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Deutsche Grammophon4
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos 1-4 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Yuja Wang, piano; Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Deutsche Grammophon, September 2023
This album—recorded just a few months ago, in Los Angeles—brings together some of the hottest names in classical music: Yuja Wang and Gustavo Dudamel. The latter currently heads the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Paris Opera, but will soon move to New York to assume the role of music director at the New York Philharmonic. The former, meanwhile, made waves earlier this year, when she played all four Rachmaninoff concertos and the Paganini Rhapsody in the same concert. She enjoys full houses and standing ovations wherever she goes.
Wang recorded Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Paganini Rhapsody in 2011 for Deutsche Grammophon, with Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Two years later, she recorded Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto with Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. At this point, she is deservedly renowned for her Rachmaninoff performances, and these new recordings will only add to her impressive catalogue. Wang’s technique is almost beyond words: it is phenomenal. Rarely will you hear Rachmaninoff played at such speed, and with such clarity. The orchestra plays wonderfully as well. All of this said, musical climaxes in these performances misfired, and Wang seemed to struggle to access the melancholy that pervades these pieces—with little help from Dudamel. As a result, these were not memorable performances. Perhaps sometime in the future Wang and Dudamel will give us more.
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