Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 - CD

“When…Evgeny Kissin recorded his first Prokofiev concertos, he shied away from the insane challenges of the Second. Here… he surmounts these very much on his own terms… revealing the strong melodic impetus usually smothered under its welter of notes. The subtler moments have the greatest impact in the Third... Ashkenazy proves responsive to Kissin's magic in the floating first-movement development section and the atmospheric fourth variation of the second movement...” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 ****

“…a stunning demonstration of pianistic prowess. Kissin is so ideally wired up from brain to fingers that he always seems to have extra nanoseconds in which to articulate and add colour and rhetorical accent. …this is clearly one of the outstanding concerto discs of the year - perhaps one might be tempted to say "of the decade".” Gramophone Magazine, August 2009

“Orchestra and soloist are most cohesive in the rhapsodic sections of the "Thema con variazione" of the C major Concerto.” The Independent on Sunday, 7th June 2009

“It is a work that Evgeny Kissin has long had in his repertoire, and on this fine recording he deploys his indomitable technique, muscle and dexterity to give a dazzling interpretation. Opportunities for lyricism are grasped as well, as they are in the more popular, more lucid but scarcely less demanding Third Concerto. The sparks of humour that the music emits are also pointed up in performances of virtuosity and spirit.” The Telegraph, 4th May 2009 ****

“Kissin has much of what Prokofiev’s piano concertos need: percussive attack, springing clarity and the power to clobber an orchestra dead. You find them all in these accounts of the second and third concertos, taken from live London concerts with the Philharmonia under Vladimir Ashkenazy.” The Times, 16th May 2009 ***

“Berman is incisive in Prokofiev's Concertos Nos 1, 4 and 5, but the highlight of this set is Horacio Gutiérrez's hair-raising playing in Concertos Nos 2 and 3. Terrific orchestral support.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 *****

“…Cuban-American Gutiérrez unleashes some of the most thrilling virtuosity on record, storming the Second Concerto's first movement development/cadenza in a manner that will make lesser pianists tremble. He is no less stunning in the less obviously demanding Third Concerto where once again his ebullience is complemented by flawless technique and musicianship. Berman (Boris, not Lazar) may offer less supercharged vitality but all three of his performances alternate poise and exuberance to a most stylish and musical degree. Järvi works hand in glove with his soloists and the result is a triumph. No recorded collection of the complete concertos, whether deleted or available, comes within distance of this.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2009

“Argerich at her most charismatically brilliant.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007

“For those who prefer studio recordings, Argerich's highly regarded 1974 taping has been added to her famous pairing of the Ravel G major and Prokofiev Third Piano Concertos. This one has both raw passion and wonderfully controlled gradations of touch and tone.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“There is nothing ladylike about the playing, but it displays countless indications of sensuous, feminine perception and subtlety, and Abbado's direction underlines that from the very first...This is a much more individual performance than almost any other available and it brings its own special insights.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“As always with this most mercurial of virtuosos, Martha Argerich's playing is generated by the mood of the moment and many listeners may well be surprised at her relative geniality with Dutoit. Personal and vivacious throughout, she always allows the composer his own voice. This is particularly true in Bartók's Third Concerto where her rich experience in chamber music makes her often primus inter pares, a virtuoso who listens to her partners with the greatest care. In the Adagio religioso she achieves a poise that has sometimes eluded her in the past and her finale is specially characterful, her stealthy start to the concluding Presto allowing the final pages their full glory. Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony achieve a fine unity throughout, a sense of like-minded musicians at work.
All true musicians will recognise performances of a special magic and integrity. In the Prokofiev First Concerto, her opening is arguably more authentically brioso than ferocious, her overall view a refreshingly fanciful view of Prokofiev's youthful iconoclasm. The central Andante assai is inflected with an improvisatory freedom she probably wouldn't have risked earlier in her career and in the Allegro scherzando she trips the light fantastic, reserving a suitably tigerish attack for the final octave bravura display. Her performance of the Third Concerto is less fleet or nimble-fingered than in her early days but is more delectably alive to passing caprice. The recordings are clear and naturally balanced.
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Martha Argerich's return to the studios in two concertos she has not previously recorded is an uplifting moment. As always with this most mercurial of virtuosos, her playing is generated very much by the mood of the moment, but you may well be surprised at her relative geniality with Dutoit here. Her entire reading is less hard-driven, her opening arguably more authentically brioso than ferocious, her overall view a refreshingly fanciful view of Prokofiev's youthful iconoclasm. The central Andante assai is inflected with an improvisatory freedom she would probably not have risked earlier in her career and in the Allegro scherzando she trips the light fantastic, reserving a suitably tigerish attack for the final octave bravura display.
Again, while her performance of the Third Concerto is less fleet or nimble-fingered than in her early legendary disc for DG with Abbado; it's more delectably alive to passing caprice.
Part-writing and expressive detail interest her more than in the past and there's no lack of virtuoso frisson in the first movement's concluding quasi-fugal più mosso chase. Once more Argerich is unusually sensitive in the central Andantino, to the fourth variation's plunge into Slavic melancholy and introspection. Personal and vivacious throughout, she always allows the composer his own voice.
This is true to an even greater extent in Bartók's Third Concerto where her rich experience in chamber music makes her often primus interpares, a virtuoso who listens to her partners with the greatest care. Dutoit and his orchestra achieve a fine unity throughout.
The recordings are clear and naturally balanced and only those in search of metallic thrills and rushes of blood to the head will feel disappointed.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“An outstanding bargain.” Classic CD