While perhaps not quite the greatest recording of Tchaikovsky's Grand Sonata ever recorded -- there is, after all, the
Sviatoslav Richter -- this 1987 recording by
Mikhail Pletnev is surely the greatest recording
Pletnev ever made as a pianist. Because while some might vote for his stylish Scarlatti Sonatas or his staggering Bach Chaconne, in this recording,
Pletnev does more than merely turn in a brilliantly played performance; he realizes the greatness of a piece of music that has been heretofore nearly ignored. Because aside from the
Richter, there are no other convincing much less compelling recordings of the work and few listeners know the work at all. But this
Pletnev recording from 1987 is unbearably exciting and unbelievably compelling.
Pletnev has the technique to surmount Tchaikovsky's extravagant difficulties, but better yet, he expresses the sensitivity and the sentimentality of the melodies and, best of all, he articulates the strength and the integrity of the structures. As coupled here with
Pletnev's 1987 recording of Tchaikovsky's endlessly enchanting Children's Album, this disc is surely one of two essential recordings of Tchaikovsky's piano music. Moscow Studio Archives' digital sound is perhaps too resonant but clear enough and certainly quite evocative of place and time.