Aram Khachaturian, Dmitry Shostakovich, and Richard Addinsell were all born within three years of each other and, coincidentally, died within three years of each other. Yet their respective piano concertos are quite individual and have met with varying degrees of popularity. The Khachaturian concerto, for example, is not as strong of a composition as either of the concertos Shostakovich wrote, but it is certainly worthy of notice and can be quite exciting given the right performance. His treatment of the instrument is more ...
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Aram Khachaturian, Dmitry Shostakovich, and Richard Addinsell were all born within three years of each other and, coincidentally, died within three years of each other. Yet their respective piano concertos are quite individual and have met with varying degrees of popularity. The Khachaturian concerto, for example, is not as strong of a composition as either of the concertos Shostakovich wrote, but it is certainly worthy of notice and can be quite exciting given the right performance. His treatment of the instrument is more percussive, and the interplay between soloist and orchestra is not as refined as Shostakovich. Pianist Patrik Jablonski brings everything he can to its performance and succeeds in making this a captivating recording of the work. He is forceful and aggressive without it seeming like he's banging on the piano in the more percussive sections; his playing in the second movement is sensitive and soulful. Jablonski's performance of the more popular Shostakovich, by contrast, is less...
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