Is there any more extreme example than this of a
composer creating multiple works in a genre, one of which becomes famous
and the others stay obscure? Even the Bruch violin concertos #2 & 3
get a few performances now and then, and Bruch's #1 isn't *that* huge a
warhorse. But the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1 is perhaps the Russian concerto, while his 2nd and 3rd are almost never heard.
Pity, because at least the 2nd is every bit as tuneful as the
First, making it a superb discovery if you've never heard it. Perhaps
it's the sheer length and weightiness of the work (nearly 50 minutes)
that keeps it off the program... but it's certainly not for lack of
worthwhile music! I find it to be better developed than the First, and
just as well-melodied. The Concerto #3 in E-flat Major, op. 75 is
a somewhat bombastic, which perhaps explains why Tchaikovsky never
finished it; what we have is its opening Allegro movement (the other two
were later completed by Taneyev, and became Tchaikovsky's op. posth.
79). The piano is much more a partner with the orchestra than a
standalone protagonist, because this material was originally conceived
as the first movement of his Pathetique Symphony -- although in the end
it was rejected for not fitting in well enough with the sorrow of the
finale. Victoria Postnikova is the pianist, and Kyung-Wha Chung is the
violinist in Tchaikovsky's highly virtuosic Violin Concerto in D Major op.35,
just as much a warhorse work as the first piano concerto (I dream of
the day when someone discovered that there are also two later, unknown
violin concertos...) Gennady Rozhdestvensky leads the Vienna Symphony
Orchestra in the piano concertos, Charles Dutoit helms the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra in the violin concerto. Two-disc London set, issued
in 1996 and now out of print.
From the Gramophone review:
If your main priorities in Tchaikovsky concertos are visceral excitement, barnstorming virtuosity and nifty tempos, then this is probably not the set for you. Tempos here are generally broad, and although there is no lack of pianistic thunder - Victoria Postnikova commands a handsome tone - the interpretative accent falls securely beneath the music's surface. The First Concerto is revealing in the sense that dialogue between soloist and orchestra is particularly sensitive; listen, for example, to the delicately voiced woodwinds at 6'38'' (in the first movement), to Postnikova's subsequent response and, most especially, to the pianist's free yet nimble handling of the second movement's treacherous valse-prestissimo (4'05''). Note, too, how she caresses the arpeggiated phrases that close the movement (from, say, 7'21'') or her coltish but lilting approach to the finale. As Tchaikovsky Firsts go, this is among the most searching, the most personal and certainly the most individual that I know, although I can already hear a loud opposition: "too slow, too mannered, too indulgent, too soft-grained, orchestrally". I have already addressed both the Second and Third Concertos while reviewing Barry Douglas's RCA set under Leonard Slatkin (6/94). Again, Postnikova plumbs the depths. Her handling of Tchaikovsky's epic cadenzas is second to none - starting at 1'55'' into the Second Concerto's first movement, then (most notably) between 13'26'' and 19'13'', where the solo writing is so massive in scale that you temporarily forget the mute presence of an orchestra. Rozhdestvensky views Tchaikovsky's orchestral architecture with a fine sense of perspective, and never more so than at 4'53'' into the Third Concerto and the tense decrescendo thereafter. This is real interpretation and presents a powerful case for a much maligned work (torso though it is). True, there is still room for critical controversy (the Second Concerto's first movement is hardly Allegro brillante), but Postnikova and Rozhdestvensky have so much to say about the music that I cannot imagine many open-minded listeners failing to respond. EMI add Bartok and Prokofiev concertos with Richter, whereas Decca offer a poised and elegantly phrased account of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, where a rather edgy-sounding Kyung-Wha Chung is offered blandly 'regular' support by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. Not a world-beater by any means - and no match for the piano concerto performances, certainly not in terms of insight - but a sensible makeweight, very well recorded. As indeed is the rest of the set, although the Vienna Symphony strings will strike some as rather thin in tone. An altogether riveting reissue and a genuine bargain as well.
Discs, booklet, and case are in excellent condition.
Shipping rates:
US customers: Options are USPS Media Mail at $4.50 for this set, $1 for each additional disc paid for at the same time, or USPS Ground Advantage at $5.25 for this set, $1.25 for each additional disc paid for at the same time.
The USPS no longer offers
cheap international shipping of thin envelopes with merchandise, BUT if
you order many discs together the new rate is about the same as it was
before. Therefore...
Canadian customers: Options are Economy shipping, which is First Class but *without* the plastic "jewel" cases, at $15 for this box set and UP TO TWO MORE CDs, $24 for this box set and THREE OR MORE CDs; or First Class *with* the plastic cases included, at $19 for this box set and $4 for each additional disc.
Customers in other countries: Options are Economy shipping, which is First Class but *without* the plastic "jewel" cases, at $18 for this box set and UP TO TWO MORE CDs, $30 for this box set and THREE OR MORE CDs; or First Class *with* the plastic cases included, at $25 for this box set and $6 for each additional disc.
You may wait as long as you wish before paying, to combine auction wins and save on shipping -- especially important for International customers. Please check out my other auctions, here.