Grieg Piano Concerto & Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2—Vadym Kholodenko, piano; Norwegian Radio Orchestra/Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Harm Mundi 907269)
This is the latest from the 2013 Van Cliburn gold medalist, and Gramophone in the UK is impressed: “For a truly outstanding recording of the Grieg, turn to Vadym Kholodenko, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, with its notably eloquent horn, cello and flute soloists making their presence felt alongside a pianist who allows the big tunes to breathe, knows exactly how to shape each movement and yet injects the urgency of a live performance into proceedings. The slow movement is as moving as any I’ve heard, including the underrated version by Cziffra père et fils. This is good but the companion piece, Saint-Saëns’s Second Concerto, is even better, perhaps the most consistently accurately observed reading on disc. The opening and closing of the first movement are humorously ponderous – isn’t that the point? – while the Scherzo is delivered with a mischievous leggiero insouciance. The Presto, like all three movements slightly slower than those of Hough, Grosvenor and Shelley, builds to a thrilling climax in which the soloist, for once, is not obliterated by the orchestra.” –Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone online
Featured Tue 9/22