Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2, Grieg: Piano Concerto - Chen, Foster

PentaTone Classics PTC 5186444
Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid
Classical - Orchestral
Sa Chen (piano)
Orchestra Gulbenkian
Lawrence Foster (conductor)
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Review by John Broggio - March 6, 2012
A curious and ultimately deeply frustrating.
In both concertos, Sa Chen plays with phenomenal accuracy and no grandstanding whatsoever. Under Lawrence Foster, the Orquestra Gulbenkian provide cultured and eloquent support. But there seems to be little agreement (beyond tempo choices) about how the great melodies should be phrased between the Sa Chen and the orchestra. Added to which, the flawless pianism is lacking a distinctive voice here that unfortunately ends up a little mechanistic and the fortissimo tone sounds almost hammered.
The sound, whilst being good, is not enough to redeem this particular issue.
Copyright © 2012 John Broggio and HRAudio.net
Performance:
Sonics (Multichannel):


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