Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Sergiu Comissiona, London Symphony Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos Nos. 2 (uncut original version) & 3

Outstanding Recording of Little-Known Tchaikovsky!!

Paul Rossi | Walla Walla, WA | 10/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For a long time, I have waited to hear Tchaikovsky's Second and Third Piano Concertos. After hearing and playing horn in the orchestra for the First, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to hear the other two works. I have finally done that.



Jerome Lowenthal is an obscure name today in the classical music realm, and this is a terrible crime! He plays the works of Tchaikovsky and Bartok, so this may help explain the obscurity. No more!



Lowenthal plays a bit like Krystian Zimerman, one of my favorite pianists. He has a beautiful tone that can also be powerful and commanding. His virtuosity is incredible, and he really makes the most of these piano showpieces.



The Second Concerto is noble, grand and full of majesty. Comissiona gives expert readings with the London Symphony Orchestra. The rhythms are crisp and accurate, and the virtuosity of the London Symphony is incredible. They play marvelously in tune, and they exploit the full dynamic range. One can hear the orchestration and Tchaikovskian harmonic language very well. Lowenthal plays the Cadenza with amazing power and ease. It is a monstrous and difficult, and the debt to Franz Liszt is readily apparent.



The Third Concerto is very fascinating, also. It is a one-movement work, the product of a rejected symphonic movement that Tchaikovsky felt did not suit the symphonic genre. It is full of power and beautiful melodies. Lowenthal, Comissiona and the orchestra really give it their all. This work should be better represented in the classical music repertoire.



Overall, this CD is a fine achievement. The recorded sound is good, and the liner notes are excellent and informative. I have not heard the two-CD set with Mikhail Pletnev playing all three Tchaikovsky concertos, but I have read about it. It receives fairly high marks, and it may suffice if this recording is not available to the reader. My friend has the Pletnev set, and he says the piano is balanced a bit bright and forward in the Second Concerto. Anyways, this is a great CD."

Just a great cd

Miriam | 04/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beautiful concertos and wonderful performances. I am a classical music lover not a reviewer but consider Jerome Lowenthal one of the greater (albeit lesser known) pianists of his generation. He has also recorded the 1st Piano concerto with this orchestra (on a different cd) and both are examples of Tchaikovsky's music performed with extraordinary grace and passion."