As pianist Kirill Gerstein discusses in this issue (see page 48), the new critical edition of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto contains numerous textual differences from the so-called standard edition we all know and love, such as arpeggiated opening piano chords and a restored cut in the finale’s central episode. Hearing the Andantino’s scherzo section as an allegro vivace assai rather than the traditional prestissimo imparts more breathing room and a genuinely balletic subtext to the cross-rhythmic piano-writing and lilting string melodies. But listeners waiting for the Allegro con spirito’s two-note phrase groups to playfully scamper may find Gerstein too sober and earthbound, although his shapely octaves and solo passages with bass-lines to the fore better showcase his mindful virtuosity. The clean and conscientious finale comes alive in the coda but falls short of the incisive soloist/orchestra sparring and sweeping dynamism distinguishing the better-balanced Argerich/Abbado reference version.

The piano is too forwardly mixed for the chamber-like repartee and elaborate scoring of Prokofiev’s Second Concerto to match the recent Wang/Dudamel recording’s visceral impact and textural diversity. For example, Dudamel shoves the Intermezzo’s pesante accents in your face, while the descending staccato clarinet triplets against the pungent horns fully register. The Berliners, by contrast, are more reticently blended. For his part, Gerstein seems happier flailing away in Prokofiev’s exotic fare than dishing out Tchaikovsky’s meat and potatoes: notice the pianist’s effortless negotiation of the finale’s extensive motoric passages or his forceful projection and colourful nuance in the thick first-movement cadenza, and you may well agree.