[ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Friday 8 September 2023
In February 2023, at Walt Disney Hall, Classical piano superstar Yuja Wang joined forces with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a sold-out and critically-acclaimed Rachmaninoff residency. All four of Rachmaninoff's piano concertos and his Paganini Rhapsody were captured by Deutsche Grammophon.
Gramophone's "Young Artist of the Year" 2009
"Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto opens in thundering style, before a glittering pianistic masterclass in high-speed touch from Wang, alternating between virtuosic shimmering and emotive depth. Wang peppers the finale with intermittent sparkling lightness of heart, honing skilfully in on a sense of wit, here as elsewhere." BBC Music
"Wang has recorded three of the works before...But however dazzling those performances are technically, she is a much more mature performer nowadays. While the flashy exuberance of the First Concerto and its quicksilver changes of mood suit both her and the slick reactions of Dudamel and his orchestra down to the ground, she equally teases out the lyricism of the Andante with great sensitivity." The Guardian
"Wang is one of today's most musically astonishing pianists. Across all four concertos, plus the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, her fingering is so effortlessly crisp and lithe that tingles might creep up your spine. On top of that, these vivid Walt Disney Concert Hall recordings seem to put you inside her piano, feeling the force of every fortissimo attack or, equally, pianissimo kiss. Not that Dudamel and the orchestra ever appear squashed" The Times
'Put it this way: anyone drawing up a canon of the finest recordings of the Rachmaninov concertos would be thought odd if they did not include this latest bid.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Concerto
Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43