Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 – Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

Album review

The matter shouldn’t even me mentioned, since it is in no way the guarantee of whatever musical quality, one way or another; let’s say that the London-based Chineke! Orchestra is predominantly composed of musicians whose skin colour is slightly more dark than what is usually seen in symphony orchestras (barring Brasil as a matter of fact, where some orchestras are extraordinarily mixed), as well as some from « minorities », but this is no way some kind of reverse segregation. The conductor Roderick Cox, by the way, is of African-American descent, and also by the way, he is an excellent musician with a beautiful posture when conducting, and a superb musical mind; as for pianist Gerard Aimontche, his origin is more unusual since he is Russian… of African descent! This album begins with a very clear and transparent interpretation of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, in which Aimonthc refrains from any superfluous hyper-romantic slush, rather aiming at offering the purest interpretation there is. As for Sibelius’ Second Symphony, it is offered in a reading where Cox draws a superb arc from beginning to end, which is not always so easy in this ample and long-breathed music. It is not for nothing that Cox is already Associate conductor at the Minnesota Orchestra, and his career is now developing worldwide. © SM/Qobuz