Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performer: Olli Mustonen
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Ondine
Catalogue: ODE10825
Release: 2006
Size: 1.22 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28
01. I. Allegro moderato
02. II. Lento
03. III. Allegro molto
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b
04. I. January. By the Fireside
05. II. February. Carnival
06. III. March. Song of the Lark
07. IV. April. Snowdrop
08. V. May. May Nights
09. VI. June. Barcarolle
10. VII. July. Song of the Reaper
11. VIII. August. The Harvest
12. IX. September. The Hunt
13. X. October. Autumn Song
14. XI. November. Troika
15. XII. December. Christmas
…Mustonen creates a savage case for an unduly neglected sonata. …he creates a searing emotional turbulence, whirling us through the vortex of the first movement development with heart-stopping brilliance and making the chains of ecstatic trills concluding the central Lento flash like so many shooting stars. Mustonen is no less remarkable in Tchaikovsky’s Seasons, scorning their gentler, more domestic virtues. August is allegro vivace with a vengeance, every cross-rhythm caught and underlined with razor-sharp aplomb, while December, normally a gently alluring waltz, is made elfin, piquant and scintillating at each of its many turns.