Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano n°1

Kern, Olga;
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra;
Seaman, Christopher

HMU 907323

Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky's piano concerto and a famous competition Van Cliburn received his first piano lessons at the age of three, and twenty years later he had already scaled an unparalleled pinnacle of fame: New Yorkers celebrated the young pianist with a ticker-tape parade - he was the first classical musician to receive this honor. The 23-year-old Juillard student had previously won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, thus beating the Russian competition in his own country in the middle of the Cold War. This triumph so thrilled America that the press hailed the young pianist as "American Sputnik.

" Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto has since become Van Cliburn's trademark; his 1958 recording of the work was the first classical recording to make it to platinum record. After twenty years of a successful international career, Cliburn retired from the concert podium in the late 1970s -¬ much like Glenn Gould before him, he withdrew from the spotlight of public performances to devote himself to his artistic development: "It was heavenly," the pianist confessed in an interview, "I had time to think and practice in peace." in 1987, Van Cliburn ended his creative hiatus with a concert at the White House; his performance in Carnegie Hall's centennial concert a few days later marked his final return to concert life. Early on, Cliburn began to take care of young musical talent: since 1961, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition has brought together young pianists from around the world to compete every four years. In 2001, 26-year-old Russian Olga Kern became the first woman since 1969 to win the gold medal. Her victory was crowned with an international career: immediately after her win, she was invited to make her debut with the Boston Pops, and since then the success has not ceased: the pianist has since performed all over the world and is celebrated by audiences and press alike. With this recording of the most popular of all piano concertos, marked by passion, technical brilliance and poetry, she proves that the Moscow-based artist has nevertheless remained Russian through and through. Olga Kern's own highly musical ancestors may also have come to mind: Her great-great-grandmother was friends with Tchaikovsky's, and her great-grandmother sang to Rachmaninoff's piano accompaniment.

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Harmonia Mundi

20-03-2007

093046732325