RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

AVAILABILITY www.centaurrecords.com

Dimitri KABALEVSKY (1907-1987) Piano Concerto No. 3 (1952) [18.01] Robert MUCZYNSKI (b.1929) Piano Concerto No. 1 (1954) [14.18] A Serenade for Summer (1976) [8.07] Suite (1960) [9.16] James Johnson (piano) Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paul Freeman rec. 13-14 Sept 1989, Ljubljana, Slovenia (all apart from suite); 20 Mar 1990, Fairbanks, Alaska. DDD CENTAUR CRC 2089 [50.59]

Aside from a certain tubbiness in the Slovenian recording image this is a very agreeable disc. Johnson and Freeman deliver a joyous and excitable performance of the Kabalevsky which for its formula and gesture works a treat. The melodic content is excellent. Listen also to the Colas Breugnon references in the finale. The perspective and sound is better than that on the recent Chandos Kabalevsky collection with Kathryn Stott. The pattern adopted by this concerto also helped fashion Shostakovich's Second Concerto - a work which rises above the formula and serves to redefine it. The Muczynski concerto is an early work which at first and later pours on torrents of romantic layering and protest like superheated Creston or Flagello. It lightens this element with a neo-classical cool (tr.4. 1.48, tr. 5, 00.14) and with bone china fragile vitality. The allegretto pastorale is a beauty of reflective writing. The favourable impact of the work is enhanced by its pocket dimensions - succinct and apt to its inventive material. The same can be said of the quicksilver solo piano Suite which emphasises rhythmic tightness over the lyric voice. The lovely orchestral Serenade is evocative of the composer's childhood days in the sultry summers of the Midwest. It is warmly written, a little like Barber, moonrisen and brimming with the razor edge of nostalgia. The celesta-painted moonlight is especially notable at 2.30 and the same instrument presides over the work's close. This is a most wonderful and neglected classic of the American repertoire. A very successful mix though the playing time is short. Some extremely pleasing music here with playing to match. Rob Barnett Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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