Search - Gottschalk, Ivan Davis :: Souvenir De Porto Rico

Souvenir de porto rico

Anthony Doyle | uk | 09/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A treasure trove. This is not just an indispensable issue for gottschalk enthusiasts, but a mandatory purchase for any lover of piano music.The syncopated rythmns of "Souvenir de Porto Pico", the title (and finest piece), depicting an approaching carnival passing, then receding into the distance ( reminiscent of Stokowski's version of "Bydlo" from "Pictures from an Exhibition" or Rachmaninov's treatment of the Chopin funeral march) seems to act as a bridge between "Classical" and Ragtime. Gottschalk's best tunes are all here in this selection and the great Ivan Davis is in his prime,(for those who haven't heard him, his technique is in the Wild/ Bolet class) in the finest example of analogue piano recording I have heard, his playing totally idiomatic and spontaneous, as if we are at a live recital. His swaggering contempt for any technical difficulty , whether double ocaves, split octaves, trills, dazzling demi - semiquaver scale passages in filigree pianissimo, is such that I can't listen to this without smiling, cheering or applauding . But it is his respect and delicacy of touch which is also a revelation, showing, like Rifkin's Joplin, that some music can, to corrupt the adage, sound better than it apparently is, if treated with a respect normally reserved for Chopin, for example. This is one of the greatest virtuouso piano recording ever made, and it is a disgrace that the cd re - issue has never been available outside the U.S, that it was re-issued with no liner notes at all in a series that belittles its status and that the techicolour original artwork of the lp sleeve be needlessly discarded for something more anonymous, all to reduce loyalty payments. It merits re -instatement globally given the umpteen releases available currently of Gottschalk's music, all of which pale in comparison. The original L.P drove me to acquire all the Hyperion series by Philip Martin,as well as many others, but none can hold a candle to this single disc which is more valuable than all of rest put together. There is, after all, the world of a difference between difficulties safely negotiated and their being tossed aside or swallowed whole, consumed and relished. Sell your spouse to get a copy if you have to!"