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Editorial Reviews

Boris Berezovsky has made a specialty of works that test the outer limits of piano technique, recently joining keyboard magician Marc-André Hamelin as one of the few brave pianists to take on Leopold Godowsky's notoriously difficult studies based on Chopin's Études. For a bravura follow-up to that acclaimed recording, Berezovsky offers the Piano Concerto of Aram Khachaturian -- and though it doesn't have anywhere near the name recognition of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, with which it shares the disc, the Khachaturian performance is what makes this album a must-hear. Surely one of the most entertaining piano concertos of the 20th century, full of brilliant color and exciting virtuoso display, it's been neglected in recent times; arguably, it hasn't received a truly great recording since William Kapell championed it in the 1940s. Berezovsky more than makes up for lost time, blazing through the cascading scales and piled-up chords that mark the work's most thrilling passages, especially its strenuous solo cadenzas, but also emphasizing the Romantic impulse at the concerto's heart, the genuine feeling that makes it more than just a flashy showpiece. Whether you prefer Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev, you'll find plenty to appreciate in Khachaturian. And if the Ural Philharmonic isn't quite up to the plushness of Tchaikovsky -- though Berezovsky certainly has the measure of that concerto as well -- the orchestra is entirely convincing in their approach to the vivacious rhythms and sinuous melodic styles that Khachaturian borrowed from Armenian folk music. Not only for the excellence of his performance but also for bringing this hugely enjoyable work back into circulation, Berezovsky deserves a most enthusiastic standing ovation. Scott Paulin, Barnes & Noble

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