Viktoria Postnikova spreads her prodigious talents evenly over Prokofiev’s most (No. 1) and least (Nos. 4 & 5) popular piano concertos. In the compact No. 1 she offers classical poise married to mercurially fleet finger work, especially in Prokofiev’s wittier passages. The pianist’s rhythmic acuity serves her well in the rather clunky declamations of the Fourth, while No. 5 finds her displaying much poetic nuance and emotional sensitivity in the rhapsodic larghetto. Postnikova finds an able ally in Rozhdestvensky, who proffers fully fleshed-out yet energized accompaniments with the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony. The 1985/87 recordings place the piano in a more or less believable aural perspective with the orchestra, although the early (for Melodiya) digital sound turns harsh at tutti passages. Still for the price, this Moscow Studio Archives release provides a low-risk way to hear this music played on its home turf.
