A four-pack o’ piano discs
Posted by: Todd A on 03 November 2006
I recently picked up four new (for me) discs of solo piano repertoire – a rare occurrence for me, to be sure – and figured I’d briefly cover ‘em.
First up is Steven Osborne’s brand-spankin’ new recording of Debussy’s Preludes on Hyperion. After reading a gushing review, I had somewhat high hopes. Alas, those hopes weren’t quite met. Oh, it’s all there; Mr Osborne has it all: meticulous attention to every detail, wonderful tone control, awesome dynamic control, and there are numerous passages of truly inspired music making. But. But, this is somewhat soft Debussy – that whole hammerless piano thing – and thus very much an “impressionist” approach, if you will. I like the disc, and will be listening again, but coming so soon after Michel Beroff’s meatier, more pointed Denon recording, I just wanted something else. SOTA sound.
Next up is my first foray into the piano music of Joaquin Turina. What better pianist to introduce this music than Esteban Sanchez in his 1973 recording of some of said composer’s works? Anyway, this disc of three small-ish works is really a tale to two qualities of composition. The first, less interesting type of composition involves Sevilla Op 2 and Rincones sevillanos Op 5. Both are nice enough, and both evoke a certain, well, a certain Spanishness, but neither really do it for me. Given that the first one was contemporaneous with Iberia, I guess that’s not a surprise. But Mujeres de Sevilla Op 89, a musical portrait of five different archetypes of Spanish women, well that’s another story. It’s superb. It’s more flowing, more vigorous, more tender, more varied, more everything. Sanchez plays superbly as expected, though as with all his Ensayo recordings, the sound is brittle and cutting. Nonetheless, I like this one.
Next up is Santiago Rodriguez’s 1993 Elan recording of Sergei Rachmaninov’s First Piano Sonata and the Op 32 Preludes. When I picked up Robert Silverman’s Diabelli Variations, I also picked up his recording of Rachmaninov’s two sonatas and liked the disc quite a bit, especially the first sonata. It’s been many moons since I listened to Rach’s solo piano music, and the scope and breadth and sheer scale of the work, especially when delivered in unabashedly big ‘n’ beefy fashion by Mr Silverman, really piqued my interest. Perhaps another take was in order I thought. So this one. It’s quite different. First of all, it’s about six minutes shorter, indicating that Mr Rodriguez both cuts a bit more out and plays much faster. Indeed, his technical display is impressive: splendid digital dexterity, enviable power and accuracy, a nice if (as recorded) somewhat limited tonal palette at the louder end of the spectrum though a wonderful palette lower down the range – Mr Rodriguez is easy to listen to. Some of the playing in both the sonata is very heated, though the sonata loses some of the grand sweep that Silverman brings to it. The Preludes are quite fine, and I can’t recall hearing a more tenderly beautiful G major prelude, though I don’t listen to too much Rach. Good if somewhat distant sound round out a good disc.
The highlight of this foursome, though, is undoubtedly Michel Block’s 1995 Pro Piano recording of 22 of Chopin’s Mazurkas. While I rather enjoy Chopin’s music, the Mazurkas have never really been my thing. Not so in this case. Block’s playing is just amazing. Precise control, almost limitless nuance and flexibility, and sure if sometimes off-kilter (but in a good way!) rhythm make for “what’s next?” listening. But there’s more. He’ll often cruise along playing beautifully and in subdued fashion, only to heat up and push certain passages. This is no banging, unduly muscular Chopin, but it’s not dainty either. And at it’s best it’s definitely got even more. The Op 17/4 Mazurka is haunting, for instance, and some of the later Mazurkas have an at times elusive, dreamy, or melancholy (or all three) feel that’s hard to really describe adequately. Superbly clear if perhaps a bit bass-light sound makes this a fine disc indeed. I think I’ll have to grab his other three Pro Piano discs in the near future.
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First up is Steven Osborne’s brand-spankin’ new recording of Debussy’s Preludes on Hyperion. After reading a gushing review, I had somewhat high hopes. Alas, those hopes weren’t quite met. Oh, it’s all there; Mr Osborne has it all: meticulous attention to every detail, wonderful tone control, awesome dynamic control, and there are numerous passages of truly inspired music making. But. But, this is somewhat soft Debussy – that whole hammerless piano thing – and thus very much an “impressionist” approach, if you will. I like the disc, and will be listening again, but coming so soon after Michel Beroff’s meatier, more pointed Denon recording, I just wanted something else. SOTA sound.
Next up is my first foray into the piano music of Joaquin Turina. What better pianist to introduce this music than Esteban Sanchez in his 1973 recording of some of said composer’s works? Anyway, this disc of three small-ish works is really a tale to two qualities of composition. The first, less interesting type of composition involves Sevilla Op 2 and Rincones sevillanos Op 5. Both are nice enough, and both evoke a certain, well, a certain Spanishness, but neither really do it for me. Given that the first one was contemporaneous with Iberia, I guess that’s not a surprise. But Mujeres de Sevilla Op 89, a musical portrait of five different archetypes of Spanish women, well that’s another story. It’s superb. It’s more flowing, more vigorous, more tender, more varied, more everything. Sanchez plays superbly as expected, though as with all his Ensayo recordings, the sound is brittle and cutting. Nonetheless, I like this one.
Next up is Santiago Rodriguez’s 1993 Elan recording of Sergei Rachmaninov’s First Piano Sonata and the Op 32 Preludes. When I picked up Robert Silverman’s Diabelli Variations, I also picked up his recording of Rachmaninov’s two sonatas and liked the disc quite a bit, especially the first sonata. It’s been many moons since I listened to Rach’s solo piano music, and the scope and breadth and sheer scale of the work, especially when delivered in unabashedly big ‘n’ beefy fashion by Mr Silverman, really piqued my interest. Perhaps another take was in order I thought. So this one. It’s quite different. First of all, it’s about six minutes shorter, indicating that Mr Rodriguez both cuts a bit more out and plays much faster. Indeed, his technical display is impressive: splendid digital dexterity, enviable power and accuracy, a nice if (as recorded) somewhat limited tonal palette at the louder end of the spectrum though a wonderful palette lower down the range – Mr Rodriguez is easy to listen to. Some of the playing in both the sonata is very heated, though the sonata loses some of the grand sweep that Silverman brings to it. The Preludes are quite fine, and I can’t recall hearing a more tenderly beautiful G major prelude, though I don’t listen to too much Rach. Good if somewhat distant sound round out a good disc.
The highlight of this foursome, though, is undoubtedly Michel Block’s 1995 Pro Piano recording of 22 of Chopin’s Mazurkas. While I rather enjoy Chopin’s music, the Mazurkas have never really been my thing. Not so in this case. Block’s playing is just amazing. Precise control, almost limitless nuance and flexibility, and sure if sometimes off-kilter (but in a good way!) rhythm make for “what’s next?” listening. But there’s more. He’ll often cruise along playing beautifully and in subdued fashion, only to heat up and push certain passages. This is no banging, unduly muscular Chopin, but it’s not dainty either. And at it’s best it’s definitely got even more. The Op 17/4 Mazurka is haunting, for instance, and some of the later Mazurkas have an at times elusive, dreamy, or melancholy (or all three) feel that’s hard to really describe adequately. Superbly clear if perhaps a bit bass-light sound makes this a fine disc indeed. I think I’ll have to grab his other three Pro Piano discs in the near future.
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