Philippe Entremont, Rudolf Serkin, Eugene Ormandy - Grieg, Schumann: Piano Concertos (1991)

Martha Argerich has made such a rousing specialty of the Schumann Cto. that it's hard to remember a time when another pianist attacked the work with as much passion and spontaneity -- but here is Rudolf Serkin from 1964 to remind us. Ormandy was at his best as an accompanist, yet he excels himself here with an orchestral part that is vivid and urgent, not what one expects from him. Serkin always favored very close miking of the piano -- essentially under the lid -- and we're lucky that this cheap digital remastering isn't hard or glassy; in fact, it has considerable visceral impact while still sounding fairly natural -- a bit of shallowness is all that I can complain about.

The hallmark of this reading is that it takes in the whole concerto at a sweep, in one long romantic flight. Serkin plays with a clean, direct tone that is quite bracing, but he applies enough rubato here and there to allow for breathing room in the phrasing -- that said, this is a boldly masculine reading in the heroic style of Beethoven. Nothing could be more thrilling, and among the great stereo recordings of the Schumann, Argerich, Pollini and Richter are given a run for their money. Serkin recorded the op. 92 Konzerstuck the day before, and although I've never heard it programmed in concert, he gives a sympathetic reading that makes the pie e sound better than it actually is.

The Grieg cto. form Entremont dates from 1958 when the pianist was a brilliant 23-year-old, and he plays with vibrancy and attack. ormandy is also energized, and the reading would be an outstanding one if it didn't have to stand comparison with Serkin's Schumann. What's lacking is depth, a rare commodity in readings of tis warhorse, but Richter on EMI shows that depth and greatness are possible. Short of that summit, Entremont is exciting in his own right.