Prokofiev: The Five Piano Concertos

During the 1970s, Vladimir Ashkenazy recorded virtually the entire standard piano repertoire, largely successfully. Then he turned to conducting, at which he's steadily become more successful. Although his initial efforts on the podium were not greeted with universal acclaim, you've got to respect the fact that he moved onto something new rather than attempting to revisit the same music again and risk not doing it nearly as well. Among his complete editions was this set of Prokofiev piano concertos, and they are among the best things that he did. At two discs for the price of one, it's a fine way to acquire all of these exciting works. --David Hurwitz