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Special offer. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)

Berliner Philharmoniker, Antonio Pappano

Awards:

As Andsnes observed in interview, the conductor is the one who really drives the Second Concerto, and after spacious opening chords it's over to Pappano's Berliners for opulent sweep. Andsnes...

Special offer. Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)

Berliner Philharmoniker, Antonio Pappano

Purchase product

44.1 kHz, 16 bit, FLAC/ALAC/WAV

Original price ($9.00) Reduced price $7.00

320 kbps, 320 kbps

$7.00

No digital booklet included

Stream now lossless, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit

Awards:

As Andsnes observed in interview, the conductor is the one who really drives the Second Concerto, and after spacious opening chords it's over to Pappano's Berliners for opulent sweep. Andsnes...

About

Contents and tracklist

I. Vivace
Track length12:06
This track is only available as an album download.
II. Andante
Track length5:46
III. Allegro vivace
Track length7:50
I. Moderato
Track length10:15
This track is only available as an album download.
II. Adagio sostenuto
Track length10:58
This track is only available as an album download.
III. Allegro scherzando
Track length11:29
This track is only available as an album download.

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

October 2005

As Andsnes observed in interview, the conductor is the one who really drives the Second Concerto, and after spacious opening chords it's over to Pappano's Berliners for opulent sweep. Andsnes lets intensity slacken in the development, but the return of the big tune puts us back on track. The slow movement is beautifully moulded, with plenty of now-unfashionable but ever self-indulgent string vibrato.

2010

With no shortage of fine versions of this pairing from which to choose, EMI must rely on the undoubted selling power of its Norwegian star to make this release stand out from the rest. It is certainly a worthy contender for the Top Ten when aided by the world-class Berlin Phil, a conductor who is in the Barbirolli class of adroit accompanists, superb recorded sound and a beautifully voiced piano.
With judicious tempi (though, as is now customary, slightly slower than the composer's) and a well-nigh ideal balance between piano and orchestra, instrumental detail is tellingly observed, such as the bassoon and clarinet counterpoint at the beginning of the second movement of the First Concerto and the triangle in its finale, both well integrated into the sound picture, even if there is a hint of the engineer's hand.
Nor is there anything mannered about the soloist, though some may wish he was slightly less well mannered. Andsnes here gives the lie to those who find his playing on the cool side of emotional but he is always the reliable guest who never gets drunk, no matter how much alcohol he has consumed.
The fiery section of the cadenza to the First Concerto, for example, runs out of steam in the final bars to which Byron Janis, for instance, brings a despairing vehemence.
The Second Concerto (live, as opposed to the studio First, but without any appreciable difference in acoustic and balance) is, similarly, given a Rolls-Royce reading with which only the pickiest could find fault. The last movement, though, is something special and the final appearance of its glorious second subject, greeted with a mighty timpani wallop and braying brass, is heart-stopping. The audience rightly roar their approval.

Leif Ove Andsnes applies to these two glorious works all those qualities for which his playing is renowned. It’s nothing short of stunning

Andsnes studiously avoids barnstorming on the one hand or prissiness on the other: his is an intelligent, alert and at times austere middle road, with lightning reflexes in the First and more reserved touch in the Second

Classics Today

Leif Ove Andsnes and Antonio Pappano deliver full bodied and intelligently detailed readings of Rachmaninov…Andsnes and Pappano undoubtedly are world-class contenders in a crowded market, and I hope they plan further recorded collaborations

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