Shostakovich: Piano Concertos No.1 & 2, Piano Trio No.2
Simon Trpčeski (piano), Aleksandar Krapovski (violin), Alexander Somov (cello
Cristian Măcelaru / Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava (Linn)
(scroll down for English review)
狄里柏斯基十年前是香港常客，和港樂迪華特合作過全套拉赫曼尼諾夫鋼琴協奏曲，也有彈過獨奏會。他這張新碟集齊兩首蕭斯塔高維契鋼琴協奏曲，另外配上《第二鋼琴三重奏》，是填滿一張CD的好選擇。
有小號獨奏的《第一鋼琴協奏曲》（軌一至三）相信不用怎介紹，它頗常聽到，反而《第二鋼琴協奏曲》（軌八至十）很難遇見，除了小交近年演過一次。蕭氏這首是寫給兒子彈的，和他年輕作品《第一》相比有點犬尾續貂，但這個錄音的行板（軌九）倒是頗值一聽，有點拉赫曼尼諾夫的味道，即使旋律遠遠及不上。然而我覺得狄里柏斯基在這兩首協奏曲，太依賴較尖銳的按鍵去表達炫技的感覺，機械得來欠缺靈性。
（現在確實很少鋼琴家兩首蕭氏協奏曲都彈，我一時想到的例外是王羽佳，她應該在波士頓和尼遜斯演過，如果同為DG專屬藝人的兩人能夠灌錄，值得期待。）
軌四至七《第二鋼琴三重奏》則令我失望，絕望及哀悼的心情表達不到，第四樂章又沒有激情，我只好說狄里柏斯基選錯了拍檔。
Simon Trpčeski made a name for himself in Russian piano concertos so this CD of the Shostakovich concertos was an expected addition. To fill up a full CD, the Second Piano Trio was sandwiched between the concertos.
The Second Concerto (tracks 8-10) was rarely recorded without the First. That wasn’t an oversight because the later work, written for the composer’s son, was clearly inferior. Yet in this recording the Andante (track 9), with its Rachmaninov-ish lyricism, was really worth a listen. But I found Trpčeski relying too much on punchy articulation to express the sense of virtuosity, in both concertos. It’s too mechanical to my ears and the sense of élan was clearly missing.
(On a side note, I can only think of Yuja Wang as the other pianist who plays the Second Concerto regularly in concert, usually with the First on the same concert. As she did play one or two of them with Andris Nelsons in Boston, it’d be great if DG released a CD of such a combo.)
I was utterly shattered, disappointed actually, by Trpčeski and Friends’ Second Piano Trio (tracks 4-7). I couldn’t find the sense of doom and despair in the first movement, and the passion in the fourth was underpowered. I just can’t help but say Trpčeski picked the wrong partners.