Sensitive, thoroughly considered performances, but offering mixed rewards in the final analysis. Where Postnikova (Erato) and Krainev (RCA) tend to see the Schnittke Concerto as built from concrete slabs of raw emotion, Israela Margalit is more concerned with familiar pianistic values of beauty of sound and musical shaping—still all very intense, but with due acknowledgment to precedents in the romantic tradition. If this makes the neo-Prokofiev-cum-Honegger toccata section (from 7'20'') and the big final cadenza less over-whelming, it offers in compensation a degree more overall cohesion. Newcomers to Schnittke may also find this approach easier on the ear, especially as the Koch recording is rather more atmospheric than its rivals (I would actually have liked the string orchestra to have been balanced rather closer, and it seems to me that the overall perspective changes in places, for instance from 1'53'', just before the first orchestral entry, and from 7'16'', just before the toccata).
The solo Shostakovich pieces respond well to Margalit's sophisticated, supple and capricious readings. But in the First Concerto her manner goes more against the grain. Over-pedalling is the first problem, followed by lack of ideal definition in fingerwork, cavalier rhythm, and, in the finale especially, lethargic tempo. The abiding impression is of a lack of swagger—at best she suggests the contrived abandon of an alcohol-free party. Again the recorded balance favours the piano, sometimes at the expense of the all-important trumpet. My central recommendation remains Alexeev (bargain-price CfP), with Kissin on RCA as a hyper-volatile alternative.'