Search - Franz Liszt, Domenico Scarlatti, Robert Schumann :: Grand Piano: Liszt & Beethoven, Scarlatti & Schumann

Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist, edited by Nimbus

Chiyski | Lodz, Poland | 02/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Grand Piano: Liszt & Beethoven, Scarlatti & Schumann



All discs, all tapes, all piano-duos and any other recordings by the distinguished pianist, Polish, Józef Hofmann are, certainly, deserving to be edited.

Józef Hofmann was considered by many critisc as one of the greatest pianists of all time, just like Paganini was as one of the greatest violinists. Harold Schonberg, the most authoritative American critic of the XXth century, told about Hofmann: "The greatest pianist of our century, and, as I know, of all time". It's a scandal that discs with the pianist's recordings are unavailable in Poland [sic!!!], the country where he was born in 1876 and where he lived for a long time (just to mention that he was born in the same village, next to Cracow, even during the same period, as Ignacy Friedman, another great Polish pianist. The most interesting thing about it is that these men had different teachers!).

Hofmann had incredible technique (the best, next to Simon Barere and Vladimir Horowitz), very beautiful, "profound" and "light" sound. His touch was clear and very balanced: his left hand was sometimes a bit louder than the right one. His playing was perfect.

Nowadays, we can say: his playing is still perfect.

It's in 1999 that Nimbus Record, if I can remember well a British label, began editing a series called "Grand Piano". They had a congenial idea to "reproduce piano" by constructing a special robot who will replay piano rolls registered by many pianists, "old maestros" - Paderewski and Hofmann among them, whose recordings were very difficult to find and had quite bad quality of the recording. The new technique let them make everything in DDD. I have to mark that the speed of the piano roll can be any time different and the speeds the constructors of the robot chose were hypothetical.

On this disc, You will find some Liszt and Beethoven. Hofmann, with his "superb" technique, is playing his Liszt very "meticulously". His playing is at the same time dignified, one would say: aristocratic, and, on the other hand - very very "modern". The Beethoven Sonata in C, Op. 2 No. 3 was one of the pianist's favourite pieces, so I don't have to describe it.

The major thing about the Nimbus disc are, in my opinion, two compositions by Domenico Scarlatti. As I was told, Hofmann was a great commentator of the baroque composer's work. And all the world forgot that Hofmann had registered anything by Scarlatti.... Nimbus surprised me in a good meaning of the word "surprise".

I recommend to You this disc. I think it's high time You bought it as it appeared a couple of years ago.



In the end, sorry for my English which is not very well...

best wishes

Maciek Chizynski"