Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 - Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 (Live)

Album review

These are older recordings by pianist Oleg Maisenberg; the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, comes from 2004 and was made at the Konzerthaus Wien, while Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, D. 760, is from 1990 and was made live at the Sparkassensaal in Lörrach in southwestern Germany. The notes aren't forthcoming about how this pairing came about; the SWR (Southwest German Radio) has been releasing older material from its holdings, but a recording made in Vienna seems unlikely to have been associated with them originally. Whatever the case, Maisenberg is an underrated figure who became quite influential as a teacher after leaving his native Soviet Union for Austria, and it is nice to have these obscure recordings. The Schubert is perhaps the stronger of the two, with a real sense of the fantasy quality it must have had in performances by the composer. There is plenty of rhythmic flexibility right from the opening material, and many of the loose ends thus generated are tied up as this fantasy-but-not-quite-truly-fantasy develops. The Grieg concerto, a familiar work if there ever was one, features a fine example of the conductor's art from Ádám Fischer, who got the then little-known SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg to punch above its weight, with wonderful results in the tranquil middle Adagio. Otherwise, there is little about this performance to separate it from dozens of others. Still, there is nothing in it to object to, and many listeners will be glad to hear this recording for the Schubert and for the voice of a pianist who has touched many creative lives.

© James Manheim /TiVo