Classical

The latest releases reviewed.

CHOPIN: COMPLETE PRELUDES; NOCTURNES OP 62 Rafal Blechacz (piano) Deutsche Grammophon 477 7592 *****

In October 2005, Rafal Blechacz became the first Polish pianist in 30 years to take the top prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. On his debut CD for Deutsche Grammophon, Blechacze presents himself as a natural in the music of Chopin. He achieves grandeur without overstatement and shows individuality without eccentricity. His flexing of melodic line and his sure grasp of harmonic tension are controlled with the skills of a master colourist. This is the sort of Chopin playing that can, in the quickly changing world of the Preludes, leave you with your heart in your throat at one moment and on the edge of your seat with excitement the next. www.deutschegrammophon.com MICHAEL DERVAN

TISHCHENKO: CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, PIANO AND STRINGS; DANTE-SYMPHONY NO 3 (HELL: CIRCLES 7-9) Alexander Rozhdestvensky (violin), Victoria Postnikova (piano), String Orchestra of St Petersburg, Moscow SO/Gennady Rozhdestvensky Fuga Libera FUG 702  ***

Boris Tishchenko, rarely encountered in concert, gets mentioned as a composition student of Shostakovich and Ustvolskaya. The influences are obvious, but you would never for a moment take either work here to be by Shostakovich. The polarisation between light and dark, and the sometimes off-the-rails, almost cartoonish graphic quality are too extreme. The attractions of Dante for Tishchenko are many. Ustvolskaya has been memorably dubbed the "High Priestess of Sado-Minimalism," and the no-holds-barred aspect of Tishchenko's writing, well communicated in these committed live recordings, can certainly be related to her notorious bluntness of statement. www.uk.hmboutique.com MICHAEL DERVAN

ROCHBERG: SYMPHONY NO 1 Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Lyndon-Gee Naxos American Classics 8.559182 ****

George Rochberg, who died two years ago at the age of 86, obviously liked the five-movement, 65-minute First Symphony he completed at the age of 31. Its belated premiere in 1958 saw it truncated to three movements, yet Rochberg returned to it twice for revision (in 1977 and 2003) for this premiere CD recording. Rochberg, a serialist who famously changed his tune to write some of the most Mahlerian of music after Mahler, has openly and in detail acknowledged his early symphony's debts to Stravinsky and Schoenberg. It's very much a young man's work, stylistically prolix, engagingly impassioned - a youthful calling-card of a piece that shows a willingness to try everything bar the kitchen sink. www.naxos.com MICHAEL DERVAN

HINDEMITH: KAMMERMUSIK 1-7; DER SCHWANENDREHER Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado, Tabea Zimmermann, Bavarian Radio SO/David Shallon EMI Classics 397 7112 **** *

The irreverent Paul Hindemith of the 1920s has begun to overshadow the establishment figure of his later life. Even the early parodies he preferred to distance himself from give pleasure to modern audiences. The series of pieces he wrote under the title Kammermusik (chamber music) between 1922 and 1927 are actually mostly concertos, and have become popular on disc. Claudio Abbado's high-spirited Berlin Philharmonic recordings of 1996 and 1999 are cherishable for their energy and deft rhythmic elan. The soloists include pianist Lars Vogt, violinist Kolja Blacher, and organist Wayne Marshall. On this bargain- priced issue, the performances are generously coupled with Tabea Zimmermann's recording of the 1935 viola concerto, Der Schwanendreher. www.emiclassics.com MICHAEL DERVAN