Composer: Frédéric François Chopin, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performer: Laure Favre-Kahn
Orchestra: Orchestre de Bretagne
Conductor: Grzegorz Nowak
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Transart
Catalogue: TR151
Release: 2008
Size: 254 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
01. I. Allegro non tropo e molto maestoso
02. II. Andantino semplice
03. III. Allegro con fuoco
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
04. I. Maestoso
05. II. Larghetto
06. III. Allegro vivace
Having already recorded music by Rachmaninov, Chopin and Gottschalk for Transart, the exceptionally gifted young pianist, Laure Favre-Kahn, returns to play two of the most well known and demanding of the piano concerto repertoire, A frequent guest artiste with the major orchestras of Europe, Favre-Kahn is recognized as one of today’s outstanding musical talents. Grzegorz Nowak conducts the Orchestre de Bretagne with passion and fiery commitment.
A mood of high Romanticism permeates this 2011 release on Transart Live, because the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor of Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor by Frédéric Chopin are among the most characteristic works of that period, and Laure Favre-Kahn delivers them with expressive fidelity. Accompanied Grzegorz Nowak and the Orchestre de Bretagne, she plays with tremendous energy and flair, and conveys the full emotional range of these works with a thorough understanding of the music and a sweeping command of her instrument. The Tchaikovsky is certainly a concerto on the grand scale, and she gives it a bigger-than-life interpretation that sorts well with its power and expansiveness. Chopin’s concerto is more reflective of the early phase of Romanticism, and while it really shouldn’t be played like a Mozart concerto, enough of the Classical influence comes through Favre-Kahn’s poetic and tasteful playing. In both concertos, Nowak keeps the orchestra in a secondary role, though the playing in the Tchaikovsky is rather brilliant and quite exciting in the Allegros. However, Chopin’s modest orchestral writing offers little room for the ensemble to stretch out, so that concerto is carried almost exclusively by Havre-Kahn. The live recordings from 2006 are well-focused and sonorous, and the audience is unobtrusive during the performances.