CD2/2008
Prague Symphony Orchestra
Zdeněk Košler
Václav Smetáček
Peter Katin, piano
The Royal Festival Hall, London
The Albert Hall, Nottingham
Recordings: 1967 & 1968
| This CD contains the only commercial recording of Peter Katin playing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no 3; see below for a reminiscence by Peter Katin about this performance |
International Record Review
“…a sparkling performance of the Third Piano Concerto by Prokofiev … [Peter Katin’s playing] combines agility, poetry and character most impressively, as well as bristling with rhythmic life.”
“…the recorded sound is splendid – natural and full…”
—International Record Review, April 2009
“[Peter Katin’s] playing is a combination of agility, poetry and elegance, full of rhythmic life and spirit.”
—Nigel Simeone, International Record Review, June 2012
Norman Lebrecht
“The sound is outstanding and the playing very fine.”
—Norman Lebrecht, private correspondence, 10th January 2010
Fanfare
“There’s a surprising richness to the full orchestral blend, Terry’s two-microphone technique triumphing at least in part over the notoriously dry acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall.”
“The pianist is assured, athletic, and technically immaculate … Highly energized and flawlessly performed, this [Prokofiev] is an interesting reading that deserves the enthusiastic applause it receives.”
—Barry Brenesal, Fanfare 33:5, May/June 2010
MusicWeb International
“[Peter Katin is] a splendid exponent, whose legerdemain is matched by an acute structural sense, and whose tonal qualities are laudable. The ensemble between pianist and orchestra is pretty solid. The piano’s treble sonorities against the high winds are a notably successful feature of a recording that in no small degree manages to bring some warmth to the hall’s acoustic.”
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, May 2010
“The centrepiece of this disc is Peter Katin’s performance of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto [… N]owadays it seems that he’s all but forgotten. This recording thus serves as a timely reminder of just what a sensational player he was … Katin’s skills are of a very high order[;] of its kind, his performance is matchless – thank heaven it was recorded, because he never played this work again … [I]it is all so incredibly exciting; in particular, the crescendi will have you edging nearer and nearer to the edge of your seat (so be warned). Geoffrey Terry’s recording […] is well up to his usual standard…”
—Paul Serotsky, MusicWeb International, June 2018
“The reason to buy the disc is Peter Katin’s only performance and recording of the Prokofiev 3rd Piano concerto. The notes describe his mixed feelings about the work but what comes over is a superbly confident display of virtuosity which quite rightly brings the house down. This is simply unmissable.”
—Dave Billinge, MusicWeb International, June 2018
WrightMusic
“This CD has my highest recommendation. Its major work is Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no 3 in the best performance I have ever heard, and I have 40 recordings of this work.”
—Dr David Wright, CD Review 41, 21st July 2011
| Track listing | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Walton: Scapino Overture | 8' 16" |
| Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto no 3 in C major, op 26 | 28' 13" | |
| 2 | I Andante – Allegro* | 9' 06" |
| 3 | II Tema con variazioni† | 9' 08" |
| 4 | III Allegro ma non troppo | 9' 59" |
| Zdeněk Košler • Peter Katin, piano • The Royal Festival Hall, London, 8th February 1967 | ||
| 5 | Miloslav Kabeláč: Reflections, op 49 | 15' 15" |
| Václav Smetáček • The Royal Festival Hall, London, 6th March 1968 | ||
| 6 | Maurice Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole | 16' 45" |
| 7 | Encore: Antonín Dvořák: Slavonic Dance no 15, op 72 | 2' 44" |
| Zdeněk Košler • The Albert Hall, Nottingham, 13th February 1967 | ||
| Total time: | 71' 12" | |
*Sample extract (control with the Sound Sample tab at the top of the page)
†This track may be heard on the Sampler CD
Peter Katin recalls playing Prokofiev
On hearing the Orchestral Concert CDs recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no 3, a little over forty years after the recording was made, Peter Katin gave his reaction to the performance and recalled how difficult he had found the work to play.