최근 들어 비르투오조로 완전히 위치를 확립했다는 느낌을 주는 키릴 게르슈타인이 연주한 최초의 협주곡 음반이다.

러시아 악파의 장점을 잘 살릴 수 있는 차이코프스키와 프로코피에프의 협주곡을 담고 있는데, 특히 차이코프스키 협주곡은 흔히 알려진 1889년 판본이 아닌 1879년 오리지널 판본을 연주한 세계 최초 녹음이라는 점도 돋보인다. 차이코프스키 본인이 오리지널 판본을 선호했다는 이야기는 유명한데, 뛰어난 연주와 어울려 신선한 감동을 준다.

‘음악 구조가 선명하게 드러나는 연주로... 게르슈타인은 음악에 시적인 정서와 발레 같은 우아함을 불어넣었다.’ - BBC뮤직매거진 초이스

[ 수 록 곡 ]

1. Tchaikovsky : Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 (1-3)
2. Prokofiev : Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 (4-7)

Kirill Gerstein, piano
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
James Gaffigan


차이코프스키: 피아노 협주곡 1번, 프로코피에프: 피아노 협주곡 2번
키릴 게르슈타인(피아노), 제임스 가피건(지휘), 베를린 도이치 심포니 오케스트라


The Arts Desk, 14th February 2015
“This [Tchaikovsky] concerto can be a bit of a slog, but never so here…James Gaffigan gets superb support from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and keeps things moving in the closing minutes…Gerstein's fearless stamina gets him through the [Prokofiev's] vast cadenza with unerring ease, and he's alert to the music's pain and dislocation...All superbly recorded and well annotated.”

The Observer, 15th March 2015
“Zimmermann and Hoppe capture the poetry of these works, in their hands free from sentiment and rich as short stories.”

BBC Music Magazine, March 2015 *****
“Perhaps the most striking aspect of Gerstein's interpretation is his ability to make the piano writing sound much lighter and more transparent than usual...Instead of the conventional barnstorming bravura, Gerstein brings poetry, balletic grace and an infinitely wide range of timbres. Yet in no sense does the performance seem understated.”

The Times, 27th February 2015 ****
“The textures [in the Tchaikovsky] are lighter and sprinkled with arpeggios...Pomp has gone; the mood is poetic, as though we had dipped into Schumann’s piano concerto by mistake...Pianist and orchestra pounce on the [Prokofiev's] pungent rhythms like hungry lions and stir burning energy and rage. This is Gerstein’s first concerto album and it’s definitely one you notice.”

Financial Times, 14th March 2015
“Gerstein offers a less showy version of Tchaikovsky’s first concerto, but gives Prokofiev’s second more dynamism.”

The Observer, 15th March 2015 ****
“Even if you do not immediately spot the difference...this is a performance of such refinement, strength and commitment that you stop worrying...This is the kind of serious, intelligent and virtuosic music-making that keeps classical music alive.”

Classical Music, May 2015
“a performance of stunning power and control.”

Presto Classical, David Smith, 2nd March 2015
“In his hands (and with sensitive accompaniment from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under James Gaffigan), the overall feel of the work is changed from a heroic, red-blooded Romanticism, seeming to prefigure turbulent Rachmaninov, to a more introspective vision.”