Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Dwell from the 2022 Cliburn Competitors) (Decca)
★★★★☆
Rachmaninoff had massive palms and large fingers. He wrote concertos for himself to play. The third, in D minor, had its US premieres in Carnegie Corridor with Walter Damrosch conducting the primary run, Gustav Mahler the subsequent. The concerto proved conspicuously tougher than its predecessors to realize with precision. A concern issue set in amongst lesser pianists.
Rachmaninoff, although, was a beneficiant man, fast to acknowledge when others performed higher than he did. He most popular Vladimir Horowitz’s recording of the D minor concerto to his personal. Others who imprinted their take within the work down the ages embody Emil Gilels, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Evgeny Kissin, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, the eccentric Australian David Helfgott, Lang Lang and Yuja Wang.
And, now now we have Yunchan Lim from South Korea. Yunchan burst to consideration, aged 18, on the 2022 Van Cliburn Competitors when the conductor Marion Alsop was seen on video with tears in her eyes as he approached the top. That is the audio launch, devoid of emotional distractions.
I’m impressed at how subdued Yunchan sounds on the opening, and the way, from that cautious begin, he builds a gripping narrative. The sluggish motion reveals comparable restraint, a denial of straightforward listening. Solely within the finale does the soloist let rip, daring the Fort Value Symphony Orchestra to maintain up. I caught a few tough patches within the accompaniment however not sufficient to disturb my enjoyment.
The sheer fearlessness of Yuncham’s enjoying is wondrous to behold and the best way he shades the moods is altogether particular person. This will likely not match the diabolism of Horowitz or Ashkenazy, nevertheless it’s a efficiency each Rachmaninoff lover should personal.
We’re privileged hear to witness the beginning of a star.
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Norman Lebrecht is without doubt one of the most widely-read commentators on music, tradition and cultural politics. He’s a daily presenter on BBC Radio 3 and a contributor to the Wall Avenue Journal, Bloomberg, Standpoint, Sinfini and different publications. His weblog, Slipped Disc, is among the many most generally learn cultural websites on-line, breaking unique tales and campaigning towards human abuse and acts of injustice within the cultural industries.