Rachmaninov, Shostakovich & Lutoslawski

Ashkenazy's 20-year-old Swedish protégé proves worthy of the maestro's patronage. On the evidence of this disc he is a well-balanced musician with his heart and fingers in the right places, and his chosen programme is a stimulating one.

“Jablonski, whose credentials include having been voted best jazz drummer in Sweden at the age of seven (!), revels in its high jinks, and Ashkenazy and the orchestra just manage to hang on to his coat-tails... an exciting end to an admirably played and recorded disc.” --Gramophone Magazine

Jablonski's Rachtnaninov perhaps commands more respect than excitement, but it won my respect before I was aware of his youth. Generally lucid and level-headed, his limitations show up at extremes of the character range. In particular, he does not yet have the knack of retaining communicative intensity in quiet lyrical playing, and a number of variations, such as the first Dies irae from 322", are inclined to sit back on their haunches. Some of his loudest chords are accompanied by foot-stamping, and in the famous Eighteenth Variation Jablonski's singing tone, pleasant though it is, lacks a degree of richness—the orchestra's entry at 15'55" sounds as though taken from a different, more emotionally committed take. That said, he is a very musicianly player, and the RPO's attentive contribution and Decca's superb recording help to make this one of the more satisfying accounts on record.

The Shostakovich concerto is a good choice, not just as a near contemporary of the Paganini Rhapsody, but as a bridge to the zany world of Lutoslawski. It receives a fluent, well-judged and idiomatic performance with every note in place and some lovely trumpet playing from Raymond Simmons. This is a valuable complement to the manically explosive Kissin on RCA; the even younger Russian's brashness did nothing for MEO but it strikes me as a perfectly valid response to the 'low-art' origins of so many of Shostakovich's ideas.

Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations are a 1978 orchestration of the familiar 1941 two-piano work. I had not heard this version before and was instantly captivated. Jablonski, whose credentials include having been voted best jazz drummer in Sweden at the age of seven (!), revels in its high jinks, and Ashkenazy and the orchestra just manage to hang on to his coat-tails—an exciting end to an admirably played and recorded disc. -- Gramophone [12/1992]

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Cello Sonata

“Chang brings clear-sighted belief to everything she touches. Her range is generous indeed, from barely-audible ghostly voices to high-octane drama… What wins me over without reservation is the superlative partnership with Pappano and the LSO on peak form. ...Pappano doubles as Chang's partner in the accompanying Sonata, taking on the fiendish quick-change artistry of the piano role with deadpan aplomb.” --BBC Music Magazine, May 2006 *****

“Adopting in fast music speeds a notch swifter than the norm, Chang combines raw emotion with a structural grip that, in its way, is even more remarkable in one so young. …the LSO is right there with her, as deeply attentive in the slow movement as in the composer's astringent, nagging brand of fireworks elsewhere in the piece.” --Gramophone Magazine, May 2006

Franck & Shostakovich: Violin Sonatas

“The Khachatryans, brother and sister, make a formidable team. The recording is exceptional, too: finely balanced and with a wide dynamic range. The sound is so beautiful that one wondered, at moments during the Shostakovich, whether a harsher, more direct sonority might paint this dark work's bleak sound-picture more accurately, though it must be admitted that this duo is able to give the maximum intensity and force (as they clearly do in the ferocious second movement) while maintaining top tonal quality.

At all events, this Shostakovich performance is extremely impressive, the technical difficulties seemingly of no account, and the vast design of the final passacaglia compellingly sustained with playing that ranges from precise and delicate, through mysterious and poetic, to the highest degree of force and energy (in the two solo variations).

There's outstanding playing, too, in the Franck, especially in the first movement, where the tonal range of Sergey Khachatryan's lyrical phrases gives them a powerful emotional pull. However, the performance as a whole doesn't quite fulfil this initial promise. The second movement lacks the passionate drive that some bring to it: it's a mistake, too, to allow the dynamic level to drop at the appearance of the soaring second theme – Franck only marks a diminuendo some bars later.
In the following Recitativo-Fantasia, the composer again provides many clues; by virtually ignoring his poco accels and molto lentos the Khachatryans miss a crucial improvisatory element. It remains an enjoyable performance, however – very accomplished sonata-playing.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010