# Khachaturian - Piano Concerto in Db Major, Op.38



## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

I've been purchasing new music every week for years from Hyperion and Presto Music, always adding to my vast collection of obscure virtuoso piano works.

I was going through my music archive a few days ago, and I noticed that I had almost nothing in my Khachaturian folder. Naturally, I decided to purchase a recording of his piano concerto.

I decided on this recording by Alicia de Larrocha and the London Philharmonic from 1972 -

https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...an-piano-concerto-franck-symphonic-variations









I cannot recommend this album enough, this performance absolutely blew me away. I've been listening to it daily since I purchased it; it sounds so fantastic at absurdly high volume levels on my living room sound system. Anybody who enjoys gloriously bombastic 20th century piano music should buy this immediately. $4 on Presto Music, including the Franck Symphonic Variations; you can't go wrong.

Apparently, many recordings of this concerto do not use the musical saw in the 2nd movement; this recording does indeed feature the musical saw.

This is a very unique concerto, the only other piece of music I was vaguely reminded of at times was Erik Chisholm's Piano Concerto #2, the "Hindustani" (another fantastic 20th century piano concerto that I highly recommend purchasing) -

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67880

I'm posting this because it seems that Khachaturian's piano concerto is relatively neglected. Does anyone else here have particular affection for the piece? Any favorite recordings?

Even better- does anyone know of piano concerti similar to this one or the Chisholm "Hindustani" concerto?

Anyway, I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks of this wonderful piece of music.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I love the Khachaturian PC - blissfully funky with lots of cool sounds and textures. And yes, the musical saw must be used! I’ve heard there is an old recording with William Kapell that is supposed to be worthwhile.


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## Gray Bean (May 13, 2020)

I second the motion! That is a fantastic album. Both works get first class performances.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

When I was a kid my parents had an LP of the Khatchaturian 3rd symphony with Stokowski and the CSO. A marriage made in heaven.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

When anyone tells me they hate 20th c music I loan them Khachaturian: the violin concerto, the suites from Gayane, Masquerade, and Spartacus and this piano concerto. He sure knew how to write music that instantly connects with the heart. Tuneful, soulful, exciting - what a composer!

I love this concerto - yes, it's bombastic and even vulgar. But it's so much fun. The music saw, the flexitone, adds a weird touch that is utterly unique. I've played in the orchestra for this concerto twice - once with the saw, once without. Not easy to find someone who can play that part! I grew up with the De Laroccha recording and now have it on a Decca CD. There are newer recordings and maybe it's time to see what they've been doing.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Add my name to the list of big fans of the Khachaturian piano concerto, with flexatone. I have the Orbelian CD. A wonderful over-the-top work, with a middle movement of delicious languor tinctured with that shivery flexatone.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

I like it and can totally understand why it made Khachaturian famous in the west. Wild but well-made, and it has some unique moments.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I do quite like the slow movement. I am not sure I like the last movement very much.


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## Guest (May 21, 2020)

This is quite an interesting piano concerto. I haven't heard it for years but it is the one where he uses the Theremin. (I note that one poster earlier has referred to this as Flexatone. I hadn't heard that expression before.)

Here's a performance of the Concerto available on U-Tube and it does sound like the ballet scores by Khachaturian.






Spoiler alert: for me the piano concerto as a genre has become rather effete!! I listen to very very few of them these days.


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## Joachim Raff (Jan 31, 2020)

Yes, I like Khachaturian very much. His PC demands a great pianist to treat the piece with respect. Wang produces some of the best playing with a fiery and dramatic performance. With superb balance and modern clear recording this takes some beating.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I am a great fan of Khachaturian but his concertos, all four of them, fail to launch with me. The only one I have enjoyed over time was the one for flute which is, I believe, a rewrite of the violin concerto. Otherwise I have tried the violin, piano and cello concertos repeatedly by different performers to no avail.

FYI there is a historic version of the piano concerto by Williiam Kapell that is much loved over generations. It was recorded 1946 so allowances must be made for sound. I haven't listened in many years; with today's technology someone probably has reinvented it in better sound that what RCA once offered. I know there is a Naxos version.

If you enjoy Khachaturian and want to try his other music he wrote exceptional ballet music -- Gayane and Spartacus are most worthwhile -- and his second symphony subtitled "The Bell" (for obvious reasons) is in league with other Russian symphonies written during World War II. 

I also enjoy his Third Symphony but most people think it's just a lot of noise. A lot of other people think that description fits everything by him.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Christabel said:


> This is quite an interesting piano concerto. I haven't heard it for years but it is the one where he uses the Theremin. (I note that one poster earlier has referred to this as Flexatone. I hadn't heard that expression before.)


I am not aware of a performance of the concerto using a Theremin. Supposedly Khachaturian wanted to use a genuine musical saw, as it somewhat mimicked the sound of an indigenous Armenian instrument, but couldn't locate a decent player. So he instead "settled" on the Flexatone. I remember this nugget from the liner notes of a old no-name LP of the concerto I had decades ago. I don't remember the pianist but it was a Czech orchestra and, I think, conductor.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Christabel said:


> Spoiler alert: for me the piano concerto as a genre has become rather effete!! I listen to very very few of them these days.


I wonder what you mean. Do you include the great piano concertos of the past - Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on - or are you suggesting that your problem with the genre is only for more recent attempts? And, if the latter, when do you think the problem started (after Bartok and Prokofiev; after Lutoslawski ... more recently)?


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Enthusiast said:


> I wonder what you mean. Do you include the great piano concertos of the past - Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on - or are you suggesting that your problem with the genre is only for more recent attempts? And, if the latter, when do you think the problem started (after Bartok and Prokofiev; after Lutoslawski ... more recently)?


I hear that from people occasionally, I usually remedy the issue by recommending some of my most treasured recordings of obscure piano concerti. I wouldn't look to recommend the Khachaturian to somebody having difficulty with the piano concerto genre, as much as I love it.

Personally, I rarely listen to Beethoven; and I almost never listen to Mozart, Brahms, or Chopin. The uber-mainstream classical and romantic concerti are great when you first discover them; but they aren't nearly as interesting as the piano concerti of Scharwenka, Dohnányi, Prokofiev, Bowen, Liszt, Ginastera, or Bortkiewicz; to name a few off the top of my head.

@Christabel - Here's a list of ten piano concerti I'd highly recommend if you've been having difficulty with the genre:

- Scharwenka: Piano Concerto #2 in C Minor, Op.56 (Markovich/Järvi/Chandos)

- Dohnányi: Piano Concerto #1 in E Minor, Op.5 (Roscoe/Hyperion)

- MacDowell: Piano Concerto #2 in D Minor, Op.23 (Prustman/Naxos)

- Marx: Romantic Piano Concerto in E Major (Lively/Sloane/Naxos)

- Bowen: Piano Concerto #4 in A Minor, Op.88 (Driver/Hyperion)

- Scharwenka: Piano Concerto #1 in Bb Minor, Op.32 (Wild/Leinsdorf/BSO)

- Chisholm: Piano Concerto #2, "Hindustani" (Driver/Hyperion)

- Dohnányi: Piano Concerto #2 in B Minor, Op.42 (Roscoe/Hyperion)

- Prokofiev: Piano Concerto #3 in C, Op.26 (Béroff/Masur/EMI)

- Scharwenka: Piano Concerto #3 in C# Minor, Op.80 (Markovich/Järvi/Chandos)

Yes, I really love Xaver Scharwenka. His Piano Concerto #2 in C Minor, Op.56 is one of the most stunningly passionate, immediately accessible, and thoroughly enjoyable piano concerti ever written. I love the old Michael Ponti recording, but the heaviness of the fire and brimstone in the Markovich recording makes it my favorite.

@Christabel - If you're going to listen to only one of those ten concerti, make it the Scharwenka #2. If that doesn't hook you on the late-romantic and early 20th century piano concerto genre; I don't know what will. The MacDowell #2, Op.23 shouldn't be missed either; although it is very different from the Scharwenka #2. The Marx E Major concerto is my favorite piece of recorded music in history, but it's not as accessible as the Scharwenka #2 or the MacDowell #2.

Xaver Scharwenka wrote some of the most "crowd pleasing" piano music in history. I will never wrap my head around the fact that Scharwenka is considered an obscure composer, and that his concerti are not a staple of the mainstream repertoire.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> I am not aware of a performance of the concerto using a Theremin. Supposedly Khachaturian wanted to use a genuine musical saw, as it somewhat mimicked the sound of an indigenous Armenian instrument, but couldn't locate a decent player. So he instead "settled" on the Flexatone. I remember this nugget from the liner notes of a old no-name LP of the concerto I had decades ago. I don't remember the pianist but it was a Czech orchestra and, I think, conductor.


I did a little digging: the LP was a Parliament issue, 1962. Pianist: Antonin Jemelik; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Alex Klima. It was a wonderful recording of the Khachaturian, with some Scriabin solo piano, which the sole Amazon reviewer, giving the LP 5 stars, said were some of the best he'd heard. You can buy the old vinyl through Amazon for about $95!


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## S P Summers (Dec 23, 2016)

Joachim Raff said:


> Yes, I like Khachaturian very much. His PC demands a great pianist to treat the piece with respect. Wang produces some of the best playing with a fiery and dramatic performance. With superb balance and modern clear recording this takes some beating.
> 
> View attachment 136410


I'm skeptical of any recordings with Peter Oundjian ever since I saw him live conducting Beethoven's 9th with the TSO. Maybe it was an off-night, or maybe I just didn't like his interpretation of the symphony; but that performance left me with a very poor impression of the conductor. The strangest part of the performance was bringing the soloists onto the stage after the 2nd movement, prompting an applause break in between the 2nd and 3rd movements; therefore interrupting the musical continuity. It was very odd, and totally unnecessary. Is this common in performances of Beethoven's 9th, or was it just a bizarre performance decision by Oundjian?

I generally avoid Asian pianists as a rule of thumb too, but I wouldn't dismiss her without giving her a chance. I *might* pick this up because I love Tchaikovsky's 2nd piano concerto; much more so than the 1st. I'm curious to see if Oundjian's conducting works better with this repertoire than it did with the Beethoven.

How would you rate this performance of the Tchaikovsky PC#2 compared to Stephen Hough's beloved live recording with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on Hyperion?


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