Search - Leopold Godowsky, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin :: Simon Barere: Live Recordings at Carnegie Hall, Vol. 3

The bequeath of a genius!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 05/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
No other pianist like him, was owner - at the same time - of color sense, enviable technique and sheer lyricism when the work demanded it. His Liszt' s Don Juan Fantasy, Balkirev' s Islamey or even his Scriabin has no paragon.



His life was extremely brief. 55 years is just the beginning for many pianists, and the qworld of the music missed deeply his departure that fatidic April 4 1951 when he died playing the Grieg's Piano concerto under Ormandy' s direction.



His powerful expressiveness, mercurial tension were nevertheless, any impediment to round successfully heartfelt pages such his unsurpassed version of Chopin's Fantasy Op. 28, for instance. Withe the only exception of William Kapell, npo ther pianist has recorded with such notable intensity Chopin's First Ballad, and liszt's Sonata in B minor is one of the most outstanding ever recorded.



So, under any single pretext you should miss anyone of these legendary performances that are part of a history that still rediscovers itself, through the countless testimonials. Barere was undoubtedly, one of the most remarkable pianists the world ever knew.

"

A thunderous stampede from the sleeping giant

Ryan Morris | Chicago, IL | 11/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The liszt sonata receives a performance that must be counted as one of the alltime great live recordings. The ballade is also is a wonderful piece exposing both sides of barere undervalued virtuosiy-,his sensative side. The Godowsky renaissance and such are also real treasures, for me one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable accounts that takes their place as the defintive y=traversals of these lesser known pieces.

The overabundance of virtuosity in this account of Islamey is what will finally make you say, after several times of asking yourself, what cant this pianist do, why haven't i heard of him before,- and why Horowitz?

even harold schoenberg couldnt rag on this account,- for it is one of the most enjoyably virtuosic accounts of all time. Great place to start your adventures with Simon."