Have not heard his Schumann but have his LP's of the Schubert Piano Sonatas and they are indeed amazing, check them out, with luck they're on CD |
I agree with your assessment of the Kempff recordings. If you've liked his Schumann, you may wish to try his Beethoven, both the sonatas and the concertos with Leitner.
A couple additional suggestions:
Ivan Moravec's recordings of Chopin on the Connossieur Society label. The performances are marvelous and the recording quality is consistently superb. On LP, these were issued as CS 1065, CS 1165, CS 1266, CS 2019, CS 2062, CS 2122.
Also, the Nojima Nomura recordings of Liszt and Ravel on the Reference Recordings label.
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I second it, Wilhelm Kempff is amazing. Try his solo Bach recordings on DG. Some of the finest performances/recordings I've ever heard. His playing can stop time. |
Kempff's 1953/1955 recordings of Beethoven's piano concerti (on DG, mono of course!) are gorgeous. the CD reissue sounds amazingly good considering their age. |
Your suggestions are 'most' appreciated and each will be followed up very shortly. Very encouraging. Thank you & happy listening. |
Psacanli, Are you looking for recommendations of great solo piano music, such as Schumann's Fantasy in C, op17 and Beethoven's Sonata #29 - the Hammerklavier (my favorite of Beethoven's 32) or are you just interested in discussing collections by a single performer? I think you wanted the latter and I have neither Kempff's Schumann (I have the Beethoven LP Collection) nor do I have any other Beethoven collections except for Brendels last which I do not particularily recommend (although many like Brendel's performances).
If you are looking for other than discussions of Kempff and 'collections' I'll be happy to pass on a few of my fav's of the more popular composers.
FWIW Kempff was a great pianist, but one of many........... |
I would agree with Newbee on current Brendel recordings, but some of his from the early 60's to at least early 70's are outstanding. Especially his version of the Beethoven Choral Fantasy |
Yes Newbee, I'm interested for recommendations of any great solo Piano music, not just those of a single performer. Any performance that seems a standout is worth checking out. There are so many versions out there. Reviewers can be a good source from time to time but I'm confident there are many experienced 'goners' with excellent taste and a history of listening that provides informed opinions. I would be pleased to hear some of your favorites-with the names of the performer & identity of the recording if you would.Thanks. |
Thanks Uru975, I will check it out. It's interesting how artists change as they mature.. |
Psacanli, Well here goes - I'll try to keep my recommendations to music that I think is still in print so you can obtain it - forgive me if I fail. I'll also try to keep them to recordings that have decent+ sound.
Schumann Fantasy in C Op17 - Richter EMI 75233 (BTW did any other Schumann by Kempff in his collection interest you?)
Schubert Wanderer Fantasy - Richter EMI (Perahia's version of Sony 42124 also includes Schumann's Fantasy in C - both are quite good and its a great combo).
Schubert Sonata D960 - Volados on Sony 89647
Rachmaninov 24 Preludes - Ashkenazy London 443841
Rachmaninov Music for 2 pianos - Ashkenazy & Previn London 444845
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition - Nothing is better by a mile than Richter's performance in Sofia but the recording is not good - essential for a collection none the less. Of other versions I'm fond of Ogawa's on BIS - excellent recording quality and good performance.
Debussy - Preludes, by Paul Jacobs from Non-such 79474. An outstanding performance and a great introduction to Debussy's music.
Chopin - so much to chose from. Rushton has already recommended many of his pieces by Moravec, an excellent choice. The only nits I would have is the recording quality can be spotty. I would start out with a set of his Preludes, Sonatas (all 3) and his Nocturnes by Ohlsson on Arabesque. I enjoy his use of a Bosendorfer and the recording quality is quite good.
Beethoven - For a set of all of his sonatas I would select Goode's set on Nonsuch - excellent recordings and performances (I have all but a few from when they were issued individually.) For individual pieces the one that I come back to most often is #29, the Hammerklavier by Gilels on DG.
Brahms Sonata #3 etc If you can find it I highly recommend this piece by Kubalek on Dorian - in addition to the Sonata the includes 16 waltzes and the most beautiful 3 Interemezzi op 117. Curzons #3 on London, and Perahia's on Sony are excellent performances and probably obtainable. If you're ever up to a complete set Julius Katchen on London is a complete winner.
Lizst - Sonata in B (recommended by Rushton) is outstanding and a big piece. The Reference Recording is great sonically. For something more lyrical, and for me anyway, more endearing and enduring, is his complete set of Annees de perlerinage by Lazar Berman on DG 471447. If you don't want to spring for the whole set (3cd's) get Primiere annee Suisse - Jorge Bolet on London is excellent as are most of his recordings of Liszt.
Hope that helps a bit. If you want more let me know which composers attract you most.
Liszt - |
Excellent recommendations, Newbee. I'll add a few more...
Debussy - the Paul Jacobs recording Newbee recommends is very good (originally issued on vinyl as HB73031). To this I would add: Moravec's performances of Debussy's "La Cathedrale engloutie," "Children's Corner Suite" and other pieces on Connoisseuer Society.
Gershwin - if you enjoy Gershwin's music from his Songbook, Malcolm Bolcom on Nonesuch is delightful and very well recorded by Marc Aubort (H71284 for the LP issue).
Liszt - for the Annees de Pelerinage, another excellent set are the performances by Aldo Ciccolini on EMI. I find Ciccolini's performances more characterful than the Berman performances, but both are good.
Schumann - If you're into vinyl, the John Lill recording issued on 2 LPs by Green Room Productions (4000/4001, Tony Faulkner recording engineer) is outstanding sonically, and the performances are very good (Fantasia in c, Faschingsschwank aus Wien, and Kinderszenen).
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The complete piano works of Gabriel Faure played by Kathryn Stott is wonderful.
Cheers. |
Thanks TKAudio, Rushton and Newbee. I try new pieces by borrowing from our city library to see if I want to buy. These days they only deal in CD's, so as much as I appreciate vinyl(via a 1980's Goldmund Studietto) I have no way to audition Vinyl and no longer buy any new. I guess I will havre start picking up CD's from the web now as well since CD outlets seem to be dwindling. I wonder how long we'll be able to buy CD's? Times are changing, youth drives change, and all I hear from younger (20's) listeners is Playstation, hard drives storage, ipod's, etc |
Having access to a good library is a great resource, Pscanli. While I was in a transition to a new city recently and without my turntable, I got to sample a lot of recordings/performances new to me by taking advantage of CDs available on loan from the library, and I enjoyed that tremendously. Still find myself buying lots of used and new vinyl though.
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Psacanli, something else to check out, unless you already heard these:
Brahms: Piano Concertos 1 and 2 with Riccardo Chailly and Nelson Freire.
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 on EMI with Mikhail Rudy and Mariss Jansons.
This cd also contains Symphony No.1 so it will be an added bonus. Concerto 1 is with Berlin PO, the second is with LSO. Symphony is with BPO as well. Exellent performance and pretty good quality recording. |
Rossini, yes Rossini as played by Aldo Ciccolini Pleasures and Peccadillos on Seraphim, also if available Sins of Old Age. These are considered Humorous piano works |
For something quite unique and just slightly away from the usual path well travelled try:
Antonin Dvorak: Complete Piano Music / Inna Poroshina
A 5 CD set on the Brilliant Classics label, available for $21 at CD Universe.
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I don't know if this is available on CD or not, but there was a 7 lp release of Complete Mozart Sonatas played by Paul Badura-Skoda on Eurodisc from the early '80's which is really wonderful. |
