Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5; Franck: Symphonic Variations

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Bernard Holland wrote in the New York Times: "It is hard to lose an important Romantic work for piano and orchestra, but the music business has done a pretty good job with Franck's 'Symphonic Variations.' With its sinuous, sighing half-step movement and splendid piano writing, this 15-minute piece ought to attract as much attention as Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano and D minor Symphony. … Decca had the nice idea of placing Franck with the Second and Fifth Piano Concertos of his contemporary Saint-Saëns. No one seems better fitted these days to take on this kind of repertory than Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and he plays here with the equally suitable Charles Dutoit conducting the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Next to Franck's dark, gothic moods the two concertos here glide by handsomely. Saint-Saëns, probably the most disarming child prodigy since Mozart, knew everything there was to know about writing and playing music, and knew it at an early age. Berlioz, on encountering the young genius, said that he 'suffered from lack of inexperience.' … This is a valuable recording" ("Classical Recordings," 1/13/08).