Olga Kern RACHMANINOV Sonata No. 2 BALAKIREV Islamey

Olga Kern's 2004 recording of transcriptions and variations by Rachmaninov was one of the great Rachmaninov recordings: soulful, sensual, strong, and deeply Slavic. Her 2005 recording of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata along with his Morceaux de fantaisie is even better. For one thing, the music is better. Rachmaninov's Morceaux de fantaisie are brooding and exciting works of youth, plus it includes the inevitable and ineluctable Prelude in C sharp minor. Rachmaninov's Second Sonata is one of the most violently Romantic and supremely virtuosic works in the repertoire. For another thing, Kern is better in better music. Her Morceaux de fantaisie are unbearably alluring and overwhelmingly effective. Her Second Sonata is supremely tragic and transcendently virtuosic. For another thing, there's more music yet on the disc and all of it is extravagantly well played: from Rachmaninov's affectionate and brilliant Polka de W.R. to Taneyev's coruscating and incandescent Prelude and Fugue in G sharp minor to Lyadov's captivating Prelude in D flat major, and especially his enchanting The Musical Snuffbox to the closing Balakirev's sultry In the Garden and his sexy Islamey, one of the most difficult works in the literature that Kern pulls off with panache and aplomb. For one last thing, Harmonia Mundi's sound is warm, vivid, and immediate. Anyone who loves Rachmaninov or great piano playing will love this disc. (James Leonard)

Sol Gabetta / Lorin Maazel / Olga Kern SHOSTAKOVICH - RACHMANINOV

With this recording Argentine-Swiss cellist Sol Gabetta completes her pair of Shostakovich's cello concertos, recorded in reverse order. Perhaps she has simply been aware of Shostakovich's still growing popularity, or perhaps she felt it was a unique challenge to apply her somewhat impetuous style to Shostakovich, who could certainly be called sober and perhaps even dour. This is a strong reading of the Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107, which was composed in 1959 and dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich. It's probably preferable to Gabetta's recording of the second concerto, which doesn't quite catch Shostakovich's expansive late manner. Here she is in her element, with plenty of facility in the spectacular cadenza that introduces the finale, and an interpretation that stands out in comparison with Russian ones. As is her way, Gabetta plays fast and loose with tempi, but what she finds here is one of the Shostakovich works that seem to be rather angry assertions of identity, underlined by the dense repetitions of the D-S-C-H motif (in the German note-naming system, "Es" is E flat), which is, unusually, transposed and manipulated through the eventful opening movement. Another attractive feature of the release is the sympathy between the young and charismatic Gabetta, who seems to be getting the full star treatment from Sony Classical, and conductor Lorin Maazel, leading the Munich Philharmonic and turning the orchestra's percussion section loose in some loud noises that fit very well with what Gabetta is trying to do. There are some reservations to be had: the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, with pianist Olga Kern, makes an unconvincing conclusion. And it's not quite clear in what sense the Shostakovich was a "live" recording if it was recorded over three days in Munich. But this is in the main a strong outing by an exciting developing artist. (James Manheim)