BaL 22.05.21 - Shostakovich: Piano Concerto no. 2

[Barbirollians]

I am more and more impressed by the Bernstein every time I play it .

[BBMmk2]

I am more and more impressed by the Bernstein every time I play it .

I’m in agreement there!

[gurnemanz]

Agree with above. Bernstein has been my favourite since LP days. Out of curiosity I checked back to Alpie's list to see if any other pianist had directed a performance from the keyboard. The only one I spotted was Anna Vinnitskaya, Kremerata Baltica (+ Winds of Staatskapelle Dresden, KB being a string orchestra). I didn't know it and can't remember it being mentioned here or on the BaL. I duly listened to the disc on Spotify and found it to be very beautifully put across and for me definitely deserving at least a mention on BaL. However, the enthusiastic MusicWeb review reveals that she directs PC 1 from the keyboard but that No 2 is conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, so, as far as I can see, Lennie is on his own as soloist/director of No 2.

[Barbirollians]

Lennie of course also directed himself in a few other recordings from the piano - my favourite of which is his K450 on Decca with the VPO.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Lennie of course also directed himself in a few other recordings from the piano - my favourite of which is his K450 on Decca with the VPO.

And there’s this too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravel-Piano-Concerto-Major-Orchestra/dp/B0873C16Y4/ref=nodl_

Lenny did this live with the VPO in the RAH in 1971. I was desperate to get tickets, but could only do so in person, as it was during the national postal strike. I was a student in Bangor at the time, so I hopped on a train from Bangor to London just to go to the box office, and made a similar journey a few weeks later for the concert itself. After the concert, a group of us went backstage to meet Lenny, who was charm itself, even though he was in a hurry to attend an invitation to 10 Downing St to meet Edward Heath.

[Barbirollians]

The RCA Navigator CD of the concertos with Eugene List and the USSR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maxim is well worth looking for secondhand.

The character of the orchestral playing is terrific and in both concertos List plays with a slightly more brittle tone which seems to suit the music and brings out the similarities in the concertos. The acid comedy is very much apparent.

They are coupled with an account of the First Cello Concerto with Mikhail Khomitser and Rozhdestvensky. The soloist was new to me but again I enjoyed it enormously - he digs in less at the start of the first movement but the tension is ratcheted up and the cadenza is terrific . Again lots of joy also to be had from the orchestral playing.