Schumann: Concerto, Op.54/MacDowell: Concerto No.2/To A Wild Rose

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Music reviews of Schumann: Concerto, Op.54/MacDowell: Concerto No.2/To A Wild Rose

Music Review: gorgeous
Rating: 4 Stars

It is rich and gorgeous. The octives are especially breathtaking in both concerti (I can tell he's got great huge bear hands!). The Schumann concerto, however, he goes a little too slow to my liking and seems to lose momentums at times. The cadenza is just so beautiful; the piano sings under his command, but again, once in a great while I feel that the momentum is lost and the flow sort of stops because of his tempi, or perhaps from avoiding the abuse of rubato. But the strange thing is that the more I listen to it, the more I like it.
Fritz Reiner does a fine job with the orchestra. Firm, steady, and secure. Except that the oboe is a little stiff, sort of (he could use a little more rubato). But the sound is beautiful.
Probably appeals to a mature audience.

With MacDowell, I have no complaint at this point (of course, I haven't heard any other pianists' performance on this piece, so I can't really tell). The second movement is especially energetic and masculine. The octave descending arpeggio followed by chromatic scale is very impressive; he's got so much power and delivers it effortlessly. It's just awesome. The orchestration is wonderful too.

What follows it, To a Wild Rose, has a contrasting simplicity. I myself can play the piece by ear, but he does such a beautiful work in making the simple piece a masterpiece of music with his rich musicality. He's got warm, full sound, and his fortissimo is not hard like that of Horowitz's. I like it!

General CDs

• Styles > Classical
• Featured Composers, A-Z > ( M ) > MacDowell, Edward
• ( S ) > Schumann, Robert
• Featured Performers, A-Z > ( C ) > Cliburn, Van
• Forms & Genres > Concertos > General
• Instruments > Keyboard > Piano