In review--Did someone say Shostakovich?
Shostakovich Piano Concertos Alexander Melnikov Mahler Chamber Orchestra Harmonia Mundi Russian composers came to my attention during the past decade, with the wild piano concertos of Rachmaninoff to the playful and provocative works by Prokofiev. Now I am listening to early piano concertos by Dmitry Shostakovich as they appear on Shostakovich Piano Concertos and Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 134 as performed by Alexander Melnikov (piano), Isabelle Faust (violin), Jeroen Berwaerts (trumpet), and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra directed by Teodor Currentzis. The music here runs the gamut from playful and spirited, to solemn to disturbing ( Sonata for Violin and Piano). The program on the recording contrasts the kinetic energy of a young Russian composer, Piano Concertos 1 & 2 with the dark and dissonant Sonata for Violin and Piano, op.134 , which I just could not sit and listen to without feeling extremely tense. While I understand intellectually tha...