Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Fritz Kreisler, Antoni Wit :: Rachmaninov: Piano Music (Box Set)

Essential Rachmaninoff at a good price.

Matthew N. Montag | Cedar Rapids, IA United States | 07/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Buy this box set. Biret is great. She plays Rachmaninoff straight up and doesn't taint the compositions with any wild "interpretations." And the recording quality is five star, too. I bought this in order to snag some lesser known Rachmaninoff that I loved (Cinq Morceaux, Moments Musicaux, etc.) and I really got what I paid for. Take a look at the huge tracklist - this is the Rachmaninoff you've been missing out on."

Filled With Brilliant, Forthright And Warmly Expressed Playi

Raymond Vacchino | Toronto, ON. Canada | 01/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of Rachmaninov's complete solo piano music and concertos is indeed one of the most inspiring performances by the formidable piano virtuoso Idil Biret. The overall approach conveys an in depth and musically comprehensive understanding of Rachmaninov's dramatic and powerful style. The playing of the four concertos is absorbing and their musical priorities are warmly and compassionately expressed. Biret's choosing somewhat slower tempos does tend to allow for a greater communicative element of Rachmaninov's passionate and beautifully shaped lines. However, in the second concerto Biret tends to overdue, resulting in a considerable lack of forward motion within long phrases that must flow seamlessly through the bar lines during the more poetic themes that require absolute cohesion. Biret chooses the grander of the two cadenzas, yet in such careful hands it hardly seems challenging. On the other hand, Biret's ability to play at a slower tempo enhances the two sets of preludes with greater melodic texturing and tonal warmth, conveying heightened atmospheric levels in mood and various changes in character. The 'Etudes-Tableaux'Op.33 & Op.39 offers brilliant and warmly expressed playing that purely respects the musical priorities. Biret displays well drilled execution and her interpretations are always intelligent and tasteful along with playing notable for its drama, passion and finesse. When required to perform with virtuosity and command of the instrument, Biret conjures the desperation and urgency that keeps the rhythmic writing vividly apparant within the framework: "accents slam home without rupturing the texture." Her tempos are well judged, her dynamics wide ranging. The performance of the two Sonatas opens a door that reveals the varied emotions and handling of powerful and eloquent complexities she is superbly capable of. Layer-upon-layer-building takes place becoming more pensive, tragic and immensely communicative. The playing continues to be thrillingly combustible, imaginative and involving. The slow movements are filled with admirable clarity and confidence remaining clear-sighted and musicianly. Biret eases her way through both works with a deftness that belies their difficulties. The 'Variations on a Theme of Chopin' based on the well known Prelude in C minor, cast in a solemn mood is followed by twenty-two variations. Biret effectively conveys the varying complexities which explore contrapuntal embellishments, cross rhythms, characteristic romantic moods, tingling temperament and glowing ardor. Biret vividly defines the strongly marked rhythm as the work leads to its conclusion in chords. Throughout this recording Biret offers performances that are both incisive and refined in every department. She is eclectic, reflective and always powerful. Each performance is marked by remarkably clear textures and atmospheric ingenuity. Whether persuasive, compelling or infuriating the playing is always remarkable for its emotional scope, athletic agility, jaw-dropping delicacy and heart-warming magnificence throughout. Biret's way with these pieces is intense and probing, nearly always interesting and is among the most individual you will come across on disc or on the concert stage. She performs as an artist with ideas and the resources to execute them in grand style.



Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus. A.Mus. L.R.S.M. Licentiate (honorary)"

The Russian Chopin

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 09/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) represented with all fairness, the embodiment of the Romantic spirit in the XX Century. He was never attained to fashionable tendencies or modernist currents. The inherent beauty of his music, the sonorous textures, the nostalgic melody line, passionate lyricism and the haunting expressiveness made of him a desert island in the middle of his contemporaries.



But Rachmaninov matched Chopin in what concerns two main factors. He owned a major pulse over the compositions supported by orchestra and his qualities as pianist were far beyond his own compositions.



His sad departure from his beloved Russia reminds us the departure of Chopin from Poland. And so, he added his name to countless composers who lived in the exile (Bartok, Korngold or Hindemith among others).



Nevertheless, his melodic vein borrowed from the painting (Arnold Bocklin), the literature for violin (Again Paganini's Caprice 24 inflamed his inner musicality), his notable Symphonies, his famous Vocalization, his well known musical arrangements and his successful participation in the Operatic genre always kept in mind the solemnity of the most enrooted religious traditions.



But he will always be reminded mostly by his unsurpassable compositions for solo piano. His Preludes and Études-tableaux , his Variations on a theme of Corelli or Chopin, for instance are pieces that never have been absent from most great musical stages and played by remarkable pianists along the past and present century.



Nevertheless, his Second Sonata Op. 36 has not yet gained the acknowledgement what it should. Filled of slender reminiscences, Russian nostalgia and fiery outbursts, this work should be played and diffused with major emphasis by connoisseurs and newcomers. In the middle of the central section of the First movement there's a cite to Chopin's Fourth Prelude. But the nucleus of the piece is the second movement. Sublime musicality and restrained melancholy that overflow our emotional pathos.



I would really like to recommend this album, because it contains the minimum facets of this composer.

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