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SCHUMANN: Fantasy in C, Op. 17. BALAKIREV: Islamey, Op. 18.
CHOPIN: Barcarolle in F sharp, Op.60. LISZT: St. Francis de Paule walks
on Water RACHMANINOFF: Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2. Etude-tableaux
in C, Op. 33 No. 2. Etude-tableau in E flat, Op. 33 No 7. Moment musical
in E flat minor, IOp. 16 NO. 2. Daisies, Op. 38 No. 3.KREISLER-RACHMANINOFF:
Liebesleid/Liebesfreud. RIMSKY-KORSKOV-RACHMANINOFF: The
Flight of the Bumblebee. MENDELSSOHN-RACHMANINOFF: Scherzo from A
Midsummer Night's Dream.
TCHAIKOVSKY-RACHMANINOFF: Lullaby, Op. 16 No. 1. BACH-RACHMANINOFF: Prelude,
Gavotte, Rondo and Gigue from Violin Partita No. 3. RACHMANINOFF: Etude-tableaux, Op. 39. Variations on a Theme
by Corelli,
Op. 42. SORENSEN: Lullabies. The Shadow of Silence. LUTOSLAWSKI: Piano
Concerto. KURTÁG: Selections from Games. DALBAVIE: Piano Concerto. TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23. Piano
Concerto No. 2 in G, Op. 44. Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat, Op.
75. Concert
Fantasy in G, Op. 50. The Horowitz CD is a fascinating document, taken from tapes donated by the pianist to Yale University. Beginning in 1945, Horowitz had many of his concerts recorded privately, using them for reference and to play for students. Audio is adequate but decidedly lacking in bass which gives a highly percussive sound to Horowitz's playing. The Schumann Fantasy, which Horowitz included on his 1965 return to the concert stage, is given a stark, brittle performance. Islamey is stunning pianistically, but does not erase the legendary performance by Simon Barere. There is remarkable playing throughout on this disk and surely admirers of Horowitz will wish to have it. Most of Sergei Rachmaninoff's recordings were rather poorly recorded. Now some of them have been resurrected using the Zenph Re-Performance technique, and the result is a revelation. Using a digital process, the older recordings have been restored with uncanny perfection, tonal beauty and dynamic range, recreated on a 1909 Steinway concert grand similar to the ones the composer played. The CD states there are 29,900 notes in these 13 works including pedal motions. For more about the Zenph process, visit their SITE. On this CD we have a collection of famous Rachmaninoff performances in the order in which they were recorded, the first (Liebeslied) dates from October 25, 1921, the last (Liebesfreud) dates from February 26, 1942. The second half of the CD contains the same "re-performances" in binaural sound intended to be listened to on headphones, an intriguing experience for those who have the necessary equipment. Let us hope for more of these remarkable restorations Young Russian pianist Alexander Romanovsky (b. 1984) has received highest praise recently. This is his second disk for Decca (the first contained Schumann's Symphonic Etudes and Brahms' Paganini Variations). Here he plays a rather brief (56:31) program of Rachmaninoff in masterful but cautious performances. Lief Ove Andsnes gives us maximum playing time on his fascinating disk titled Shadows of Silence, the name of the final work on this remarkable issue. This was written by Danish composer Bent Sorensen (b. 1958) who was inspired to compose it after hearing a concert of church bells. The work begins mystically, building to a sonorous climax before fading away. The same composer's gentle Lullabies opens this disk. There are two major piano concertos, both brilliantly played. Marc-André Dalbavie (b. 1961) wrote his piano concerto for Andsnes on a commission from the BBC Proms and the Cleveland and Chicago Symphony orchestras. The premiere was at the Proms in 2005 and this recording was made in Munich in May 2007. This is a major addition to the repertory, a challenge for soloist and orchestra but not for audiences. In addition we have Lutoslawski's piano concerto, and 8 brief selections from György Kurtág's Games. A great issue, with excellent audio! Jerome Lowenthal (b. 1932) has enjoyed a respected career both as a pianist and an educator. He studied with William Kapell and Edward Steuermann as well as Alfred Cortot. For 18 years he was professor of music at Juilliard School, and he also devoted almost four years to the Music Academy of the West. In 1987-1989 Lowenthal recorded these Tchaikovsky performances for Arabesque, and now, thanks to Bridge, we can hear them again—and at budget price. They are worth resurrecting. The first two concertos are presented in their original versions, and for the Concert Fantasy (a very much neglected work!) we also have the alternate ending to the first movement. All are given excellent performances, with the accent not on virtuoso display. Audio is excellent throughout. R.E.B. (October 2009)
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