Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Rachmaninoff: Solo Piano Works

Here the big-toned Arcadi Volodos takes on one of the most familiar masterpieces of the piano repertoire, the Tchaikovsky First. It's a piece that is so familiar we tend not to listen to it very carefully, but Volodos finds subtleties and emphasizes interesting ideas. The expected power is there--the opening chords could knock you over--but he's wonderfully insightful in the softer passages and the middle movement is ethereal in the extreme; he also finds a certain pointillistic lyricism in the finale before he returns to the potency of his opening statement. The six Rachmaninov solos show varied sides of both the composer and Volodos: Mélodie is as peaceful as Volodos' own arrangement of the Polka italienne is wild--it fairly bursts out of the speakers. The Tchaikovsky was recorded live and the forward sound is a bit aggressive but exciting; Seiji Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic are as impressive as the pianist. Recommended. --Robert Levine