Saturday 15 March 2008

Black, black, black Saturday. Fittingly, it ended with Rachmaninov's second symphony, and then Tchaikovsky's sixth. For black days, Russian music. Both works conducted, of course, by Mikhail Pletnev with the Russian National Symphony Orchestra. I really could throw away all competing versions.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why was Saturday black, Harry? Unless you invested wrongly in the equity markets!

Anyway, I am not much of a Pletnev fan - he plays music quite straight without much rubato or expressivenes for my taste. I have both the CDs you posted about but was not impressed. For Rach 2, I love the Sanderling DG - passionate and fast but taped with cuts - alas! The Tch 6 (Virgin) - I did not like the mad scramble in the Scherzo - it did not sound like a March at all for me. Volodos on the piano did a better job of the Scherzo!

17 March 2008 at 10:33
Harry Collier said...

Pletnev divides opinion. Personally, I like his music making very much. He is his own man, playing the music as he thinks it should be played, and not obsessed with current fashion. For Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, I agree with him; neither needs the music pulled about or injected with added gloom or hysteria à la Bernstein.

17 March 2008 at 10:43
Anonymous said...

I don't suppose you've heard Earl Wild in Rach PCs & the Op 43 Rhapsody on Chesky - he comes closest in terms of fast tempi (no dawdling around like the modern players!). The Rach Sym 2 by Sanderling is also similar - very flowing and yet Slavic in nature (DG Originals)

17 March 2008 at 13:30

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