Can an 18-year-old kid with red hair and freckles really play the piano concertos of Dmitry Shostakovich? Sure, why not? The Second Concerto was written by a composer with red hair and freckles for a 19-year-old kid who happened to be his son to show off his technique while the First Concerto was written by a 27- year-old composer who happened to be young, in love, and newly married to impress his blushing bride -- what, then, could be more appropriate for an 18-year-old Russian than to turn to Shostakovich's piano ...
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Can an 18-year-old kid with red hair and freckles really play the piano concertos of Dmitry Shostakovich? Sure, why not? The Second Concerto was written by a composer with red hair and freckles for a 19-year-old kid who happened to be his son to show off his technique while the First Concerto was written by a 27- year-old composer who happened to be young, in love, and newly married to impress his blushing bride -- what, then, could be more appropriate for an 18-year-old Russian than to turn to Shostakovich's piano concertos? Andrey Gugnin, the freckled redhead in question, has a huge tone, a polished technique, and an apparently inexhaustible passion for playing the piano. His performances here are breathtaking in their virtuosity -- listen to his steely fingered double octaves in the First Concerto's Moderato -- and awe-inspiring in their audacity -- listen to his full-throttle tempo changes in the First Concerto's closing Allegro con brio. The Moscow Chamber Orchestra led by Constantine Orbelian...
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