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Album Summary
Performer
Yevgeny Sudbin (Piano)
Notes & Reviews:
The pianist Yevgeny Sudbin made his sensational début on disc with a programme of sonatas by Scarlatti, but soon continued with recordings of music by later composers from his own country of birth, Russia. 2010 saw Sudbin's return to the 18th century, with a Haydn recital which has confirmed his reputation as a highly versatile musician, 'whose exquisite nuances, shimmering colours and rare rhetorical power make him an ideal Haydn interpreter.'(Pizzicato) This acclaimed disc was described as 'truly a class act' by Classic FM Magazine; an act which Sudbin now follows up with the first disc in a series of Beethoven's piano concertos. Opening with the composer's final two works in the genre, Sudbin shares the stage with Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, a team whose Beethoven credentials are assured after their recent cycle of the nine symphonies - 'unquestionably one the great Beethoven cycles' according to the website ClassicsToday.com. If Beethoven's first works in the concerto genre are indebted to Mozart, the composer had definitely found his own feet by the time of Piano Concerto no. 4 in G major. This is evident from the very beginning of the work where, instead of the expected orchestral introduction, the solo piano enters, signaling the intimate and lyrical quality of the work. No less innovative is Piano Concerto no. 5 in E flat major - by many considered the finest of all piano concertos. Giving the timpani an unusually prominent and crucial role, this work is majestic and at times even martial in character, something which in English-speaking countries has earned it the nickname 'Emperor'.
"Vänskä's lightness of touch - a cooler Beethoven than we're accustomed to, but peppered with artfully controlled explosions - is just what's needed to get inside the enigmatic Fourth, and his 'Emperor' is refreshingly restrained." -Classic FM Magazine
"Sudbin makes it clear that he has little use for Beethoven weighed down, as it were, with excess baggage...Instead, his delectably light-fingered brilliance and virtuosity shines a new light on some of the most familiar scores in the repertoire...Such mercurial pianism keeps Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on their toes but they follow their soloist as to the manor born." -Gramophone Magazine
"Sudbin brings delicacy and crystalline articulation to these concertos, creating a sense of classical grace rather than romantic scale... but his aristocratic mien and stylistic assurance...[add] a welcome degree of wit to the fourth concerto's finale and a poise and sparkle to the Emperor...Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra prove equally sympathetic accompanists." -Financial Times ****
"The clarity of Yevgeny Sudbin's playing, and the range of keyboard colours he commands are qualities that serve him as well in Beethoven as they did in his fine Scriabin recital for BIS a few years back. He is particularly successful here in the more intimate and chamber-like Fourth Concerto...There's much to like about Sudbin's Emperor, too. The Adagio is admirably luminous" -BBC Music Magazine ****
All Music Guide - James Manheim
Anyone concerned that the enduring Russian school of pianism might not survive the country's current chaotic state has to be heartened by the emergence of the young St. Petersburg pianist Yevgeny Sudbin, who combines the usual power and passion with a sensitive attention to very small areas of detail.
Everything comes together in this recording, made for the Swedish label BIS with the Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, an ensemble that, as other American orchestras struggle with their identities, has vaulted into the top rank. Vänskä wisely cedes the lead role to Sudbin, whose conception of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, is genuinely fresh --but he and the Minnesotans match Sudbin step for step through a great range of dynamic changes. The third partner in this uniformly successful enterprise is the BIS engineering team, which steps into Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall with a collection of microphones that gets not only Sudbin's very quiet notes in the two slow movements, but also Vänskä's booming lower strings. The biggest news here is the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 4, which has a perhaps unparalleled breadth and diversity. The use of a different and more muscular but less subtle Steinway for the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ("Emperor"), is another nice touch on Sudbin's part. But the entire recording represents a triumph for the musicians and maybe even for the American Midwest, produced in a region where the traditional Western arts are in a precarious position, this is as fine a recording of these hallowed concertos as any on the market. Booklet notes are in English, French, and German.
Classic FM Magazine, April 2011
Vänskä's lightness of touch - a cooler Beethoven than we're accustomed to, but peppered with artfully controlled explosions - is just what's needed to get inside the enigmatic Fourth, and his 'Emperor' is refreshingly restrained.
Gramophone Magazine, April 2011
Sudbin makes it clear that he has little use for Beethoven weighed down, as it were, with excess baggage...Instead, his delectably light-fingered brilliance and virtuosity shines a new light on some of the most familiar scores in the repertoire...Such mercurial pianism keeps Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on their toes but they follow their soloist as to the manor born.
Financial Times, 18th March 2011
Sudbin brings delicacy and crystalline articulation to these concertos, creating a sense of classical grace rather than romantic scale... but his aristocratic mien and stylistic assurance...[add] a welcome degree of wit to the fourth concerto's finale and a poise and sparkle to the Emperor...Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra prove equally sympathetic accompanists.
BBC Music Magazine, April 2011
The clarity of Yevgeny Sudbin's playing, and the range of keyboard colours he commands are qualities that serve him as well in Beethoven as they did in his fine Scriabin recital for BIS a few years back. He is particularly successful here in the more intimate and chamber-like Fourth Concerto...There's much to like about Sudbin's Emperor, too. The Adagio is admirably luminous.
International Record Review, April 2011
Sudbin need not fear being heard in the context of pianists who are appreciably further on in their careers...In a crowded field [he] ranks near the top and it will be fascinating to hear how his cycle evolves over the remaining two installments. Highly recommended.
Recording information: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Reviews
Excellent
This is an excellent performance. Highly recommended.
Submitted on 05/12/12 by Richard
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Works Details
Beethoven, Ludwig van : Concerto for Piano no 4 in G major, Op. 58 - Performers: Yevgeny Sudbin (Piano); Yevgeny Sudbin (Piano)
- Conductor: Osmo Vänskä
- Running Time: 32 min. 27 sec.
- Period Time: Classical
- Form: Concerto
- Written: 1805-1806
Beethoven, Ludwig van : Concerto for Piano no 5 "Emperor" - Performers: Yevgeny Sudbin (Piano); Yevgeny Sudbin (Piano)
- Conductor: Osmo Vänskä
- Running Time: 37 min. 56 sec.
- Period Time: Classical
- Form: Concerto
- Written: 1809
