Considering his pedigree, it's hard to know why Russian-born virtuoso
Yefim Bronfman hasn't recorded
Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto before this. He is, after all, a pianist who has recorded most of the Russian standard piano repertoire: concertos by
Rachmaninov,
Prokofiev, and
Shostakovich plus
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and even
Stravinsky "Trois Mouvements" from Pétrouchka. But it took until this 2007 Sony disc for him to get to
Tchaikovsky's First, the godfather of all Russian concertos. In the event, the results are grand in scale but surprisingly shallow in effect.
Bronfman has the technique to bring the work off: fortissimo 10-fingered chords, double octaves in contrary motion, and sixty-fourth notes runs for both hands all sound suitably thrilling. But the work's more tender passages, its more lyrical themes, and especially its gorgeous Andantino semplice, while all pretty, are curiously inexpressive.