Classical Music for Aficionados

I have 3 different publications of the same Petrouchka recording by Pollini.
The original DG, the 13 cd compilation, and the Great Pianists of 20th Century.
I also have Gilels' recording, which is magnificent.
And Weissenberg.
And Marcelle Meyer.
All these recordings are wonderful.

True rv , you could argue as to whether  Hewitt or Gould is the best player
ever to come out of  Canada , but no doubt she is the greatest living one .
She will be at 92nd Y on May 14h .

jim and jcazador

Take a listen 3 movements of Petrushka by Khatia Buniatishvili new CD Kalkeidoscope. Not many pianists attempt this piece. Pollini was the first version I heard and in my mind is the reference. But I was also moved by Khatias playing. She has an interesting interpretation of Pictures at an Exhibition here as well. Anyone know other notable recordings of petrushka? 

I believe that Buniatishvili, as she matures and gains more control, has the makings of a great pianist. Very imaginative and expressive with a truly explosive technique.

ei001h, "...other notables", you might like Louis Lorties' version of Petrushka on a Chandos CD, which includes an excellent 'LaValse'.  I have not heard Buniatishvili's version, but IMHO Lorties' version is in the  'Pollini class'. But then I really do like Lorties' work in general, and particularly in Chopin and Liszt. YMMV.

Ginette Doyen, as good as it ever got
Listening to her Mendelssohn Song Without Words
Also recommend her complete Faure and her French Piano School
(Indy, Magnard, Severac, Causson, Ropartz, Roussel)
Still looking for her Chopin Ballades, Saint-Saens and Chabrier
can be heard here:
https://www.forte-piano-pianissimo.com/Ginette-Doyen.html

Here is something for the adventurous and or completest collector of Tchaikovsky's music for solo piano.

 "Complete works for solo piano" performed by Valentina Lisitsa  on a new Decca issue. A 10 CD set for $32 on Anazon. Most of this is music I've never heard at all or in this form (except for the most common ones). Interesting at worst and some (so far) is quite good. Good recording quality and certainly worth having. It will really take a long time for me to get thru it all in any meaningful way.

thanks newbee, that is 11 hours!
i have been listening to Vladmir Feltsman, A Tribute to Tchaikovsky,
but it is only an hour!
I also like the old Gary Graffman recordings

ftm
my favorite Tchaikovsky player is Pletnev.

jcazador, Same with me. I have his 'Seasons' and '6 Pieces' on Virgin Classics, and '18 Pieces' on DG.

 Something I've had a long time I've always enjoyed is an MMG CD with Richter playing excerpts from the 'Seasons' as well as excerpts from Rachmaninov's Etudes-Tableaux. 

In case some one doesn't care for Pletnev, I can also recommend Antonin Kubalek's "Seasons' on Dorian and Ashkenazy's on Decca. 

The "Seasons' is so good it is really hard to go wrong. :-)

I love Pletnev's playing of The Seasons , that is my reference but have any of you ever listened to his Schumann. I love him playing Etudes Symphonique and his Fantasy in C major, I find his tone much more pleasing than most of the others with the exception of Arrau, in the last movement of the Fantasy his tone is orgiastic. Sorry for that but it is the only word I can come up with that tells the story of how I hear it. 
Now come on guys I have been reading about all these female pianists and no-one has mentioned the blindingly obvious, Martha Argerich. She certainly deserves a mention as she is now in her late seventies and she can still set the keyboard on fire, what about Gaspard, Scarlatti the D Minor Sonata  .Now I will give you all what you are saying of Buniatishvili's playing which is spellbinding at times . Her Pictures is breathtaking in some of the movements and likewise her Liszt , have yet to hear another woman play as tenderly and also as fiery as she can. She reminds me of the young Argerich , perhaps she will take over her mantle when she settles down an bit.

yes, Pletnev's Schuman is a gem
yes, Argerich is superb
and I have a recording of them playing together
Prokofiev Cinderella Suite
Ravel Ma Mere l'Oye  (Mother Goose)

Pletnev is one of the best around.  Not a bad conductor as well.
A little unorthodox, but a fine conductor nonetheless.

now listening
Tchaikovsky Piano Recital, Sviatoslav Richter (1983) RRC 1093
the master

and Artur Pizzaro, Rachmaninoff Complete Piano Works
7 cds, exquisite

Ah yes, much to enjoy. Another excellent set and one that offers some serious alternatives to some of the more popular Rachmaninoff recordings. I consider these performances as more introverted which are to me often more attractive. FWIW I only have Shelley's performances to compare to most of these .

 However, in the Preludes especially, I really do prefer something more high powered, such as Ashkenazy's, Shelley's, and for something really over the top, Hayroudinoff  (You've really got to hear that one!)

Nina Dorliac on Richter:
When he sat on the jury at the first International Tchaikovsky Competition, he immediately singled out Van Cliburn as having no rival among the other contestants. He gave Cliburn the highest mark and zeros for the others. Then he changed his mind. It wasn't very nice to give them zeros. 
lots more here:
http://sviatoslavrichter.blogspot.com/2011/04/nina-dorliac-i-met-richter-at.html

JC   That was a very interesting article about Richter you posted , he was a very cultured man. As for his pianism although he was a stupendous pianist the recordings that were released were really poor and didn't really do justice to him. I really admired him but could find his playing rather cold. Regarding his recordings I am reminded of the quote that was said about Busoni when he was doing some early acoustic recordings . When he had finished recording they played back one of the masters to let everyone hear this scratchy hissy horrible sound when one soul said "that sounds nothing like him" and another "said no wonder how can you put the Atlantic ocean in a bottle and stopper it". That's exactly how I thought of Richter if he had been in the west just think what we could have had. 

yes indeed jim
What a saga
From his teenage job accompanying the Odessa opera rehearsals
to the death of his father (father was german, was warned to leave, but his mother was too attached to her lover, so dad stayed and was arrested, executed - while Sv. was in Moscow studying with Neuhaus)
to his long hibernation in USSR (allowed out once to play at UN)
and his final world wide recognition when he was finally allowed out
in 1960 at age 45.

I hear rhythms within rhythms where other pianists are struggling to keep up.

Do you have the Richter in Hungary (1954-93) set of 14 cds?
Have you seen Bruno Monsaingeon's 1998 documentary, “Richter the Enigma"?
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=richter+the+enigma

Compilation of his recordings here:
http://www.doremi.com/sr.html

jim204, Richter lived in the West for over 30 years, he just hated recording process, he was an accomplished theatre man. I was fortunate to be at his recitals a few times and it was out of this world. I keep coming back listening to him and discovering more and more, especially in his late, ’simple’ and ’cold’ performances. His counterpoint playing is like a Gothic cathedral: there are so many storeys and layers hidden underneath his simplicity. He played a piano as if it were an organ - a true klavir player. You can also give Andrey Gavrilov and Ekaterina Derzhavina a listen. Gavrilov was a kid, when Richter proclaimed to be his student, not the other way around. Ms Derzhavina is a true musicians’ musician, a musician from a heavenly ensemble - she is up there with Richter, but went her own way.
Here is Odessa Opera:
https://ariananadia.livejournal.com/835328.html
(you don’t need to understand the nonsense she wrote, pictures are great)A grandfather of mine was singing there when Richter was active in Odessa Opera.

thank you apd
just downloaded and now listening to Ekaterina Derzhavina
Haydn piano sonatas 9 cds
Somehow I had never heard of her

Gavrilov is one my favorites, his old recordings
(Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Schubert, Handel, Prokofiev, Schumann, Shostakovich, Bach , Balakirev, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky)
as well as his newer (esp Chopin nocturnes)
another USSR musician saga!

I used to really like Gavrilov ,I have the two cd copy of his and Richters Handel keyboard suites. Why does R ichter start the Harmonious Blacksmith Variations with such a long note ? I find it most unsettling. I am going to linvestigate Ekaterina Derzhavina today so thanks apdxyk I shall let you know how I get on. I am into the second week of my take up of Idagio and I have to say that i am really enjoying it and I don't miss the fact that it is only CD playback. I find their playback very fullsome sounding but do miss the abillity to fine tune playback the way Qobuz does but if it is a recocording I like and want a hard copy of I can then record the music stream using Sound Tap and then put the recording into Sound Forge and edit it as I please.

I have just had a look at my previous post and will you please forgive those awful spelling mistakes as i usually look at and correct before I post but my wife called me and I had to obey !!!This gives me a chance though to say something about Ekaterina Derzhavina . Well I am very pleased because I have only listened to her Goldberg Variations up to now but I am so pleased with them that I can safely place them up in my top tier of go to recordings.

Not to worry jim , you have something to say that is worth hearing which no amount of spelling mistakes can erase .

I have only ever been to see Pollini perform once and it was in the seventies at City Halls Candleriggs in Glasgow. I even remember the program as it was so special because he directed from the piano Mozart's Piano Concerto no 24 

Pollini's No 24, playing and conducting, is on CD, along with Mozart 12, 14, 19, 20. Label: Exclusive EX92T35/36. Vigorous readings, without losing Mozart's lithe charm. I was surprised, as I always saw Pollini as a technician more than artist.

thanks for the tip, will look for that
i have Pollini playing Mozart Concerto no 23 with Vienna Phil.
It's on DG - Mauricio Pollini Edition (2001) 13 cd

Has anyone listened to Derzhavina playing Haydn Piano sonatas yet as I did yesterday and have to say I enjoyed them very much. She has a brilliant tecnique and she brings out the quirkiness of Haydn's writing. I don't know if anyone else will agree or not but I think Haydn's piano sonatas give Mozarts a run for their money. By the way Len nice to hear you chipping back in again and thanks for the kind words.

Has anyone listened to Derzhavina playing Haydn Piano sonatas yet as I did yesterday and have to say I enjoyed them very much. She has a brilliant tecnique and she brings out the quirkiness of Haydn’s writing.

Regarding Derzhavina’s Haydn disc, I have it and enjoy it very much. I agree about her technique and also about Haydn’s quirkiness.
Regarding Haydn and Mozart piano sonatas, I far prefer Haydn’s. They are more interesting, more playful, more varied, and less foursquare. Of course, I recognize Mozart as a genius of the highest order; IMO his operas and piano concertos never have been exceeded. Still, in this genre, Haydn reigned supreme (until Beethoven).

yes, love Dershavina's Haydn, but could not finish her Metner

as for Haydn v. Mozart, Sv. Richter made clear his preference for Haydn
I am listening to Bart Van Oort's Mozart (14 cds), played on fortepiano as written/played by Mozart
The package includes an explanation by van Oort of the differences between modern piano and 18th Century fortepiano, and "as a result many puzzling aspects of Mozart's style and notation fall into place."
I also love Oort's Haydn piano sonatas, and his nocturnes including Field, Chopin, and others.

Mike +1

Have just been listening to Van Oort's Haydn and once used to the Fortepiano it is most enjoyable and it does make one think of the relevance of Mozart's piano writing .
Thanks RV.

Beethoven sonatas. I've so many of these of which most are highly acclaimed performances, I simply ignored Stevecham's endorsement of John O'Conor's set on Telarc (on 4-08-18). Well, long story short, I just finished listening to the complete set. IMHO, not only are these excellent performances, the recordings themselves are so much better than many of the performances/recordings that I prize... go figure. If you're interested Vol I is a great place to start. You can appraise these critically if you desire, or alternatively, just sit back and enjoy. 

A hearty endorsement for the O'Conor/Telarc set.  They are my go-to option.  Perhaps there are more inspired performances, but the combination of very good performance and excellent piano sound is pretty much unbeatable.  I often use them when auditioning possible new speakers.

I was just listening to John O'Connor's "autumn songs".
Very nice
And yes, I join the crowd praising his Beethoven sonatas.
Also love his John Field Nocturnes.

For me my goto recordings of Beethoven sonatas are the Arrau Phillips Analogue Box Set from the sixties and seventies. These were recorded when Arrau still had a bit of devil in him, because his later digital series seem earthbound and stodgy by comparison. A great pity because the digital series are superbly recorded by Phillips.

I like the O’Conor Beethoven sonatas, too. I also like a newer set by András Schiff on ECM. It’s been a while since I listened to them, but as I recall, the sound is typical ECM (slightly more beautiful than reality), and the performances reasonably energetic but not heart-on-sleeve. I would recommend anyone interested in this music give that set try -- it should be easy via Tidal, Qobuz, or even YouTube to see if you like them.
P.S. Jed Distler said this, on Classics Today: " In sum, Schiff’s Beethoven interpretations may not suit all tastes, yet they invariably hold your attention, challenge your assumptions, and compel you to listen with fresh ears."

jim
I have the 1998 Philips set of Arrau Beethoven, which includes the Sonatas and the 5 piano concertos, as well as some other Beethoven, including Szeryng, and Starker on the triple concerto (14 cd)  It says it was recorded from 1962-66, 68, 70, & 85.
"24 bit analogue to digital conversion"
I also have an 11 cd collection with the sonatas and variations,
also Philips (1991).
I think these are the same performances in different packages.
If I comprehend what you are saying, you have an analogue set.And these are different performances?  Or the same performances in original analogue state?

jim
Also have a 2 cd recording of Schwetziner Festival recital where Arrau plays 3 Beethoven sonatas, + rondos + some Brahms. 
It says recordings were made in 1963 and 1973.

 "hanssler classic"

have you seen Claudio Arrau, The Maestro and the Masters
A film by Peter Rosen (1988)?
Martin Bookspan narrator,
filmed in Santiago, Chile
includes:
Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3
Schubert
3 Klavierstucke, D. 946
No. 1 in E-flat minor
Chopin
Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47
Liszt
Les Annees De Pelerinage, Seconde Annee: Italie, S. 161
Sonetto 104 del Petrarca
Debussy
L’isle joyeuse
Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58*

have you read?
Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to His Philosophy and Techniques by Victoria A. von Arx

https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Lessons-Claudio-Arrau-Philosophy/dp/0199924341

The O'Conor Field nocturnes are great, and distinctly superior to the O'Rourke version.

Just listened to the O'Rourke sonatas and nocturnes, and ordered the O'Conor/Telarc CD's. Based mostly on my enjoyment of his Beethoven. I'll bet you're right! :-) 

O'Conor's Field sonatas are also excellent (Telarc)

For those of you who love French piano music -

A CD I just discovered when looking for a different version (I have Roge and the LaBeques’ versions) of Dolly Suite for piano by Faure. It is a compilation of French composer’s music, i.e. Milhaud, Ravel, Faure, and Debussy, for 2 pianos.

’La Belle Epoque’ by Duo Lechner Tiempo on Avanticlassic. It is available on Amazon and has quite a few very favorable views with which I do not disagree.

IMHO, this is an outstanding recording for anyone liking this music. My ’purchase’ of the year I think. It is well reviewed on Amazon by some knowledgeable folks.

Just checked in after a few weeks.  In the Beethoven Sonata discussion, surprised no one mentioned Alfred Brendel.  One of the greatest, and all three of his sets are great. Definitely a musician's musician/pianist.   

Newbee
I love French classical piano music, have over a dozen french pianists in my collection. My favorites, the ones i play again and again are:
Aldo Ciccolini (I know, he was born Italian, but became French citizen)
Jean Martin
Angela Hewitt
Jean-Philippe Collard
Jean Doyen
Margeurite Long
of course there are many others who were/are not French

oops
did i say Angela Hewitt is French?  Not.

French and German music together make a whole .