Search - Otar Vasil'yevich Taktakishvili, Mily Balakirev, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra :: Taktakishvili Balakirev

Get it for the concerto

R. Lieblich | Arlington, VA USA | 02/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're reading this, you probably know the Taktakishvili concerto already, but just in case ... This is a romantic piano concerto very much in the tradition of Rachmaninov with touches of Grieg and Tchaikovsky, and it goes them one better by having a sparkling little scherzo. There have been three recordings of the concerto. The first, available on a number of labels including Colosseum, is early fifties Soviet mono and sounds as if it was recorded on a different continent from where the players were. The second, from the mid-seventies, is Melodiya stereo of that era -- okay, but nothing to get excited about. The third is this one, and at the current rate of release we can expect a fourth around 2025.



Sonically, the recent Cambria digital far surpasses the earlier two. I had no trouble hearing the piano except in a tutti here and there, and you'll have that sort of trouble with almost anyone except perhaps Mozart. (I don't understand how anyone can say the piano is drowned out.) It's also, in my opinion, the best performance of the three. piano and orchestra. I don't know why anyone would keep the old Iokheles performance on Colosseum except as a supplement to this new one. And anyway, right now the Cambria is the only game in town.



The Balakirev is an odd choice for a coupling. The sound is satisfactory, the performance a little better than routine, but the music itself goes on too long for my taste. I suppose it's worth having, but Taktakishvili wrote two piano concertos. Why not the other one? The coupling is what led me to rate this four stars instead of five.



No matter. Buy this for the Taktakishvili. Excellent performance, good if not great sound. If you like romantic Russian piano concertos (expecially Rachmaninov), you'll like this on first hearing, and it'll grow on you."

Amateurish recording

mdcatdad | Silver Spring, MD USA | 12/31/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I don't remember if I listened to the Balakirev, but
the Taktakishivili seems to have been recorded from
across the street from the concert hall. At times
the piano fades out almost entirely. This is a major disappointment since my LP
(Colosseum) is getting old and I wanted a CD of
this work, but I'll have to keeping looking."