Most parents will assert that siblings do not always play well together but classical music gives many examples to the contrary. Although violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, was the most famous member of his family, he performed and made several recordings with his sisters, Hephzibah and Yaltah both pianists. (Pianist Marcel Ciampi who taught both sisters, remarked that their mother’s womb ‘was a veritable conservatory’.)
This 2CD set brings together the Tchaikovsky recordings made individually by the three members of the Chung Trio – all, of course, outstanding musicians in their own right. All are partnered by Charles Dutoit and the recordings of the Piano Concerto and the Rococo Variations appear internationally on CD for the first time. Myung-Whun Chung is featured in the dual roles of conductor and pianist in the recording of Beethoven’s ‘Triple’ Concerto.
CD 1
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23*+
Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33*++
Myung-Whun Chung, piano+
Myung-Wha Chung, cello++
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Dutoit
CD 2
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Kyung-Wha Chung, violin
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Charles Dutoit
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Concerto in C major for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 56
Kyung-Wha Chung, violin
Myung-Wha Chung, cello
Myung-Whun Chung, piano & conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra
*FIRST INTERNATIONAL RELEASE ON CD
Recording Producers: Tom Mowrey (Piano Concerto, Rococo Variations); Ray Minshull (Violin Concerto); Helmut Burk (Triple Concerto)
Balance Engineers: Stanley Goodall, Colin Moorfoot, Martin Atkinson (Piano Concerto, Rococo Variations); John Dunkerley (Violin Concerto); Gernot von Schultzendorff (Triple Concerto)
Recording Locations: Royce Hall, Los Angeles, California, USA, 20 & 22 August 1979 (Piano Concerto, Rococo Variations); S. Eustache Church, Montreal, Canada, 9–17 July 1981 (Violin Concerto); The Colosseum: Main Hall, Watford, London, UK, April 1996 (Triple Concerto)
‘in a consistently refreshing and poetic reading of a warhorse concerto [Myung-Whun Chung] shows that his keyboard technique is as formidable as when he was a prizewinner in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. … The power of the playing is never in doubt … the central prestissimo [in the second movement] has rarely been recorded with a more genuine pianissimo. The finale sparkles’ (Piano Concerto) … an exquisitely beautiful account of the loveliest variation of all, the Andante sotenuto’ (Rococo Variations) Gramophone
‘exuberant … Chung adds even more fizz to the Tchaikovsky than she did on her glowing version with Previn right at the beginning of her career’ (Violin Concerto) Gramophone
‘The Chungs make a characterful trio and give a very fine account of the Triple Concerto which conveys a feeling of spontaneous chamber-playing, with the finale taken thrillingly fast, with sparkling results’
Penguin Guide to Compact Discs