Shostakovich: Piano Concerti & Piano Quintet London Philharmonic Orchestra, Martin Helmchen & Vladimir Jurowski 

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35:
• 1Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: I. Allegretto-Allegro vivace - Moderato06:22
• 2Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: II. Lento07:43
• 3Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: III. Moderato01:42
• 4Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: IV. Allegro con brio06:41
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102:
• 5Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: I. Allegro07:02
• 6Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: II. Andante06:30
• 7Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: III. Allegro05:22
• Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57:
• 8Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: I. Prelude04:51
• 9Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: II. Fugue11:13
• 10Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: III. Scherzo03:28
• 11Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: IV. Intermezzo07:07
• 12Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: V. Finale07:25
• Total Runtime01:15:26

Info for Shostakovich: Piano Concerti & Piano Quintet

Shostakovich’s energetic piano concertos feature striking and attractive themes, with sudden changes of mood between the burlesque and haunting, perfectly captured in these live recordings with pianist Martin Helmchen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski. The Piano Quintet displays perhaps an even greater range of styles within a work of unusual purity written under the looming shadow of war.

Martin Helmchen is a former member of the BBC New Generation Artist Scheme (2005-2007) and was the 2001 winner of the Clara Haskill Competition.

"Helmchen shows himself adept in all aspects of No. 1's quirky humour and satirical modernism, No. 2's playful high spirits and - in the famous Andante - a nostalgic romanticism Rachmaninov might have been proud of...What makes this disc more special is a truly superb account of Shostakovich's Piano Quintet...this is one of the most impressive performances of the work that I've heard in recent years." (BBC Music Magazine)

"Helmchen's mission seems to be to strip away layers of learnt understanding around these often performed works - looking afresh at the material itself - which works well for the Quintet and Second Concerto" (Classic FM Magazine)

"Helmchen gives a delightfully unaffected, affectionate and note-perfect account [of the Second Concerto], the orchestra bringing out militaristic and even nightmarish aspects. There is a real fizz to the outer movements ...Helmchen and the musicians from the LPO...give a full-on passionate relay of the first movement [of the Quintet], a blanched one of the second that seamlessly rises in intensity with real eloquence and conviction." (International Record Review)

Martin Helmchen, piano
Paul Beniston, trumpet
Pieter Schoeman, violin
Vesselin Gellev, violin
Alexander Zemtsov, viola
Kristina Blaumane, cello
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Piano Concerti & Piano Quintet