Repertoire: The IDEAL Prokofiev Piano Concerto Cycle 

Dear Mr. Hurwitz. Your channel is one of the best things that happened this year. We desperately needed a great classical music critic to communicate with a wider public. I know that you did that for years on your site, but this raised your visibility to another level. We have Simon Schama for art/history, Roger Ebert for movies, and now you for music. A treasure to cherish. Thanks again.

“Artists don’t matter. Works matter. Composers matter.” Speaking as a composer, you’ve just brought my self esteem up a notch. 😁

Prokofiev Piano Concerto nr. 2. What a masterpiece! It is from another world.

Wonderful list. However, I just reconnected with the Samson François Prokofiev Fifth with Rowicki conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, and I have to say that I may well lean towards this one, not just because François is on great form, but the Philharmonia plays better for Rowicki than the Polish Radio Orchestra in the Richter recording. And as I wrote years ago about Katchen/Kertesz in the Third..."Argerich smokes....but Katchen inhales!". That probably would be my ideal Third. And I still think the Ancerl Second with Dagmar Baloghova as quite wonderful, but Bronfman/Mehta have the sonic advantage, of course. We are indeed spoiled for choice.

The number 5 is my favorite by far !! with S. Richter, its one of my favorite piano concertos of any composer. :-)

This is something I've already thought about. Liming myself to recordings on commercial labels only: 1. Moravec, Ancerl (Supraphon) - This recording catches a young Moravec with ideal energy and signature piano tone. Not the greatest sound quality, but it doesn't hurt the performances in my opinion. 2. Gutierrez, Jarvi (Chandos) - Gutierrez brings out all the devastating colors and weight in this concerto, and lacks no technique whatsoever. 3. Francois, Rowicki (EMI originally) - There's a kind of measured swing and dry French tone that Francois has that really makes his interpretation unique with his attention to all the punchy rhythms amongst all the more straightforward performances. 4. Krainev, Kitaenko (Teldec) - Krainev just exudes elegance and lyricism in this recording, maybe I should say wonderous? 5. Toradze, Gergiev (Philips) - Richter is actually my ideal here, but Toradze's a lot of fun in this concerto. He plays all sorts of phrases and accents differently from other pianists that really multiples the work's humor.

This is a fantastic channel and service to music lovers. Thank you for doing this with such fervor and in-depth analysis. I have always struggled a bit with Prokofiev, but this review (along with the symphony cycle review) has made me want to go and listen to more of him and figure it out.. Really looking forward to and hoping you will get into some cello concertos soon...so many artists/pieces/orchestras/performances from which to choose...

Current “ideal” list: 1. Gavrilov + Rattle (EMI): not quite as good as Argerich IMHO but very close. 2. Gutierrez + Järvi (Chandos): monumental cadenza 3. Janis + Kondrashin (Mercury): incredible clarity, which you can hear because the way Mercury miked Janis you are practically sitting on the piano bench next to him. Not that I’m complaining. 4. Paik + Wit (Naxos): to avoid having to lie about owning the Serkin… Paik’s complete cycle is excellent. 5. Samson François + Rowicki (EMI): Prokofiev with Gallic flair. Desert Island Prokofiev Piano Concerto Recording (one concerto recording only, forsaking all others): no. 3 with Argerich and Abbado.

I'm glad you talked about the magnificence of the G minor concerto; I always thought it a work of staggering genius, but you rarely hear anyone talking of it, alas. One version I was always really fond of was the elderly Cherkassky (sui generis) live on BBC Legends.

I love that you posted this on Halloween! I was sure, as you spoke, that you knew Byron Janis was one of the contenders for first place. His recording is one of my favorite recordings ever made, period. Equally, the Rachmaninoff 1st Concerto that is usually coupled with it. Although many dozens of recordings in my opinion hit the 100% mark, I have always loved the Byron Janis/Kiril Kondrashin above all others. I was stunned one day, stunned, to unexpectedly hear mild-mannered pianist Grant Johannesen perform it "live," expecting to be fully entertained but what I heard, instead, seemed to me an equally spectacular, perfect performance, every bit as awesome as Janis's recording. A magical thing occurred, years later, when as a violinist in a semi-professional orchestra in California, I was able to perform this great concerto WITH Grant Johannesen, and again, I could not tell the difference -- it hadn't been a fluke. I mention this only because of a rather wonderful story that happened during the rehearsal. A violinist next to me noticed, as did I, that the conductor was interpreting something -- I don't remember what -- wrong with the score. She was entirely correct, and she pointed it out to me: "He's conducting that wrong! It should be..." It wasn't the time or place to interrupt the rehearsal, so I quietly paid little attention. She insisted on making her point, so she walked over to Grant Johnnesen during a brief lull and pointed out the obvious error -- again, she was clearly correct and having witnessed Mr. Johannesen's flawless performance of the work, of course I knew that he, too, knew she was right. With the incredible air of a true gentleman, Grant Johannesen looked at the score and said, "The maestro is correct." She was beside herself, but I enjoyed the lesson.

Thank You DAVE - A pleasure listening to YOU expound on music I Love

I love the Kun Woo Paik cycle on Naxos. Artistically, it's surprisingly good !

Dave - rewatching this again - would love a BEST Prokofiev Piano Concertos video - would be fun. Just listening to Previn / Ashkenazy from my newly purchased Ashkenazy Concertos box.

For the second, my ideal interpretation would be a recent one: Yundi Li with Ozawa and the BPO. Incredible! Li is in full control and masters the cadenza like no one else.

I too was lucky enough to see Argiretch do Prokofiev Three with the BSO... the same week Leonard Bernstein left us... She was spectacular!

Was this about Prokofiev Concerti or a rant about historic performances and the plight of the recording industry? LOL Your tangents are entertaining.

I’ve been tremendously looking forward to this one Dave! Thanks for doing an ideal Prokofiev piano concerto cycle for your eager audience. I’m an oddball lover of leftie #4 myself, but I really do love the whole cycle. I think it’s the best piano concerto cycle in the 20th century (not that there are that many worthy composers who wrote 3 or more from 1900-2000). You’ve assembled a truly lovely cycle. Serkin and Ormandy is a wonderful #4. HOWEVER, my favorite is Mustonen and Lintu with the Finnish Radio Symphony. His 4th is imbued with both finesse and strength, and a great starting point for anyone who doesn’t think much of the work.

Great choices. I don't know Kempf's concertos but I like him in the Prokofiev sonatas he has done for BIS. I've always loved the old EMI set from Michel Beroff and Masur (!): great energy, and my favourite No. 2. When it comes to the Third, it is hard to choose. I have a soft spot for Katchen, but I first got to know it on LP from a fabulous disc of Nos. 3 and 5 with Samson Francois (what a pianist he was). I think his conductor was Rowicki, same as in Richter's 5th. I've never managed to get that on CD but I suppose it's in a Warner Francois box? I am impressed by Mustonen's recordings - though his detached touch means he misses some of Prokofiev's lyricism. That matters less in No.4, so he and Lintu would be my ideal choice there (in spite of Serkin, Fleisher etc).

I LOVE Viktoria Postnikova.... very elegant and energetic... ALSO LOVE your channel, Dave... keep 'em coming... you gives us something to think about...

Oh, I love Jorge Bolet on the Second Concerto. He brings an elegant edge to the whole thing.

No. 1 Kissen/Abbado Berlin DG No. 2 Rana/Pappano Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Academy Warner No. 3 Van Cliburn/Hendl Chicago Symphony RCA No. 4 Bavouzet/Noseda BBC Philharmonic Chandos (you took my favorite; maybe take Serkin's Bartok 1 when the time comes?) No. 5 Hollander/Leinsdorf Boston Symphony RCA

Ok had to have a little think about this and have a re-listen to some. So here goes for my choice: 1st Freire/Ahronovitch. A radio broadcast now on Decca that needs no apology in terms of playing or recording quality IMO. Miraculous technique from Freire, exciting and sensitive playing from all throughout particularly in the Andante assai movement. 2nd Ashkenazy/Previn. A charactful strong performance, very imposing (particularly in the Intermezzo). 3rd Katchen/Kertesz. The austere presentation of the clarinet and orchestral introduction to the 1st movement in this version has always struck me as perfect; an unfussy, poetic but also a terrifically exciting performance throughout. 4th Fleisher/Ozawa. They truly make it sound more substantial than it probably is! Wonderfully deft, humourous first movement and a particularly poignant 2nd. Oh and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are amazing. Original disc had great couplings too (Ravel & Britten). 5th Bronfman/Mehta. Stunning - the playing is alert, spirited and gorgeous (the Israel Phil amazing) recording quality magnificent. Thanks

I agree that constant recording of mainstream works have a devaluing effect. Its criminal that there are so many composers that hardly get any attention. I love labels likes CPO, Hyperion, etc. that have a different philosophy

Cto 1 Richter/Ancerl Cto 2 Henriot/ Munch (also includes a great Barber Medea) Cto 3 Graffman/Szell Cto 4 Fleisher/ Ozawa Cto 5 Ashkenazy/ Previn

My noob-level cycle so far: 1st: Argerich/Dutoit (need her ferocious virtuosity at least once here) 2nd: Baloghova/Ancerl (best sounding 2nd Concerto and pure poetry) 3rd: Graffman/Szell (it's going to make you search for more of Graffman and can't really describe this epic performance. It is intoxicating) 4th: Ashkenazy/Previn again... (sry, I had to pick them in the 2nd and here, there is no way around that. I need Previn's soft-edged, mellow accompaniment here.) 5th: Bronfman/Mehta (love the melody Mehta is getting here from the orchestra) -- Also have to plug Osborne's War Sonatas 6-8 here! They are epic!

I think, for me at least, historical recordings hold importance when they offer something which is uniquely different from our own modern performances; i.e. they follow a tradition now lost, have a unique sound or interpretation to them not offered anywhere else, -- which in itself can be derived from tradition -- or are so heads and tails above the competition that no one has supplanted or equaled them in decades. That last case is extremely rare, though. You can't really find the unique timbral qualities of the old Concertgebouw or Conservatoire orchestras anymore, and so their historical recordings hold a lot of value for me. The same goes for unique pianists, conductors, string quartets, and so on; do they offer something which is wholly unique and hasn't been provided elsewhere in modern recordings? Then I think that they still matter. Of course, just because something is unique doesn't mean it's good, but, in a sense, I think even uniquely bad recordings still matter, since we can learn from them. I do agree, though, that many times interest in historical recordings can approach an unhealthy fetishism. I know of more than a few people who refuse to listen to modern recordings of anything, which is a real shame when there are still so many great artists.

Terence Judd with Moscow/Lazarev gets my vote for No 3. I had so many favorites of no 3, Argerich, Janis, Beroff, etc and it was hard to pick one, and then I heard the Judd recording and … case closed for me!

I saw Vadym Kholodenko play #2 in San Diego. A visit from another dimension. He recorded it, but I haven't heard the disc.

Would be interesting an ideal cycle for piano sonatas as well..

Requesting the best recordings of the two Prokofiev violin concertos, which I love. Sorry but i have only heard Guiterrez on piano concertos 2 & 3, and the Naxos Kun Woo Paik on all 5, which I enjoy.

I watched the film “The Competition” laat night. Amy Irving aka Daniel Pollack does a blistering version of the Prokofiev 3rd! Have you done a video on great movies about classical music? This one has got to rank near the top!

My favorite cycle is a sleeper set- Michel Beroff with Kurt Masur conducting the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig on EMI.

Bronfman is great for Concerto no 2 but I like better Evgeni Kissin with Philharmonia and V. Ashkenazi - the rithms are great and the cadenza is absolutely fabulous. For the first I would chose Bronfman with Israel PO and Mehta and for the third Martha Argerich with Berlin PO and Abbado. The rest are history! :))))

Please can I adopt you? I enjoyed this so much and I would love to spend an evening listening and talking recordings with you!

Terrific choices by DH - I agree with response below, one of the best things that happened this year. Here are some alternative choices - No 1 - Katz LPO Boult No 2 Cherkassky, Philharmonia, Menges No 3 Katchen LSO Kertesz No 4 Browning Boston Leinsdorf No 5 - well, of course DH's choice is the one to go for so here is a horror choice Brendel (19 yrs old) Vienna Sternberg. Brendel tried unsuccessfully to get the CD reissue banned. Can I ask David Hurwitz if you have ever thought of doing a presentation of the most unlikely couplings of artist and work - my top choice so far would be Carlos Kleiber conducts George Butterworth English Idyll No 1 - however did it happen? It would be interesting to have a presentation of some such unlikely couples.

Im just going to be honest. My favorite recordings of all 5 concerti is Ashkenazy's. Ive experimented a lot with different recordings but nothing matches their rythmic excitement and clarity. All of his pedaling and tempo choices just feel perfect to me.

My favorites over the years have been: 1. Richter/Ancerl, Richter/Kondrashin, Katz/Boult & Graffman/Szell 2. Baloghová/Ancerl & Vinnitskaya/Varga (studio and live) 3. Janis/Kondrashin, Kapell/Stokowski, Graffman/Szell, Katchen/Kertész & Kapell/Doráti 4. Fleisher/Ozawa, Serkin/Ormandy & Browning/Leinsdorf 5. Richter/Rowicki

You'll have to take my word for it, but I actually did make an ideal list of Prokofiev Piano Concertos a few years ago on my iTunes Playlists. The reason was it was just so obvious. I had a clear favorite in each piece and none of the cycles were 100% satisfactory (though the Bronfman is also my favorite). So here's what I came up with: No. 1 - Gavrilov No. 2 John Browning No. 3 Kapell No. 4 Fleisher No. 5 Richter I know. I know. You picked Richter, too, but he's the obvious best choice.

What are your thoughts on Girgiev and Toradze for the 3rd piano concerto on Philips?

Alfred Hitchcock compared actors to cattle (tongue in cheek no doubt). I agree, it is the directors and possibly the writers that really make great films. I think it is the same for performers vs. composers, and singers and songwriters as well.

You should update this assessment. Focused on Amazon, some out of print recordings sell at extra-top price. Why?!

I wish David could talk more about his love-hate relation with Sviatoslav Richter. Richter has a cult following, as much as Furtwangler. I hope David could dismiss some myth around Richter just as he did in Furtwangler's Nazi 9th.

We need you to do the piano sonatas!

1. Graffman/Szell 2. Ashkenazy/ Previn 3. Argerich/Abbado 4-5 could care less

In nº1 - Better than Argerich and Dutoit only Argerich and Rabinovitch-Barakovsky - serious

Only one from a cycle. 1. Graffman/Szell -- soloist and conductor in perfect sympathy 2. Rana/Pappano -- full of vitality and exuberance 3. Cliburn/Hendl -- tempi are invariably just, not pushed. No percussive bravura here, just clarity and refined musicianship. 4. Fleisher/Ozawa -- you get some great couplings, too: Ravel and Britten 5. El Bacha /Ono -- mordant when it needs to be, deeply expressive when it can be. RE: Artists don't matter. Callas didn't matter? Toscanini?