Gabriela Montero • Ravel

Montero: Piano Concerto No. 1, Latin Concerto; Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

Gabriela Montero (piano); Orchestra of the Americas/carlos Miguel Prieto Orchid Classics ORC100104 51:47 mins Hold on to your hats! There is rarely a lack of energy where Gabriela Montero is concerned and this disc featuring her own Piano Concerto is no exception. Subtitled ‘Latin’, Montero’s concerto draws on her Venezuelan heritage and that of South America in general, the first movement being a Mambo and the finale a Pajarillo. Montero identifies ‘disruptive’ elements reflecting

the ‘malevolent forces’ damaging the continent, but the overall impression is of an affirmatory, rambunctious jamboree that acts as a showcase here not only of her prodigious talents, but also those of the youthful musicians from The Orchestra of the Americas. The mysterious opening is especially striking and if the ensuing meld of European and Latin elements à la Gershwin feels familiar, it is inventive and spirited nonetheless.

With its own jazzy and subversive elements, Ravel’s Concerto in G is an apt partner for Montero’s, and this is a fine account. There is plenty of fizz in the outer movements, but it is the more hushed moments that are especially striking. The fragility and stillness when the harp becalms the first movement is magical.

The slow movement’s opening solo is relatively hard-edged and unsentimental, yet dissolves into a beautifully creamy trill, and the piano’s filigree curlicues around the orchestra are sublime in Montero’s hands. Carlos Miguel Prieto ensures the orchestral support is finely judged, and the woodwind solos are well-crafted. Christopher Dingle PERFORMANCE ★★★★ RECORDING ★★★★