"A glorious
new recording of two timeless masterpieces by two
great American musicians and one of the world's
great orchestras. Conductor Kenneth Klein and
pianist Gerald Robbins, who have performed many
times together in their native Los Angeles and
subsequently with Mr. Klein's New York Virtuosi
Chamber Symphony in New York, were reunited
recently in Russia for this superb collaboration
with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, which
included performances of these works at Tchaikovsky
Hall and the recording sessions for this disk.
These two old friends and longtime musical
collaborators have recorded wonderful new
interpretations of Schumann's Piano Concerto in
A minor, Op. 54 and the Dvorák Symphony No. 8 in G, Op.88 that serve as a
tribute to the timelessness of friendship combined
with great music. 4Tay is proud to issue this
disk.
"Gerald
Robbins and Kenneth Klein offer a warm, romantic
reading of the Schumann that can hold its own in a
crowded field. This pianist is obviously a master
and commands a tone of considerable beauty. ...The
Dvorak is also presented in a big, warm-hearted
reading...It is a pleasure to hear the Moscow
Philharmonic. Those Russian horns still have their
unique vibrato and don't sound Westernized...The
sound is spacious..."
- American
Record Guide
"The
Schumann Piano Concerto and Dvorak Eighth Symphony
might seem an odd coupling on disc, but they make a
rather nice mini-concert for home listening. Two
things immediately stand out: 4Tay's resplendent
engineering, and some truly fantastic orchestral
playing from the Moscow Philharmonic. Time and
again throughout the Schumann, one is struck by
imaginatively woven first-desk solos (the plaintive
oboe in the first movement, for example), warm,
responsive string chording, and firmly sprung
rhythms that prevent the outer movements from
lapsing into sing-song regularity. I'm less
enamored with Gerald Robbins' sensitive but
slightly stiff traversal of the solo part, which
lacks the drama, fluidity, and abandon pianists as
disparate as Argerich, Arrau, Serkin, and Perahia
have brought to this music. Still, Robbins has his
moments. He makes beautiful, disembodied sounds
with the soft chords leading into the finale, where
his deliberate tempo allows Schumann's perpetual
motion passages to breathe and interact with their
surroundings. The prize of the disc, however, is a
honey of a Dvorak Eighth. Kenneth Klein brings
uplifting rhythmic spring and lyric eloquence to
everything he touches here, with perfectly judged
tempo relationships, and incisive string
articulation to match. Confirmed audiophiles are
advised to snap up this disc."
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