The listener in search of a recording of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major has abundant choices. For the Concerto for the Left Hand, written for one-armed war veteran Paul Wittgenstein, there are somewhat fewer. The distinctive feature of this recording by pianist Cédric Tiberghien is the presence of the fine historical-instrument orchestra Les Siècles and its director, François-Xavier Roth, with Tiberghien playing an 1892 Pleyel grand. In a way, the piano is the star of the show, with its cutting but not overly powerful ...
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The listener in search of a recording of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major has abundant choices. For the Concerto for the Left Hand, written for one-armed war veteran Paul Wittgenstein, there are somewhat fewer. The distinctive feature of this recording by pianist Cédric Tiberghien is the presence of the fine historical-instrument orchestra Les Siècles and its director, François-Xavier Roth, with Tiberghien playing an 1892 Pleyel grand. In a way, the piano is the star of the show, with its cutting but not overly powerful sound. Consider the arresting openings of the Piano Concerto in G major or the Chanson à boire from Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, from a group of songs that provides a fine entr'acte; baritone Stéphane Degout is in fine form in these. The piano is ideally balanced with the instruments throughout, and in the piano concertos, which are totally different from one another, this is saying a lot. One might think the Concerto for the Left Hand would be the orchestrally sparse one, but it is a...
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