undiagnosed case of manic depression or bipolar disorder?" The piece is so obviously and vulnerably dismal and distraught, like nothing else I've heard. I'm sure since I've bought this album I've listened to it at least once a day, and I have ordered the sheet music for it. During the 2nd's solo you could swear there MUST be at least three people at the keys in order to punch out all of those octaves and simultaneously make the runs. This is a performance that should have been video recorded for DVD. The 3rd is almost as exciting. The pace is very appropriately quicker than most. One thing that does annoy me is the below medium level of stable volume and yet a very quick rush to "fortississimo" decays back to that low volume again, almost like starting building a wall and then taking all of the bricks down, not leaving anything left to build on (metaphorically speaking). The ending of the 3rd's 2nd part... could have a little more spunk if he hammered that last chord like Van CLiburn. The orchestra sweeps in, ends in a major scale, then almost like a final "#uck You," Van Cliburn punched out that final minor... Krainev's was quiet... I didn't appreciate that. Oh well. Nevertheless, this album is far beyond psychotic beauty."