Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseev - Tchaikovsky - Piano Concertos (4CD BoxSet) (1994)

Box sets are perhaps most intelligible when they cover a cycle of one composer's works in the same genre. However, when labels repackage several previously released albums together for bulk and focus on a stellar performer as the unifying element, the results are often variable and puzzling. Such is the case with Virgin's four-disc set of Mikhail Pletnev's 1989-1994 recordings of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concertos, Nos. 1-3; the Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique"; Marche Slave; and various pieces for solo piano. The Concertos and the Concert Fantasy, Op. 56, would have been sufficient for a double-disc, and the remaining CDs could have been reissued separately, if demand warranted. Yet Pletnev is the real draw here, and Virgin points up his skills as a concert pianist, conductor, and recitalist; despite the prominence of Tchaikovsky's name on the box, his music is presented more as a vehicle for Pletnev than as the set's raison d'être. That said, this artist is exciting at the keyboard and vigorous as a conductor, and the Russian National Orchestra -- whether under Pletnev or Vladimir Fedoseyev in the concertos -- responds to the music with abundant energy and considerable intensity. Virgin's sound in the orchestral works is superb, though a little muted in the solo piano pieces.