BaL 22.05.21 - Shostakovich: Piano Concerto no. 2

[Rolmill]

...I think it’s a mini masterpiece...

I agree, it has been one of my favourite piano concertos ever since I first heard it played by a (very talented) 6th-former at my school 45 years ago. To me, it is full of earworms and it always makes me smile. I have several recordings on CD, favourites being Melnikov and Alexeev, with Hamelin and Bernstein close behind.

[vinteuil]

That's how it's spelt on his official site.

... I thought it was spelt Дми́трий Влади́мирович Масле́ев

[ For the French it's Dmitri Vladimirovitch Masleïev ... ]

.

[MickyD]

The Alexeev/Maksymiuk CFP has always satisfied me as far the work can. The big tune of the slow movement seems so wasted and underdeveloped.

I totally agree with both of your views!

[Ein Heldenleben]

The Alexeev/Maksymiuk CFP has always satisfied me as far the work can. The big tune of the slow movement seems so wasted and underdeveloped.

I wonder if it was a case of a composer coming up with a humdinger of a slow movt tune and then realising that were he to develop it Brahms style it would unbalance the work completely. Interesting that Beethoven has short slow movts in 4 and 5 ..

[Bryn]

I wonder if it was a case of a composer coming up with a humdinger of a slow movt tune and then realising that were he to develop it Brahms style it would unbalance the work completely. Interesting that Beethoven has short slow movts in 4 and 5 ..

I wonder whether that is one reason why so many tend to stretch them well beyond the duration Beethoven asked for?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

...and how is spelt spelt or spelled?

https://www.grammar-monster.com/easi...lled_spelt.htm

The graph probably shows the extent of the influence of American English.

[Ein Heldenleben]

[QUOTE=Eine Alpensinfonie;847241]The graph probably shows the extent of the influence of American English.

Thing is a lot of American English is 17th century English imported by exiled Puritan Cambridge academics and the like . It’s arguably more English than Contemporary English ...

[Bryn]

[QUOTE=Heldenleben;847259]

The graph probably shows the extent of the influence of American English.

Thing is a lot of American English is 17th century English imported by exiled Puritan Cambridge academics and the like . It’s arguably more English than Contemporary English ...

Yeh, them stick-in-the-mud Yanks.

[gurnemanz]

For me it's not really a US/Brit issue. The choice of the -ed or -t ending for the regular past tense ending in English has been fluid for centuries and still is. Some always have -t: knelt, slept, felt, spent, kept, sent etc. Still some flexible ones: burned/burnt, leaned/lent, smelt/smelled, spoiled/spoilt, spilled/spilt etc
Some fossils still in occasional use: girded/girt, blest/blessed, built/builded, bended (as in knee)/bent etc

The final -ed is often devoiced (devoist) in pronunciation without the spelling changing, kissed, faced, increased, worked, dropped, touched. Used has both: used to, devoiced, otherwise voiced.

There are even a couple of irregular verbs which take -t rather than -en: bring/brought, think/thought.

[Barbirollians]

BBM I think Argerich has only recorded the first Shostakovich Concerto .

Out of interest I have acquired the Benstein NYPO performance and although Alexeev is snappier in the first movement Lenny really does make more of that slow movement.

The couplings on a cheap CD that is still available in the format are Previn/Zacchiano and Bernstein the First Piano Concerto (very enjoyable if not quite Argerich or Andnes and a fabulous performance of the First Cello Concerto with Yo Yo Maand Ormandy which I have known of for donkeys years but never heard - it’s terrific and I prefer it even to Weilerstein and Schiff my other non Rostropovich favourites.

[BBMmk2]

BBM I think Argerich has only recorded the first Shostakovich Concerto .

Out of interest I have acquired the Benstein NYPO performance and although Alexeev is snappier in the first movement Lenny really does make more of that slow movement.

The couplings on a cheap CD that is still available in the format are Previn/Zacchiano and Bernstein the First Piano Concerto (very enjoyable if not quite Argerich or Andnes and a fabulous performance of the First Cello Concerto with Yo Yo Maand Ormandy which I have known of for donkeys years but never heard - it’s terrific and I prefer it even to Weilerstein and Schiff my other non Rostropovich favourites.

Ah yes, indeed. Thank you. I’ll have to seek out another recording.

[CallMePaul]

I have the Giltburg/ Petrenko version on Naxos. As well as the two concerti, there is an odd if effective transcription of the 8th string quartet for solo piano.

[pastoralguy]

Possibly explains why it hasn't been covered by BaL for 35 years. Last covered in its own right by Geoffrey Norris in June 1980 when he chose Eugene List conducted by Maxim Shostakovich as his first choice.

The first time I ever bought a recording based on a BAL recommendation.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Soon to begin.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Soon to begin.

I was reading a paper on the acoustics of the world’s greatest concert halls yesterday . Perhaps we could get the scientists to test the acoustic of the reviewers computer room?
Or is it the mic ?
Or is it the broadband connection?