Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov & Tsfasman: Works for Piano & Orchestra

There’s one person who isn’t on this program, yet whose figure can often be glimpsed in the distance: Rachmaninoff (he and Prokofieff both signed their names with the double “f,” not a “v”). Besides the Russian musical language common to all four composers, our fantastic pianist gives these lesser-known concertos the big-boned romantic phrasing that Rachmaninoff requires, even if these themes don’t always have his grandeur. Rimsky-Korsakoff’s only Piano Concerto (1882–83) is rarely performed; it is a bit short, and the virtuosity serves the music rather than the pianist or audience, but it is plenty delightful and dramatic. I’ve always thought it was underrated, as is Prokofieff’s Second Concerto, with its eerie, invigorating orchestration, sweeping polemics, and earth-shattering cadenza that physically pushed me back into my seat the first time I heard it! The Intermezzo movement does get laborious. Alexander Tsfasman, the first to play Rhapsody in Blue in the USSR, wrote his Jazz Suite in 1945. Its four compact movements offer cartoon-like fun, soft-focus Hollywood swooning, and several charming tunes, all presented in clever orchestration and scintillating piano work. Superlative performances; the sound is slightly constricted but still very good.