Composers: Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky
Compositions: Piano Concertos Nos 2 and 1
Performers: Haochen Zhang p, Lahti SO/
Dima Slobodeniouk
Catalogue Number: BIS BIS2381

The expression ‘man versus piano’ is the perfect description of Prokofiev’s extraordinary Second Piano Concerto, in which the soloist barely has time to breathe. Haochen Zhang somehow manages to tame this beast but never at the expense of finesse, imagination and, of course, sheer heft. The soloist’s first utterance is marked narrante, as if to imply a tale is about to be told and that’s how Zhang plays it.