Rachmaninov: Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini; Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7; Stravinsky: Three Scenes From Petruschka

$14.99
Label
ICA Classics
Release Date
May 31, 2011
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      RACHMANINOV PROKOFIEV STRAVI
    • PERFORMER
      Cherkassky, Mácal, Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      May 31, 2011
    • UPC
      5060244550209
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      ICAC 5020
    • LABEL
      ICA Classics
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. Introduction: Allegro vivace - Variation 1: Precedente

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    2. Theme: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    3. Variation 2: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    4. Variation 3: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    5. Variation 4: Più vivo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    6. Variation 5: Tempo precedente

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    7. Variation 6: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    8. Variation 7: Meno mosso, a tempo moderato

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    9. Variation 8: Tempo I

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    10. Variation 9: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    11. Variation 10: Poco marcato

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    12. Variation 11: Moderato

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    13. Variation 12: Tempo di minuetto

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    14. Variation 13: Allegro

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    15. Variation 14: L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    16. Variation 15: Più vivo scherzando

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    17. Variation 16. Allegretto

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    18. Variation 17: (Allegretto)

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    19. Variation 18: Andante cantabile

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    20. Variation 19: A tempo vivace

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    21. Variation 20: Un poco più vivo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    22. Variation 21: Un poco più vivo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    23. Variation 22: Un poco più vivo (Alla breve)

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    24. Variation 23. L'istesso tempo

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    25. Variation 24: A tempo un poco meno mosso

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Ensemble: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

      Conductor: Zdeněk Mácal

    26. I. Allegro inquieto - Poco meno - Andantino

      Composer: Sergei Prokofiev

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    27. II. Andante caloroso - Poco più animato - più largamente - Un poco agitato

      Composer: Sergei Prokofiev

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    28. III. Precipitato

      Composer: Sergei Prokofiev

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    29. No. 1. Danse russe (Russian Dance)

      Composer: Igor Stravinsky

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    30. No. 2. Chez Petrouchka (Petrushka's Cell)

      Composer: Igor Stravinsky

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    31. No. 3. La semaine grasse (The Shrove-tide Fair)

      Composer: Igor Stravinsky

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    32. Polka de WR

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    33. Les fetes d'Hebe: Tambourin (arr. L. Godowsky)

      Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky

    34. Bourrée fantasque (version for piano)

      Composer: Emmanuel Chabrier

      Performer: Shura Cherkassky


Piano enthusiasts drawn to Shura Cherkassky's charismatic and capricious artistry will find the previously unpublished Cologne radio broadcasts contained on this release both valuable and fascinating. A 1970 Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody reveals Cherkassky's generally lyrical approach to the piano part, and his fondness for spontaneous dynamic inflections and rounding off phrases. For the most part, tempos are slow to the point of sedate (Variations 12 through 14 particularly drag), although there are moments when the performance perks up and Cherkassky's cream-coated filigree becomes energized, such as in Variation 15 and the group of four following the famous Variation 18. I suspect that the overly resonant acoustic contributes to the performance's less than incisive impression.

The solo selections date from between 1951 and 1953 and include a relaxed yet compelling, individually shaped Prokofiev Seventh sonata (a work Cherkassky otherwise did not record) that markedly differs from Horowitz's driving intensity. Cherkassky apparently coached Stravinsky's Three Scenes from Petrushka with the composer, yet I've never been convinced by the pianist's slow and clunky way with the Danse Russe, although his soft pedal effects throughout the Shrove-Tide Fair add appreciable color and character to a movement that others play with more bravura and power.

However, the Rachmaninov Polka de V.R. and Rameau/Godowsky Tambourin show off Cherkassky's tonal palette at its best, along with his scampering élan and effortless passagework in Chabrier's Bourée fantasque, another work new to the pianist's discography. For Cherkassky fans, the Prokofiev and Chabrier alone are worth the price of this disc.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com