Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

“This invaluable reissue of discs dating from 1952-53 is a reminder of Jorge Bolet's early stature. The first-ever recording of Prokofiev's malignant, ferociously demanding Second Concerto is of so much more than documentary interest...nothing can dim one's sense of Bolet's massive and unswerving authority, a quality at once lyrical and magisterial...A true aristocrat of the keyboard, his warmth and humanity strike you at every turn.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2011

“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

“Yundi Li doesn’t stint on the clatter and madcap preening [in the Prokofiev], yet the performance still leans toward the emollient. Put that down partly to the Deutsche Grammophon recording’s round, resonant ambience and the gleam of the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Brighter pleasures are offered by...Ravel’s [concerto] in G major, a real blaze of sunshine. Much of the delight here is orchestral; the way Ozawa juggles Ravel’s shifting textures in the first movement is masterly...The adagio is where Yundi Li shines the most, tenderly probing his solo, supplying glancing rubato.” The Times, 18th April 2008

“And this is Ravel a performance that bristles both on the keyboard and in a series of fabulous orchestral solos… a lurid delight.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 *****

“Yundi Li's performance of the Prokofiev, in its prodigious, unflagging power and brilliance, far surpasses any other in the catalogue. He is no less attuned to Ravel's charm and vivacity, to music seen through a glass brightly rather than darkly.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008

“This unusual coupling contrasts two wildly different works. For some, Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto is a work of genius, while for others it remains a monstrosity. Holding up a malevolent distorting mirror to Russian Romanticism, it carries the uneasy modernism of Rachmaninov's Fourth Concerto to its logical and devastating conclusion. Ravel's G major Concerto, on the other hand, recalls the spirits of Mozart and Saint-Saëns and contains a slow movement that is among the composer's most touching creations.
Prokofiev's Concerto is daunting and massive, Ravel's an enchanting jeu d'esprit.
Certainly Yundi Li (superbly partnered by Seji Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic) has few doubts about either concerto. Indeed, his performance of the Prokofiev, in its prodigious, unflagging power and brilliance, far surpasses any other in the catalogue. His moto perpetuo scherzo is vivace with a vengeance and the colossal first movement's combined development and cadenza is played with an authority that will make lesser mortals pale with envy and admiration. He is no less attuned to Ravel's charm and vivacity, to music seen through a glass brightly rather than darkly, touching off the central Adagio with a moving simplicity and whirling us through the finale with a dazzling and engaging joie de vivre. It only remains to add that this superlative young Chinese pianist is heard in the full glory of DG's sound at its most opulent and crystalline.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Performances which leave most full-price versions standing.” Classic CD

“While it's true that the Prokofiev piano concertos are an uneven body of work, there's enough imaginative fire and pianistic brilliance to hold the attention even in the weakest of them; the best, by common consent Nos 1, 3 and 4, have stood the test of time very well. As indeed have these Decca recordings. The set first appeared in 1975, but the sound is fresher than many contemporary digital issues, and Ashkenazy has rarely played better. Other pianists have matched his brilliance and energy in, say, the Third Concerto, but very few have kept up such a sure balance of fire and poetry. The astonishingly inflated bravura of the Second Concerto's opening movement is kept shapely and purposeful and even the out-of-tune piano doesn't spoil the effect too much. And the youthful First has the insouciance and zest its 22-year-old composer plainly intended.
Newcomers to the concertos should start with No 3: so many facets of Prokofiev's genius are her, and Ashkenazy shows how they all take their place as part of a kind of fantastic story. But there are rewards everywhere, and the effort involved in finding them is small.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Ashkenazy is a commanding soloist in both the First and Second Concertos, and his virtuosity in the First is quite dazzling...Throughout, Previn and the LSO accompany sympathetically...as a complete, consistent set this remains unbeatable.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition