Rachmaninov: The Four Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Rachmaninov: The Four Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Yuja Wang, Piano;, Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra; Gustavo Dudamel   Deutsche Grammophon 4864759  D × 2, vinyl × 3, download

Recording  Music 

Back in 2011, Yuja Wang’s debut concerto recording for DG featured Rachmaninov’s second concerto and Paganini Rhapsody under Claudio Abaddo. It announced her as a hugely gifted pianist. This new account demonstrates the fulfilment of that early promise.

The fearsome technical difficulties of Rachmaninov’s concertos hold no terrors for the fleet-fingered Yuja Wang. She plays these challenging works with breath-taking bravura. But thankfully her performances are more than just virtuoso displays of technique and endurance. The clarity of Wang’s fingerwork allows much subtle detail to tell. Time and again she draws your attention to passages that would normally just pass by. The performances aren’t especially lyrical or expansive, but always there’s plenty of forward momentum and brio, with tempi on the fast-side. 

The third concerto is also a work Yuja Wang previously recorded for DG in 2013. Tempi are broadly similar in both accounts, with the new one being a tad slower in the first movement, and slightly faster in the second and third movements. 

Here, the first and fourth concertos are a touch hard-driven at times, the playing in the third concerto is more relaxed and lyrical. But, as ever, Yuja Wang is a bit like a coiled spring!

Her new performance of the third concerto is more mature and deeply-considered than the 2013 account. You sense it’s a work she knows intimately and adores. As with her earlier version, Wang chooses Rachmaninov’s shorter cadenza and plays it with considerable finesse and dexterity. 

You’d think she’d be more attracted to the longer cadenza with its greater opportunities for virtuoso display, but no… Some pianists feel the longer cadenza is excessive and risks upstaging the work. Didn’t the composer himself choose to play the shorter cadenza?

The finale – taken at a hell of a pace – is hugely exciting. But, in the heat of the moment, are fences being rushed? Despite some moments of relaxation (around 3m 10s, for example) there’s a driving impulsive headlong quality that’s almost manic in its unremitting forward-momentum.

The Paganini Rhapsody is a great virtuoso showpiece, full of pianist delights, and Wang and Dudamel play the piece for all it’s worth. It’s a terrific performance – one that (heard live) would bring the house down and have audience members out of their seats clapping and cheering at the end. 

The recordings, made in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, sound vivid and forward, but rather ‘loud’. Average levels are around 6dB to 8dB higher than DG’s set with Daniel Trifonov – though peak levels are only 2dB or so louder. The booklet mentions an ‘Immersive Mix’ engineer…

Maybe that explains it. The sound seems to have been compressed (like many pop recordings) to give the impression of immediacy and impact. The sound is bold, forward, big-boned, forthright and full-bodied; subtle and delicate it ain’t. 

While the recording isn’t bad, everything comes out at consistent mezzo-forte, rather than having wide extremes between loud and soft. But perhaps that’s appropriate; the persistent forwardness of the sound emphasises the swagger and self-assurance of the performances. 

For those tempted by the LPs (which I’ve not heard), this kind of slightly compressed balance may well suit vinyl more than CD or streaming. Think of it as a clean sophisticated modern-day Decca Phase Four sort of balance, where everything is captured in X-Ray detail. 

So, while not the last word on these works, or the only way of playing them, Yuja Wang’s take on the Rachmaninov concertos remains hugely exciting and viscerally engaging. It’s a set of performances that represent a new benchmark for virtuosoity. Most definitely worth hearing.

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