This shouldn't take long. I must admit I had forgotten I'd ordered it so it was a nice surprise to come home to but it's a review one imagines one could write without playing the disc.Nemanja Radulovic is classical music's answer to Prince, not only how he looks but how he plays. It might look as if it's just flash but it isn't, he can play.
Once seen, never forgotten and I'm glad we did and we haven't.
The Tchaikovsky concerto is an obvious thing for him to do early, being rapturous, dramatic, emotional and with a trace of gypsy in it. So, of course, one expects fireworks except the concerto doesn't begin like that. But he is equally gorgeous and lyrical in the opening bars and, like anybody famous for one thing, it is compelling to realize that actually they are just as good at the other. The cadenza in the first movement and particularly the bars coming out of it are tremendous and it is an account as involving to listen to without the added distraction of his insouciant expression and dashing demeanour in person.
I'm no expert on recordings but some sound better than others. It sounds to me as if Nemanja is given some priority in the mix over the Istanbul Phil. I'm sure they are fine but I've not heard them mentioned in the same sentence as the Berliner or Vienna. Neither am I sure that Deutsche Grammophon are held in quite the same esteem as a record label as they were in the 1970's. But I'm not interested in that. I need a little bit of encouraging to get interested in Tchaikovsky these days but Nemanja was enough and it is paying big dividends. The Rococo Variations are a casual delight after the thrills of the concerto and, having lent out my old, cheap non-descript disc of it, I'm not bothered whether I get it back. It's almost as if Nemanja does himself a disfavour by looking so spectacular. He could dress like David Oistrakh and impress just as much. There will be several recent purchases that get filed on the shelves before this disc is demoted from current playlist to the reference section.
