Search - Muzio Clementi, Balazs Szokolay :: Clementi: Piano Music

Fast, brilliant, exciting - one of my favorites

07/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the CD because my daughter was learning one of the selections in her piano class. I had no idea what to expect but the style of the composer and the technical skill of the performer have made this one of my favorite CDs (my collection exceeds 400 CDs). Clementi's use of thirds in the left hand lends his sonatinas a unique sound and the speed of the trills and runs makes this an exciting selection of pieces. Considering the pittance this CD costs I would think buying it is a no-brainer."

Fast, technical but brilliant

03/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music is fast not gentle or romantic. Technically flawless but I find it lacking in mood. but still worth the price for real early piano buffs."

"Playing With a Lot of Energy"

BLee | HK | 10/26/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
Clementi is such an important piano music composer that virtually no pianists can neglect his works. Yet, regrettably there is so little recorded Clementi available either in Amazon or elsewhere.



The pianist we have here is Balazs. He is Hungarian, a former pupil of Kocsis (a formost pianist/composer). For whatever it is worth, Balazs took 4th place in Leeds International Piano Competition in 1990. His father was a professor in Liszt Academy who also composed. The British press commended his playing for it's energy and imagination.



As pointed out by some other review(s), he is fast, as fast (and as even) as a machine gun. Technically, he is "brilliant" if not equally vibrant. There is indeed a lot of "energy" in his playing; his touch is nice too, all prerequisites of a virtuoso. But there isn't much in this record to show us the full spectrum of his imagination, let alone poetry, and the influence of the above mentioned two composers on him is yet to be discovered. Some slow movements in the sonatas are, however, rather charming.



On the whole, this is a very worthwhile reference especially at a budget price. And for those who have more time, they may as well check out Maria Tipo who has recorded quite a number of Clementi's sonatas for an Italian reading."