Grazyna Bacewicz: Piano Sonata No. 2; Quintets Nos. 1 & 2
341185
Grazyna Bacewicz: Piano Sonata No. 2; Quintets Nos. 1 & 2 is a 2011 Deutsche Gramophon recording pianist Krystian Zimmerman. Jan Popis has written the music notes. A very interesting and intriguing recording. I thoroughly enjoyed this recording. Highly recommended and well done Mr. Zimmerman! 5/5.
1706323
I welcome unique programs of piano music and this one has personal resonance. While it appears to center on the most famous Russian migr in music historyRachmaninovit also highlights the untold story of another case of migrs who left the Soviet Union after being made persona non grata: Elena Firsova and Dmitri Smirnov. They were denounced, along with Gubaidulina and Denisov, by the Union of Soviet Composers, ostensibly for allowing their works to be performed at a music festival in the West. Tikhon Khrennikov, that cretin extraordinaire who wrecked the careers of so many musicians, ridiculed their music as noisy mud and effectively blacklisted them. The married couple Firsova and Smirnov fled to the UK with their two children, one of whom is the present performer, giving the program a personal edge that I find interesting.

Elena Firsova (b. 1950) is a fine composer in her own right, whose enormous output has yet to be explored. Her piece For Alissa is hardly a warm tribute one expects from mother to daughter. Atonal, expressionist, and haunting, it is a pessimistic work confined to a mood of quiet desolation, ripped asunder by explosive outbursts. It even features a sinister march in the lower bass, very reminiscent of Liszts Funerailles. Dmitri Smirnov impressed me with his Piano Sonata No. 6 inspired by the poetry of William Blake. Roughly twenty minutes in length and cast in two movements, it is a harrowing work of emotional severity. The opening Lento alternates with volcanic violence and bleak ruminations in the high registers. Moments of tremendous power and anger emerge in the climax. Things barely lighten up in the Capriccioso movement, which is equally stern and intense, but indulges faster flurries of activity and sardonic ideas redolent of Shostakovich.

Rachmaninovs original 1913 version of the Second Piano Sonata has been recorded by some of the greats, including Horowitz and Ashkenazy. Others have taken to playing the revised version of 1931, in which Rachmaninov makes some textural changes and cuts roughly five minutes of content, mainly transitional material. Alissa chooses the original version, which is recorded less often and, in my view, sounds better with the transitional material intact. Alissas performance does not surpass Horowitz and Ashkenazy, but its an impressive rendition exhibiting fine pacing, sensitivity, and articulation. I much prefer it to Hamelins and Weissenbergs devil-may-care whirlwind approach. Alissa is at her peak in the second movement, in which she achieves wondrous poetic expression and expands phrases rather than compressing them. I think shes weakest in the finale because of an overly cautious approach. This movement needs exorbitant muscle and musicality with just the right amount of speed, which come together better in the hands of Konstantin Scherbakov.

Alissa is well-equipped at handling the Corelli Variations. Her performance is nimble, expressive, and displays exquisite dynamic control with a taut technique to boot. I really have no quibbles at all with her ebullient interpretation. Alissa concludes the program with her own piece, Lune Rouge, an evocative and relaxed post-Messiaen work of high register tremolos and impressionist sonorities.

Bottom line: This recording is of primary interest for the trio of works by Alissa Firsova and her parents, whose somber atonal music has expressive weight and purpose. The Rachmaninov performances are delightful bonuses.
4200977
Both of these String Quintets are the last of Mozart's major chamber works, and how wonderful they are. K.593 in D Major was written in December 1790, and is played very well by the augmented Eder Quartet. Even though Mozart is entering the last year of his tragically short life, the music is consistently great. The acoustic of this recording is full and natural, definitely enjoyable. Mozart's last Quintet, K.614 in E flat, composed in April 1791, is also full of wonderful turns of expression, as he so effectively uses the added second viola for some enjoyable tonal delights. This is the best of the three volumes of Mozart's String Quintets on Naxos. Volume 1 is good, but Volume 2 is disapponting. The Penguin Guide gave this third volume a 3-star review (outstanding). You will not be disappointed if you purchase this excellent, nicely-priced CD from the critically-acclaimed Naxos label.
1566335
This collection of piano solos is amazing both as a bargain and as a sample of Martha Argerich's pianism. She combines lyricism with a virtuosity which reminds me of a coiled spring. It is so convenient to have this boxed collection that I bought it although I already had recordings included on three of the eight discs and the duplications served as welcome presents to family music lovers. Martha Argerich must be one of the top five pianists of our time.
1125937
Here's the latest three-disc report from Martha  Argerich on what she did last summer, which is to play chamber music at her festival in Lugano. The cast of friends includes familiar names like the Capucons freres and Lilya Zilberstein, with a sprinkling of new names. The box is pasteboard instead  of plastic, breaking up the look of a collection if you have all the previous installments.  Otherwise, the main thing to notice is that the famed Argentine pianist, who is about to turn seventy this year (with completely undiminished energies) is heard in her two abiding passions: piano duets and obscure pieces by Robert Schumann, mostly from his late period, which is considered his weakest.

These two preoccupations dominate the contents of these CDs, each crammed with 80 min. of music. The two solo works by Schumann -- the Violin Sonata no. 1 Op. 105 and the Adagio and Allegro Op. 70 -- feature Argerich as pianist and one of the Capucons as soloist. I suppose these selections add something to Argerich's campaign to rehabilitate late Schumann, but the music isn't strong. As for piano duets, we get no less than four, and for listeners like me who can take or leave this leftover species of Victorian parlor music, there is the irritating addition of Stavinsky's Firebird Suite arranged for three pianos. The execution is marvelous, but come on.

As a novelty we are given a concerto, the Chopin First with Argerich as soloist. She already has two commercial recordings of this work, an early one with Abbado on DG and a later one with Dutoit on EMI.  Great as she is, did we need a third? Which leaves room for very little in the way of other chamber music. There are three piano quintets. The one from Granados has a delightful whirlwind finale and many touches of Spanish flair. The Korngold is a voluptuous, wandering piece that like everything else, gets played to the hilt. The Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, played by Argerich and her once-husband and musical partner Stephen Kovacevich, is a masterpiece, but it, too, was already part of her discography.  I have loved the recordings of the Shostakovich Piano Trio no. 2 and Piano Quintet led so magnetically by Argerich, so the work that I was most excited by here was the Piano Quintet Op. 108  of the brilliant, prolific Alfred Schnittke. Spare and haunted, the work is strongly influenced by Shostakovich's example. Zilberstein replaces Argerich as pianist here, and good as she is, there's no substitute for genius. It was a strong reading anyway.

No other major label is issuing chamber music of this variety, spice, and brilliance. We have Argerich to thank for what is now well over twenty CDs of fascinating music-making. This edition is just as welcome as the rest (if only they would sneak the second piano out of the room).

Here are the complete contents:

Bartk:
 Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion, BB 115, Sz. 110

Brahms:
 Variations on a theme by Schumann for four hands, Op. 23

Chopin:
 Rondo in C major for two pianos, Op. 73

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

Martha Argerich (piano)

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Jacek Kaspszyk

Gershwin:
 Porgy and Bess Fantasy

Gershwin/Grainger Fantasy for Two Pianos

Granados:
 Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 49

Korngold:
 Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 15

Liszt:
 Les Prludes, symphonic poem No. 3, S97

Schnittke:
 Piano Quintet, Op. 108

Schumann:
 Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105

Renaud Capucon (violin), Martha Argerich (piano)

Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op. 70

Stravinsky:
 The Firebird Suite

version for 3 Pianos by Carlo Maria Griguoli
4478067
Pianist, Jenny Lin is methodically amassing an interesting discography, much of the material unusual and not well covered on disc. Her latest release is no exception. Certainly, there are the usual chestnuts included in a compilation of this nature, but there is more: Turina, Lourie, Paderewski, Glazunov, Griffes and Glinka. The material covers a broad swathe of sensibilities and styles. While one can take exception to some of Ms. Lins interpretive decisions, there is no denying her solid  technique. A touch more poetry and passion would have catapulted this collection to the top tier. As it stands, its quite good and well recorded. Recommended tracks: Glazunov (#4); Turina (#10); Lourie (#11) and Griffes (#13).
1125722
This new disc, well-recorded in the Westvest Church, Schiedam in 2013, features the former Ukrainian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk playing a contrasting program of two works, both linked to imagery but of a completely different nature. The pianist has established an enviable reputation since early competition successes and reinforced by two DVDs both recorded live in Miami in 2005 and 2007. Those two recitals were notable for fearless bravura coupled with musically sensitive awareness and recognising both of those attributes are key to appreciating what he brings to these two works.

The opening Mussorgsky Pictures, here heard in their original form for solo piano as composed by Mussorgsky, have a significantly different effect upon the listener to that of the more regularly played orchestral version orchestrated by Ravel and the less well-known version by orchestrated Stokowski. Both of those make full use of extensive orchestras to achieve orchestral textures not possible on the piano but not, conversely, so revealing of the actual musical thought conveyed by the clearer textures written by Mussorgsky when put into practice by a skilled pianist. That Gavrylyuk is such a pianist rapidly becomes apparent as the journey through the gallery of images progresses.

Without dissecting every individual movement it is possible to select examples to indicate key features of the interpretation. Bravura is immediately apparent in the blisteringly dramatic delivery of the Gnomus where these gnomes are far from docile. Baba-Yagas hut (14) is equally dramatic and both require fearless bravura. Mystery and grandeur are equally well conjured up in the concluding Gate of Kiev as well as the Catacombs section (13). Tuileries (6), the hens and cockerel (9) and Limoges (12) are alive with bustle while Bydlo has an appropriately heavy tread implying weight. The duet between the rich and poor Jews (10) is clearly characterised. This is a superbly realised account and is now arguably one of the most striking versions available for collectors.

The Kinderszenen by the young Schumann are a selection of 12 recollections of childhood where the recollections are specifically conceived as those by adults and for adults. This is not intended as childrens music for children. Indeed the level of technical expertise as evidenced in the faster movements, here played with considerable flashing virtuosity, and contrasting stillness requiring equally virtuosic control over touch as in Dreams (13) or the Poet Speaks (the concluding 12) are probably far beyond such skill or comprehension. Gavrylyuk delivers these pieces as a young man so there is plenty of energy and sensitivity on display within those boundaries. No attempt is made to imitate or match the familiar super-sensitive phrasing of a Rubinstein or a Radu Lupu in the most reflective sections but there is a compensating sharp accuracy of the more outwardly demonstrative quicker sections. This is a thoughtfully fresh and revealing account from a younger perspective than some.

The supplied notes are, as is becoming typical of this label, very informative and highly readable. They give plenty of detail as regards the music, its background and its construction and conclude with good biographical information about the performer. They amount to a textbook demonstration as to what such notes should be about and expose the lack of such a facility in larger labels which should know better  and often did do better in their original versions of re-released recordings.

The recording venue in the Netherlands is a popular venue for Piano Classics and the recording team are now delivering a reliably good quality product with good tonal reproduction set within believable acoustics and sound-stage. Such familiarity of the recording venue has obvious and sonically clear advantages and the Mussorgsky Pictures particularly benefits from such a wide ranging reproduction of texture and dynamic.

Gavrylyuk delivers yet another first class disc and easily capable of favourable comparison at the highest level throughout.
3829484
A treasure for any piano aficionado.  All performances are live, and this is Horowitz "in the moment of re-creation", rather
than on more sterile studio recordings.  Many gems; performances previously released of music most of us never heard
him play live or on records; and the versions of compositions on previously released studio recordings feel very different
than the studio recordings; a high degree of spontaneity, sometimes very relaxed; sometimes impetuous; missed notes in
some otherwise very beautiful performances, but the mistakes are more sensed than heard, he covers them so quickly,
and they have no impact on his communication of the music.  I've listened to the first 14 or 15 CDs, have listened to
several of them twice, and going through the entire box in chronological order.  Am up to his 1966 recitals.  Exquisite
performances of Mozart's K. 331 A major sonata, and 2 Haydn sonatas.  A performance of the Chopin Bb minor sonata,
warmer and more spontaneous than his great studio recording from the early '60s; a beautiful Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise, more spontaneous than the technically more perfect studio recording.  A performance of Chopin's
Polonaise-Fantasie that is more relaxed than his old RCA release and beautifully done, much more natural than his
other versions; less exaggerated dynamics.  These CDs are a feast for pianists!
1227087
A collection of solo piano pieces from Andrs Schiff, recorded February, 1986 at the Mozart Saal, Konzerthaus, Vienna. I do not believe that Decca has re-released these recordings since they were first issued on this CD. The contents are:

Variations (12) on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman", K. 265/300e
Andante 'fr eine Walze in eine kleine Orgal' (for Mechanical Organ) in F Major, K. 616
Rondo in A Minor, K. 511
Adagio for Glass Harmonica in C Major, K. 356/617a
Minuet in D Major, K. 355/576b
'Eine kleine Gigue' in G Major, K. 574
Adagio in B Minor, K. 540
Variations (10) on Gluck's "Unser dummer Pbel meint", K 455

A total of 72 minutes, a very high quality recording, including a brief essay describing each of the works, written by John Arthur and provided in English, French, and German.
2237211
Rubinstein's interpretation of these mazurkas shows his deep and rich understanding of these great body of work.
Highly recommended to all students and/or performers of all of Chopin's other works. If one wants to understand Chopin style and musical thought  better, one should listen to his mazurkas.
2855673
Beethoven: Favourite Piano Sonatas is a 1993 compilation album featuring the recordings with pianist Alfred Brendel from the early and late 1970's. Julian Haylock has written the music notes. Truly an amazing performance by Mr. Brendel. Well done indeed! Highly recommended. 5/5.
2560111
This disc is a continuation of the Penderecki recording project from the Polish label DUX. Like the rest of the series, it features Polish artists performing the works of their countryman Krzysztof Penderecki.

This volume features an interesting mix of his chamber music. It includes his Cadenza for solo violin, Per Slava for solo cello (written for Rostropovich), Capriccio -per Radovan for solo horn, and Preludium for solo clarinet.

The major piece on the release is the Sextet for clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and piano. This 30-minute work was finished in 2000 and reflects Penderecki's current stripped-down style of composition. The piano is mostly limited to a single line, giving the work a certain amount of lightness. Repeated notes and figures build upon each other as the work progresses.

I wouldn't recommend this disc as an introduction to the composer's work. For those only familiar with Penderecki's orchestral music, however, the works here can be revelatory. The solo instrumental pieces especially reduce Penderecki's music to its very essence. And the sextet shows how it all works once it's reassembled.
2426464
Although EMI gives top billing to the vivacious Piano Concerto #1, that youthful riff must bow to the Piano Quintet, arguably the composer's single greatest chamber work along with the Piano Trio #2. It's powerful, richly melodic, and instantly grabs the listener's attention. Even someone who doesn't know the work will find Argerich and friends in top form, full of vitality and sympathy for the music. They dig in with the total commitment we've come to expect from Argerich's circle in live performance.

There hasn't been a truly outstanding version since Richter and the Borodin Qt.; one could go back to the mono era for the composer himself as pianist and the great Beethoven Qt. This new version meets that stratospheric standard -- it's astonishing how delicate and intelligent Argerich is in her handling of the mercurial piano line -- and in terms of recorded sound is the best version of all.

As for the piano concerto, Argerich's style is forceful and sinewy. Clearly she favors the piece -- she recorded it once before on DG -- and she makes a success of her large-scale, rather serious approach. Personally, I miss the wit and springy lightness that Salonen and Bronfman bring (on Sony). That CD is also filled up with the Piano Quintet, where Bronfman is joined by the Juilliard Qt. in a fine performance. But this star-studded ensemble from EMI sounds more potent, and even with his impeccable Russian credentials, Bronfman isn't as impetuous and dramatic as Argerich. In anya event, it's a plasure to welcome the latest in a strong line of readings over five decades.
4549639
This is a series of musical letters two composers have written to one another.  It is meant to be played with two adjoining pianos. The "letters" build on common themes, all in moods that are at once romantic and minimalist.  I liked most of the letters at first, and over time I have grown to love some of the letters.  A few are overly repetitive and not that interesting melodically.  As a whole, it is a very good piece. The nice thing about the digital recording is that the tracks are separate and one can cease listening to the few so-so tracks if you care to.

I believe these are played by the composers.  I have heard two versions online where I thought the pianism was a little better, but the sound was too reverberant and the pianos did not seem like the best. So this is a good choice.

I wish a few duo-pianists would record this -- and for me the dream team would be Val Lisitsa and Gryaznov. (Lisitsa's husband, an excellent pianist, seem to have retired from public playing.)
4702774
David Schiff, who studied composition with Elliott Carter, produced a study of his mentor's music in 1983. Carter's longevity and immense productivity occasioned a second edition in 1998. In the years since, Carter has produced dozens of more pieces, but for the time being those wanting a serious introduction to Carter's mighty oeuvre will have to be content with this 1998 edition.

Schiff goes through every piece that Carter had written to date, but instead of a strictly chronological presentation, the author divides the oeuvre into eleven sections: 1) String Quartets, 2) Chamber Music for Wind Instruments, 3) Chamber Music for Piano and other Mixed Ensembles, 4) Short Instrumental Works, 5) Choral Works, 6) Songs with Piano (or Guitar), 7) Works for Solo Voices and Instruments, 8) Piano Music, 9) Ballets, 10) Concertos and 11) Symphonic Works.

Schiff's analysis of the mature works focuses mainly on two aspects of this music. One is Carter's derivation of pitches from certain chords, and an appendix contains Carter's own listing of all these chords. The other aspect is Carter's polyrhythms and "metric modulation". It is the latter that is really distinguishes Carter's music, with its dizzying interaction between parts that accompany each other but rarely meet. Besides the analysis, there's plenty of interesting facts about the contexts in which the works were written. The "Symphonia" turns out to have provoked a nasty spat between the composer and the New York Philharmonic, for example. Also, Schiff talks about Carter's taste in literature and his ideas of what poems are suitable for setting to music.

While Schiff's book demands a good knowledge of music, I must say that I don't think that Elliott Carter's music requires a knowledge of the theory behind it. With his interest in presenting a dialogue in the form of music between the various instruments, he is one of the more accessible high modernists. Certainly, one can fall in love with certain pieces at first hearing, before one has any idea what is going on beneath the surface (for me these were the Symphonia and "A Mirror on Which to Dwell", YMMV). However, with any composer there's bound to be some harder nuts to crack, and for those with a knowledge of music theory, Schiff's analysis may help you gain an appreciation for works that were formerly elusive (for me these were the String Quartet No. 3 and the Triple Duo, but again YMMV).

Incidentally, what this Amazon listing title means by "photos not included" is that this edition lacks a section in the middle with photos. I've seen the "photos included" edition at libraries, and the few photos turn out to be only things like facsimiles of blurry sketches and a letter from Igor Stravinsky to Carter. That is, minor trivia, not anything worth worryting about.
3733161
The music by Bacewicz is interesting in that way that it brings new visions in what music should do to listeners : the approach is fresh and accessible. Her violin-concertos are of a more important level that the concertos for cello. The music for string orchestra does confirm me that she is a great composer with surprising sounds and colours.
The music by the family Mendelssohn is however from a different quality : I already knew the string-quartets by Felix (which are astonishing and brilliant) but the work on the CD that struck me the most was the wonderful quartet by his sister Fanny : this was really a revelation of a very high level : music that sounds so adult and convincing, with beautiful moments of lyricism and explosive timbres. This work - which I consider a masterpiece - is in my eyes (and ears) a quartet that can easily constitute a valuable addition
to the other great quartets of "more influential" masters as Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and other geniuses.
It is obvious that the quartets of Felix show a more mature writing and that those he wrote after the death of Fanny belong to his greatest achievements (comparable to his majestic "Octet" which I consider as his most sublime masterpiece). Nevertheless this CD (and the performance of the exquisite "Ebne" quartet) represent an important adding to my collection of CD's.
4961218
This is an excellent recording of Brahms's Piano Quintet - one of his finest chamber works - and a string quartet which is also good but perhaps not in the same league.  I tried it on the strength of the performers as I sometimes struggle with Brahms and thought it might be a good way into these pieces for me.  It was.

Both the Takacs Quartet and Stephen Hough are now regarded as among the world's best (quite rightly in my view) and they show why here.  The intelligence, thoughtfulness and empathy they bring to these works is quite remarkable.  The very opening of the Quintet with its sweeping melodic lines sounds almost like a concerto and in other places there is a wonderful delicacy and a deep understanding between the players which makes it chamber playing of the highest order.  In particular they play with a directness and wonderful lyricism which is a delightful contrast to some rather glutinous and stodgy recordings which exist.  I have never got on very well with Brahms's String Quartets (a failing in me rather than in Brahms, of course) but I very much enjoy this performance, which seems to let in the light and air to bring it alive.

As always from Hyperion the recorded sound is excellent (the cello sounds simply fabulous), the notes very good and the presentation very attractive.  It is an excellent disc all round and very warmly recommended.