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:
• 1 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: I. Allegretto-Allegro vivace - Moderato 06:22
• 2 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: II. Lento 07:43
• 3 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: III. Moderato 01:42
• 4 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35: IV. Allegro con brio 06:41
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102:
• 5 Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: I. Allegro 07:02
• 6 Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: II. Andante 06:30
• 7 Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: III. Allegro 05:22
• Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57:
• 8 Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: I. Prelude 04:51
• 9 Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: II. Fugue 11:13
• 10 Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: III. Scherzo 03:28
• 11 Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: IV. Intermezzo 07:07
• 12 Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57: V. Finale 07:25
• Total Runtime 01:15:26

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