Anton Rubinstein; Sergei Rachmaninov - Piano Concertos (Joseph Moog)

Information

Composer: Anton Rubinstein; Sergei Rachmaninov

1. Rubinstein - Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70: I. Moderato assai
2. Rubinstein - Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70: II. Andante
3. Rubinstein - Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70: III. Allegro
4. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: I. Allegro ma non tanto
5. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: II. Intermezzo. Adagio
6. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: III. Finale. Alla breve

Joseph Moog, piano
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz
Nicholas Milton, conductor

Date: 2012
Label: Onyx
http://www.onyxclassics.com/cddetail.php?CatalogueNumber=ONYX4089

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Review

24-year-old Moog with big-beast keyboard concertos

Anton Rubinstein’s Fourth Piano Concerto is a once-popular showpiece that featured in the repertoires of pianists such as Hofmann and Cherkassky. Today, even given with Joseph Moog’s magisterial command, its grandiloquence seems faded, with Romantic gestures very much of yesteryear. Moog cannot quite match Marc-André Hamelin’s blistering attack on Hyperion but he runs him a close second and comes into his own in Rachmaninov’s far greater Third Concerto. Here this 24-year-old German pianist may occasionally sound more relentless than giving, though the chill wind he blows through even the most lyrically assuaging passages will seem authentic to some.

Less generally, Moog is at his most interesting in the mercurial twists and turns he gives the cadenza (the slimmer, less heavyweight of the two). He also throws off the central Intermezzo’s skittering scherzando variation with its volleys of repeated notes with an almost outrageous assurance and, fast and furious in the finale, makes it impossible for you not to get caught up in the thrill of the chase. There may be more affecting Rachmaninov Third Concertos on record – pride of place still goes to the composer himself, Horowitz live with Barbirolli on APR, Gilels, Cliburn live from the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition, and Argerich – but it is certainly among the most formidable.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 8
http://www.classical-music.com/review/rachmninov-%E2%80%A2-rubinstein
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/July12/Rachmaninov_PC3_Onyx4089.htm
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=701602
https://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Piano-Concerto-No-3-Rubenstein/dp/B006T6HHZ0

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Anton Rubinstein (November 28 [O.S.November 16] 1829 – November 20 [O.S. November 8] 1894) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks amongst the great 19th-century keyboard virtuosos. He was also a prolific composer throughout much of his life. Rubinstein wrote 20 operas and a large number of other works, including five piano concertos and six symphonies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Rubinstein

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

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Joseph Moog (born December 26, 1987 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein ) is a German pianist and composer. He studied with Bernd Glemser at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. Moog performs classical, romantic and modern piano repertoire internationally, and has made a name for himself by performing numerous rarities. Moog was named Young Artist of the Year in 2015 at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards, and also is a double winner of the International Classical Music Award (ICMA).
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Moog
https://www.josephmoog.com/

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