Tchaikovsky & Khachaturian: Piano Concertos

Featuring

Xiayin Wang
Peter Oundjian
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Aram Khachaturian

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Compositional Technique

Tchaikovsky insisted on the original, full-length version of his Piano Concerto No. 2, particularly its second movement, which features a prominent duet for violin and cello alongside the piano.

Composer Biography

Aram Khachaturian, born in a suburb of Tbilisi, Georgia, began his studies in biology before turning to music, eventually entering the Moscow Conservatory in 1929.

Composition History

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 was not a commissioned work, but rather the result of his spontaneous immersion in work during a tedious autumn retreat.

Recording & Production

The recording features custom-built Thuresson CM 402 microphones, hand-built by designer Jörgen Thuresson in Sweden, for the main sound.

Performer Biography

Pianist Xiayin Wang has received international critical acclaim for her recordings, with Gramophone calling them 'four out of four superb discs in succession' and BBC Music lauding her technique as 'flawless'.

Recording & Production

This Chandos recording uses 24-bit / 96 kHz technology, which offers a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings.

Compositional Technique

Khachaturian's Piano Concerto features the flexatone, a bizarre novelty instrument, in the slow movement, which the composer intended to be taken seriously.