Piano Concerto in F / Rhapsody in Blue / Second Rhapsody / "I Got Rhythm" Variations

"This is one of the jazziest, liveliest, and most improvisatory Gershwin albums to arrive in a long time. With George Gershwin's orchestral music, there's a spectrum of possible interpretations, from performances which emphasize the classically trained side of the composer to those which shake off all the rules and dance. Freddy Kempf's approach, by contrast, is to soft-shoe through with elegance and old-time dance-hall grace. In the album's first few minutes, this seems like it will generate a stylistic clash between soloist and band, but these fears are set aside. Kempf can dazzle when he needs to, and he can also play sensitive to generate a contrast with Litton's orchestra, which dazzles nonstop. Then there's the concerto's finale, insanely fast and purely exciting." (MusicWeb)

"His first entry in the ambitious Concerto in F is a touch disappointing...But his playing after that combines dazzling articulation with a feeling for jazz rhythms and big Broadway-style tunes...Litton, no slouch himself as a Gershwin pianist, provides an idiomatic accompaniment with his Bergen Philharmonic, resplendently recorded with the piano nicely integrated into the texture." BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ****

"Freddy Kempf is totally efficient and well balanced in this recording, and in the finale his repeated-note panache is breathtaking, threatening to come unstuck - but it never does...The chief attraction of this CD is getting all these pieces together in convincing performances." Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

"This is a fun reading [of the Rhapsody], but Kempf doesn't sound quite as unbuttoned as in the later pieces. There's plenty of technical brilliance - staggering rapid passage work and articulation, but the emotional thrills are provided by Litton's Bergen forces... But stick with Kempf - it's a thrill to hear him slowly drop his guard and deliver a slow movement of melting beauty" The Arts Desk, 8th September 2012