Anton Rubinstein: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Janoseph Banowetz (piano) Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice / Alfred Walter Marco Polo
Well,I'm obviously very easily pleased;but I think these two Piano Concertos make very pleasant,if not,delightful listening. I'm also not sure if ,like one or two other music lovers on some forums I have visited (not "that" one!) in search of opinion's on the music of this once very famous musician,I don't prefer these two earlier concertos to the more famous Fourth Piano Concerto! (Not that I don't like that one!). It's just that the music-making here seems a tad more spontaneous,less pompous and intend on grandliquotent gestures! Nevertheless,for lovers of keyboard wizardry there's some spectacular keyboard pyrotechnics here & the Second Piano Concerto has a quite,lovely slow movement. It's true that there's no big tune of the kind you might find in a Tchaikovsky concerto;but it's all very melodious and I can think of allot of music I enjoy that isn't exactly full of the kind of tunes you'll hum in the bath or over a washing-up bowl! The sound quality is also one of the best I've heard from this label. Joseph Banowetz is also,obviously,a very talented pianist. Nice artwork,too! :)
