RavelGershwin

COMPOSERS: RavelGershwin
LABELS: Oehms
ALBUM TITLE: Ravel & Gershwin Piano Concertos
WORKS: Piano Concertos
PERFORMER: Pascal Roge

Vienna RSO, Bertrand de Billy
CATALOGUE NO: OC 601

Pascal RogZ was one of many frontrank



artists left high and dry by



major-label contractual meltdown,



so it is good to see him resurfacing



with the German independent label



Oehms. He recorded the Ravel



Concerto with Charles Dutoit for



Decca in the early 1980s, but this is



a far finer performance. The outer



movements of this piece can sound



flashy and superficial, but not here.



RogZ’s opening movement takes



full advantage of the more reflective



passages, probing delicately Ravel’s



subtle recesses of feeling with gently



lapping rubato. His finale, while



superbly virtuosic, finds sharp



differentiations of touch and tone in



the gathering excitement. The slow



movement isn’t, thank goodness,



too slow (Ravel’s ‘assai’ qualification



to the basic Adagio is crucial), and



has particularly sensitive interplay



between RogZ and the wind soloists.



This is a highly intelligent, richly



enjoyable interpretation: I can’t



recall another I have enjoyed more.



RogZ is again lightning-fast in his



attunement to the Gershwin idiom,



flashing off syncopated passages in



the opening movement, rattling



forth volleys of brilliant repeated



notes in the finale. The razor-sharp



contribution of Bertrand de Billy



and the Vienna Radio Symphony



Orchestra also commands



attention, and overall this



performance is at least the equal of



Previn’s classic EMI version. The



CD sound is good, the SACD layer



revealing a precision and tactility



of impact which significantly



enhances listener involvement.



Terry Blain