Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto: Ravel

Showing posts with label Ravel. Show all posts

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Gaspard de la Nuit

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Gaspard de la Nuit Review

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Gaspard de la Nuit Feature

ARGERICH / ABBADO / BERLIN P. O. PROKOFIEV / RAVEL: PIANO CONCERTOS

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Gaspard de la Nuit Overview

ARGERICH / ABBADO / BERLIN P. O. PROKOFIEV / RAVEL: PIANO CONCERTOS

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Gaspard de la Nuit Specifications

This is the original Prokofiev/Ravel concerto coupling as it appeared on LP; the Prokofiev has also been coupled with the Tchaikovsky First Concerto. I prefer this edition since superb performances of the Ravel are less common. The young (1967) Martha Argerich plays the Prokofiev for maximum brilliance but leavens the Ravel with the composer's ironic lyricism. It's very effective. The bonus is one of the greatest performances of the Ravel piano suite ever recorded, but it leaves me wondering what will happen to the remainder of the original LP. All those solo Ravel pieces should be in the catalog; as Argerich plays them, they offer a primer on what keyboard color is all about. --Leslie Gerber