Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 3; Symphony No 5

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 Symphony No 5
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Artist: Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, Sergei Prokofiev
Genre: Classical
Label: Mariinsky

Tie yourself and your valuables down. Denis Matsuev and Valery Gergiev take a dangerous, open-top sports car approach to Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. The sharpness of the attack, the delight in clashing sonorities, and the sheer raciness of the approach make the music so exciting it's almost exhausting to listen to. Matsuev's command is astonishing, in a performance that unflinchingly aligns the piece to the daunting world of the composer's Second Concerto. The performance of the Fifth Symphony, with good sweep and more than a touch of Russian rawness, is less controversial, Unfortunately, neither recording (the symphony is taken from the 2012 Moscow Easter Festival) offers the finest sound quality. url.ie/8jpy

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor