Rubinstein's 3rd & 5th Piano Concertos from Neeme Järvi

[Mark Thomas]

Now this might be interesting. I've never heard of the pianist and, judging by the audio extracts, the piano sounds way too far forward, but this might be worth a punt to hear Järvi's take on Rubinstein.

[Alan Howe]

I can already hear Järvi's trademark fast tempi, though. Is this really how PC5/1 (Allegro moderato) is supposed to go?
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8611714--rubinstein-piano-concertos-nos-3-5
Sounds a bit of a jumble to me - and note how much slower the soloist's entry is.

[Mark Thomas]

I agree and, even at only £8 for the download, I'm inclined to give it a miss. I always live in hope of a recording which combines Adrian Ruiz's terrific performance of the Fifth on the old Genesis recording with a better orchestral contribution than that which Zsolt Deaky and the Nürnberg Sinfonie managed. So far, no luck, and no matter how convincing Järvi might be, or how good Anna Shelest is, I really dislike the prominence given to the piano in the samples.

[Alan Howe]

I think the Ruiz/Deaky performance is as good as it gets for now. The new one's not a patch on it, judging from the excerpts. I'm giving this a miss too.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Although this disk has received a glowing review on Music Web, I'm in agreement with Mark and Alan here: the tempo set by Jarvi in the 1st movt. of No. 5 is not matched by the pianist at her entry which robs it of the excitement it might have had. I'm going to stick with Banowetz on Marco Polo. I have Ruiz on Genesis too, though, as we have remarked, the orchestral contribution on that CD falls short of what the pianist deserves. But both are very good IMHO.

[Revilod]

I see that both concertos can be heard complete on YouTube on Anna Shelest's own channel.

[Kevin]

I see that both concertos can be heard complete on YouTube on Anna Shelest's own channel.

I'm puzzled at how many complete classical records are on youtube for free. Is this the way the world is going, no more ownership? Streaming they call it? Not for me, I still like having a physical or digital release at hand just in case.

[TerraEpon]

Lemme quote from someone who posted on a forum about a game which uses one's personal digital files (Mp3s, FLACs, etc) to generate levels:

"uhhh... nobody has really used MP3s for like a decade or even longer. everything is streaming now. Nobody has CDs, the ones that are around are protected from being ripped, or so old that they're scratched. Like I havent even seen a cd in 20 years you know. This game is like if somebody based a VR simulation around the 8 track form the 70s. It would make more sense to have the game link to the players music streaming accounts."

While this individual is likely intellectually challenged (or just exaggerating/trolling) I've seen the mentality to a point quite often the last few years.

[Jonathan]

Interesting. I work with some people who are in there early 20s and none of them own any CDs at all. I found this very surprising; they all subscribe to Spotify or similar (as do I but I still buy cds and mp3s as well) and none of them know anything about classical music. In talking to them, I get the impression that they think that no-one records or releases classical recordings any more.

Just to stay on topic, I'll have to keep an ear open for the Rubinstein recording - wonder if it's available to stream?

[Alan Howe]

I wouldn't bother, except maybe to find out how PC5 in particular shouldn't be done.

[Ilja]

That's unduly harsh, I think, Alan. I wouldn't count them among my favorites, but they're hardly incompetently played. To me, there just isn't a standout recording of the concertos yet, with the (marked) exception of Hamelin's 4th. Banowetz and Ruiz aren't bad, but both recordings leave a lot to be desired as well.

And they are available on Spotify for those interested, as is the recording of the 4th Piano Concerto. The strange thing there is that contrary to the recording of the 3rd and 5th, here the piano is placed far too much to the back, to the point of almost being inaudible when the orchestra's in swing.