Search - Rossini, Giacometti :: Piano Works 2: L'Album Pour Les Enfants Degourdis

Unknown gems part II

Erik D. Lofquist | Shoreline, WA | 07/28/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's a pity most people's knowledge of Rossini ends with the operas. Late in life he wrote volumes of solo piano and chamber works of high quality. No, Rossini is not a Brahms or a Schumann, but every piece is filled with wit, humor, brilliance, humanity, and honesty. Professional pianists should play these pieces way more often than they do.These gems are given a lively and balanced reading by the young Italian Paolo Giacometti. Unfortunately there are so few recordings of these works that there is little chance to compare him to anybody. However, the playing is so good that I imagine these recordings must be near definitive.While I have no reservations about the playing, I am not fond of the instrument chosen for this recording. The piano was built by Erard (Lizst's favorite builder) in the mid-19th century. The sound is clean and pretty, but very thin, especially near the top (extensively exploited by Rossini). Indeed, the top three octaves or so sound more like a mandolin! Give the playing 5 stars, the piano 3 stars, and you come up with an average of 4."