SHOSTAKOVICH
Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2
CBC Radio Orchestra
Mario Bernardi, conductor
Jens Lindemann, trumpet
CBC Records SMCD 5216

"(There is) much to enjoy in this hour-and-a-quarter of music. … The performance of the Concerto no. 1 is simply splendid. While other recordings have emphasized the piece's grotesqueness or gloomy undercurrents, Cheng and Bernardi take a light, crisp, witty, neo-classical approach. … The Concerto no. 2 is less often performed than the no. 1, and when it's given a performance as polished and exciting as this one, one can only wonder why."
- American Record Guide

"Cheng nicely gauges the various levels of bite and pearly beauty required by these fascinating works. … (and) creates an aura of romance in the Andante of the no. 2, possibly the most tender music Shostakovich ever wrote. … A fine Shostakovich sampler."
- The Gazette (Montreal)

"This is a winner on all accounts. I can't remember Angela Cheng ever playing better. She's clear and articulate with beautiful, musical shaping and phrasing, and a kind of restrained energy. There's a brilliance to the recorded sound that perfectly presents and enhances all the musical elements. The full five stars."
- "Sound Advice", CBC Radio Two

"In the words of film director Morris Panych, 'Nothing can equal the pathos, the scope and the romantic sweep of Shostakovich,' and this recording surely proves that. … The soloists, pianist Angela Cheng and trumpeter Jens Lindermann, are excellent. "
- La Scena Musicale

1. Lyric waltz [2:30]

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1 OP. 35
2. Allegro moderato [6:10]
3. Lento [7:44]
4. Moderato [1:37]
5. Allegro con brio [6:40]

6. Lyric waltz [2:43]
7. Dance [3:13]
8. Waltz [2:36]

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2, OP. 102
9. Allegro [7:38]
10. Andante [6:42]
11. Allegro [5:28]

12. Waltz [2:08]
13. Romance [2:55]
14. Romance [2:50]
15. Waltz [2:29]
16. Allegro [4:41]
17. Waltz [3:59]