Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos :: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Not performed in its traditional manner....

Kevin Lew | sf,ca | 11/25/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I found Uyehara's interpretation to be delightful and sensitive, although tempo is a bit slow. I hear nothing Japanese about it unless one has a prejudice about asian classical musicians. Van Cliburn she ain't but this is a change from the forcefulness one usually hears from this piece."

Brilliant Pianist, Dull Accompaniment

Todd Krieger | United States | 06/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Young Japanese pianist Ayako Uehara originally got my attention with a performance of this same Tchaikovsky First Concerto with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit. I personally think that performance was the best I've come across outside of the legendary Van Cliburn/Kondrashin performance, if not an equal to it. (The Dutoit performance can be accessed on YouTube.) Uehara's brilliance can still be heard on this one, but is badly hindered by what I think was a lethargic and seemingly-clueless reading by the conductor. The dynamics of the recording are compressed to boot.



In my opinion, Ayako Uehara is one of the most-exciting young stars in the classical music world that I've experienced in quite some time. Although it may not seem overly obvious with this CD. I've also witnessed some great Rachmaninoff and Mozart from Ayako as well."

It isn't easy to find "Pictures" in the original

R. L. MILLER | FT LAUDERDALE FL USA | 12/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Which is to say on solo piano. I don't recall how the decision was made, but "Pictures At an Exhibition" was originally composed this way. Then Maurice Ravel of "Bolero" fame, who was always more of an arranger than a composer anyway, got hold of it and arranged it for orchestra. Over the years, the version you're getting here faded to near-obscurity and now most people think Ravel's arrangement is the way it's done, period. When I was a freshman in college I came across the Vladimir Horowitz reading of this version in the library, the LP so beat to hell that I thought of it as the "Kellogg Version"--you know, snap crackle and pop. And I don't understand why the piano version is so tough to find. It's ironic that my initial foray into retail downloading turns up this piece done on the old 88's. Think of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, which is a lot easier to find, as a prelude to make this a 75-minute album."