January 1, 2000

Benjamin Britten, composer; Piano Concerto; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conducting; Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

I bought this CD because I didn’t know that English composer Benjamin Britten had written a piano concerto. But I did know that any performance by Leif Ove Andsnes would be worth the price. The surprise came when I found out that the EMI label had recorded these performances live in front of a concert hall full of people.

The Britten Piano Concerto doesn’t get played very often. That is a shame. From Mr. Andsnes’ dazzling performance, I hear a world class work, worthy of the attention of the world’s great pianists. Mr. Britten sounds, here, like a tamer, yet no less exciting, Sergei Prokofiev. The performance sparks and ignites from the get go with resplendent thematic flint flying from the keyboard and inside the presumably open-lidded piano.

Tower Records had a store in Annapolis up until 2006. On January 1, 2000, I went to Tower Records to see what they had to offer in the new millenium, and they presented me with this wonderful lineup. With this, New Year’s Day 2000 was a very happy day.

Credits: To Benjamin Britten, for creating a unique English voice in classical music.