Collection Listening Log

[Todd A]

The Borodin's Ninth. Rather like the Beethoven's take, the Borodin play the music in simultaneously light but tense or nervous fashion, as they do in the first Adagio, which also sounds more morose to start before sort of relaxing a bit. The Allegretto is quick and biting, with the William Tell music sounding musically sarcastic, and the Borodin bring both intensity and mordant wit to the latter portions of the movement. The second Adagio is your run of the mill grim DSCH, done about as well it can be done. The Allegro goes for the bright, edgy, intense opening, though the playing isn't spectacularly fast. It sort of grinds the listener down, with the "khokhochu" music a sort of relentless idea shoved at the listener again and again. And that's the easygoing part of the movement. After about 3'30"-ish, the Borodin play with even more bite and intensity, which lasts all the way until the pause before the pizzacato section, which itself manages to sound more aggressive than normal. They then start the crescendo slowly and quietly, but they build up to one of the more feverish codas. If only it were in better sound.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000HXE5BK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

The Danel's Ninth, the ninth and last of my collection. The Danel go for a slow-ish Moderato con moto, opening in somewhat tense fashion, but relaxing a bit as it progresses. It can't exactly be called light, but it is something close to pleasant. The first Adagio is slightly sorrowful, but mostly it's beautiful, but never too much so, and the coda and transition to the Allegretto itself is nicely hushed. The Allegretto, taken at a comfortable pace, displays a sense of actual fun, with the William Tell music a bit subdued. The Danel sound less sardonic or mordant than some others, yet the approach works well. The movement ends softly and imperceptibly transitions to the second Adagio, which sounds solemn, but not especially dark, even as the coda approaches and the first violin playing becomes more heated. The Allegro is the second slowest in the survey, yet it yields little in the way of intensity and drama. The "khokhochu" music serves as accompaniment as individual instruments get their shot, with the cello contribution most appealing. Due in part to the superb recorded sound, the violins give a master class in how to play pianissimo in the middle section. After the long pause and potent pizzicati, the Danel take their time building up in intensity and speed until the playing is loud and in your face, but with a super-fine sheen. My favorite? Maybe, but then it's hard to tell with the Emerson and the Borodin in the mix.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018WD4STK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

One of the consequences of avid collecting is that one might from time to time end up with multiple recordings of obscure works. Case in point, Ahmed Adnan Saygun's Piano Concertos. As far as I can tell, only three recordings have been made of these works, and Turkish pianist Gülsin Onay is the soloist in all of them. She's the only Saygun "specialist" I know of, and she has recorded some of the composer's solo piano works, too. I picked up the Koch Schwann recording as a cutout from BRO many, many moons ago, and I picked up the CPO recording as a new-ish release many moons ago. I'd never done an A/B before, so I figured now was as good a time as any.

I started with the Koch recording of the First, penned in the 50s. My memories associated the music with Bartok, and there's good reason for that, as the Bartok style in his first two piano concertos can be heard in this work. So too can Prokofiev and Ravel. Some of the wind writing sounds almost transplanted from Ravel. A standard fast-slow-fast structure is used for the work, with folk or folk-inspired music, and lots of staccato playing is to be heard, especially in the outer movements. The orchestration is often vibrant, though it's a bit sparse in the slow movement. In the Koch recording, Onay seems quite comfortable in her part, and the orchestra plays more than ably. The sound is slightly hard-edged, but not too bad, and it is not overly bright. The CPO recording is better in every regard. The sound is more modern and more realistic. The soloist sounds a bit larger compared to the orchestra, but nothing out of the ordinary. The piano sounds better and more realistic, and the orchestral playing is a bit tighter. Howard Griffiths gets slightly more refined playing from his band, with smoother transitions, but perhaps Aykal's occasionally more robust assertiveness or aggression is really more in the spirit of the piece. Whatever the case may be, I definitely prefer the CPO recording.

The Second, from the 80s, marries more lush and refined orchestration with some more avant-garde styling, and some occasionally even harsher piano writing. It's fast-slow-fast again, with a more melancholy, darker Lento slow movement. The same sonic and artistic attributes present in the First are present here, and though it might seem more refined playing might better suit the work, the older Koch recording might be slightly preferable. That written, even though I own both recordings and I therefore don't have to choose, if forced to choose, I'd take the CPO disc as the keeper.



Amazon UK link (Koch): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000006MU4/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Amazon UK link (CPO): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001E2V8OU/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Love me some Liszt. The Années are boss, of course, and so, too, are the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. I didn't feel like doing comparisons of all the complete sets, but the Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude seemed like a good work to work through. In the best versions, it's moving and profound.

I decided to put those off for a while and start with Isidro Barrio's recording. The biggest issues with this recording have to do with the close, dry sound compounding the aural unpleasantness caused by the out of tune piano, and some other recording artifacts (eg, low frequency noise, static). The playing is generally pretty good, and Barrio, after a somewhat shaky start, produces some beautiful, contemplative music, with the repeated rolled chords rather delicate. In the Andante, Barrio plays with a lovely, poetic style, which carries over into the beginning of the Piu sostenuto. In this last section, as it builds up to the climax prior to the extended right hand run, the playing sounds less secure, and the piano a bit rough. As Barrio executes his the right hand run, the playing is not the most even or precise or best articulated, but again, there's a poetic aspect to his playing that works well. He plays the last portion of the work very slowly, with a contemplative coda.

This is not a favorite version, but Barrio's generally poetic approach and his generous, spacious timing make one wonder what he might have been able to produce with better engineering and a better piano.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004R1CN1M/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

I wanted to get France Clidat's version out of the way early, so as not to interrupt a succession of more enjoyable versions later. Clidat's version is fast, at 14'46", and things start off well enough in the Moderato, but after barely thirty seconds in, some of the playing becomes a bit rushed and bunched together. A fair number of the rolled chords sound too rushed, and as the section approaches its climax, Clidat speeds up the playing, but never really arrives at a satisfying volume. She starts the Andante somewhat bluntly and plays it quickly, with any hints of poetry or even beauty or expression sort of drained away. The Piu sostenuto ends up sounding generally too rushed as well, though Clidat's speedy rolled chords here do create a very nice harp-like effect. The climax is again underpowered, and the right hand run is quick and clear, but stops and starts and lurches about a bit. And while not badly played, the music from the end of the run through the coda lacks much in the way of expression.

 

[Todd A]

Roger Muraro's Benediction. Muraro is even faster than Clidat, and he wastes no time in demonstrating that in the Moderato. His playing is more expressive and finely controlled, though, and his playing is more passionate. The rolled chords often get sort of buried in the mix, while the climax is quite powerful. The transition to the Andante is abrupt, and Muraro plays the music very fast, robbing it of a fair chunk of its poetry. The transition to the Piu sostenuto is also a bit abrupt, and he keeps up the swift pace. Here, his rolled chords sound somewhat like a percussion instrument where honkin' big pads are used on the mallets. The climax is fast and more powerful than in the first movement, and the right hand runs sound excellent, but here the accompaniment sounds a bit chunky. Muraro slows way down as the end approaches, to generally good effect, but what came before sometimes sounded too rushed. Not bad, but not great.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003TCPYMK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Michel Dalberto's Benediction. Almost as long as Barrio's, Dalberto starts off very slowly, with each of the first few notes given their space. He lets the music unfold very deliberately, and he keeps the low end dynamics nicely varied. He extracts a lovely sound when playing quietly, and when paired with liberal sustain pedal use, the rolled chords sound blurred. Like Korstick, when he plays more loudly, the playing gets harder, with copious steel display in the climax. The Andante does not come off as well, given a lack of flow and relative lack of beauty. The Piu sostenuto, emerging expertly from the last note of the Andante, flows nicely, though the rolled chords here sometimes have a metallic tinge, and Dalberto's steely tone emerges early in the build up to the climax, which takes on a very Liebestod-y vibe. The right hand runs afterward are splendidly done, and then he backs way off for the remaining music, returning in mood and feel to the opening, with a very spacious presentation, and a solemn coda. As is so often the case with Dalberto's recordings, his renditions are not the best interpretations, but his playing is powerful and imposing and simply cannot be ignored.



Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004ROY1UK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Roberto Plano's take on the Benediction. Plano takes a fairly broad approach at just over eighteen minutes. He starts the Moderato slowly but then picks up the pace slowly and almost imperceptibly. The rolled chords are bright and vary in volume, never sounding overbearing, and Plano takes full advantage of the Fazioli in building up to a massive but perfectly controlled climax that envelopes the listener, and his playing afterward, right through to the Andante, sounds ethereal. Plano lets the Moderato fade away before starting in on the Andante, in which he lets melody dominate, and much of the accompaniment is gently but clearly dispatched. The transition to the Piu sostenuto is handled very well indeed, with the pause of just the right length, and then his playing assumes a most attractive clarity and steadiness, almost making the music sound fugal. The return of the rolled chords are alternatively to the fore and subdued, and once again Plano builds up to a powerful but controlled climax, followed by right hand playing that almost mimics water effects in some other famous pieces. He then fades away to the coda with contemplative playing.

To call the sound SOTA is to understate its quality. The Fazioli sounds absolutely beautiful.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MG6T1RX/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Yury Favorin's take on the Benediction is very fast, at a mere 13'44", but he has what it takes to pull it off. The opening Moderato sounds fast, but never rushed. Favorin deploys rubato judiciously and effectively, maintains steady rhythm, dispatches the rolled chords with virtuosic panache, and builds to an unabashedly virtuosic climax, then manages to make the music following it sound perfectly well judged, even though it's quite quick. The Andante, too, is pretty quick, but Favorin makes it sound comfortable and never rushed. The Piu sostenuto displays a sense of urgency that other versions do not. Most impressively, it starts off with a sense of urgency, and Favorin has the reserves to keep ratcheting up intensity until the climax, which some might consider too hard or overwrought. He then follows that with dizzying right hand runs that the greatest of today's virtuosi can't surpass. He then slows up, and plays with a gentler, more contemplative style, but it sounds slower than it actually is, though he does taper his playing for a gentle coda. This is high octane playing of a very high order.

Sonically, this is a step down from the Plano, but it's in excellent, modern sound.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CY8B4GK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[alanbeeb]

Roberto Plano's take on the Benediction....

Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liszt-Harm...511534890&sr=8-6&keywords=roberto+plano+liszt

Just in case anyone's wondering about the price of that disc.... £42 at Amazon link above, but only 6.99 here!

 

[Todd A]

Just in case anyone's wondering about the price of that disc.... £42 at Amazon link above, but only 6.99 here!

6.99 is a heckuva price for that set.

 

[Todd A]

Bolet's Benediction. Bolet's affinity for Liszt shines through here, with a Moderato that opens with playing of no little beauty and poetry, and it sounds seriously devotional. The rolled chords are gentle and beautiful. Bolet builds to a satisfying climax, then plays remaining music of the section in a sort of dreamy-devotional mix. The transition to the Andante is a bit abrupt, but the playing is lyrical and poetic. The playing segues smoothly to a Piu sostenuto that starts off sounding even more lyrical and poetic. Bolet's choic of tempo - middle of the road - works fantastically well, allowing the music to breathe and keeping it moving forward at all times. The repeated rolled chords here are too fast and percussive to be harp-like, but they are gently beautiful nonetheless, while the buildup to the climax is pushed slightly, and the climax itself is somewhat anti-climactic, almost as though Bolet really wanted to get to beautiful music that follows, where his accompaniment acts as a musical backdrop for right hand runs that sound gently ecstatic. The last part of the piece and the coda are as Elysian as anything in late Beethoven. Bolet's late career, contemplative Liszt is top shelf. No surprise.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01K8QRVJ8/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Brigitte Engerer's take. Adopting roughly the same overall tempo as Bolet, Engerer's style is somewhat straight-forward, with no bold gestures, though some small ones are nice - for instance, the rolled chords are played with uncommonly smooth legato at the outset. The climax of the Moderato is not especially powerful, keeping the work more contained, and the playing until the Andante is somewhat plain. The Andante sounds a bit rushed, perhaps losing a bit of lyricism The Piu sostenuto starts off sounding more lyrical, with a nice build up to a strong climax, with Engerer playing the right hand runs after in a shimmering, water-effect style. The overall effect is not as transportive or elevated as some others, but it's very good. The same holds true for the entire performance, and the entire disc.


Amazon UK link

 

[Todd A]

(Note: click the image to go to Amazon UK site. I will link in-print recordings this way going forward.)

Boris Bloch's Benediction. The opening three notes set the stage for a slow and generally poetic take. The Moderato slowly builds to a most satisfying climax, with an accented arpeggio right at the end of it, with the whole thing sounding like contained rapture, and the music that follows is supremely controlled in terms of tempo and dynamic tapering, with Bloch then pausing for just the right amount of time before the last note. The Andante section is slow and contemplative and lovely, if a bit heavy, and it transitions seamlessly to the Piu sostenuto, which goes for the elevated, transcendent style. Bloch does a good job maintaining a slow tempo, though when he speeds up slightly, the transition can be a bit noticeable. The rolled chords sound just splendid here, and when he starts to increase volume on the way to the powerful climax, it's a bit abrupt, but very striking. He lets the music ring out a bit before starting in on slow right hand runs that in overall impression sort of bring Wilhelm Kempff to mind in that one can get the impression that he's out there, doing his thing, and this is just how it should be, even if it shouldn't, and it's just fine. Bloch creates some nice strumming effects with a couple minutes to go, and the movement concludes on a serious note. Somewhat like Dalberto, this is not one of my favorite readings, but it must be taken seriously.

 

[Todd A]

Steven Osborne's Benediction. Museum quality playing. Osborne's Moderato is very, well, moderate in tempo, with remarkable left hand clarity and delicate and beautiful melodies. As he builds up to the climax, his playing does become notably quicker, but it never sounds rushed, and the playing through to the coda is dominated, if that's the word, by the delicate right hand playing. The Andante is perfectly paced and lovely and moves into the Piu sostenuto smoothly, which Osborne plays with a deft, lovely touch all the way until the climax, where once again his playing speeds up appreciably as he builds up the volume. The right hand runs after are slow but gorgeous. The playing leading up to the coda becomes positively serene, almost static, suspending time. The playing is exquisite, polished to a T, as per normal from Osborne, but some other traits are missing. It is impossible not to like this recording, though.

 

[alanbeeb]

Roberto Plano's take on the Benediction. Plano takes a fairly broad approach at just over eighteen minutes. He starts the Moderato slowly but then picks up the pace slowly and almost imperceptibly. The rolled chords are bright and vary in volume, never sounding overbearing, and Plano takes full advantage of the Fazioli in building up to a massive but perfectly controlled climax that envelopes the listener, and his playing afterward, right through to the Andante, sounds ethereal. Plano lets the Moderato fade away before starting in on the Andante, in which he lets melody dominate, and much of the accompaniment is gently but clearly dispatched. The transition to the Piu sostenuto is handled very well indeed, with the pause of just the right length, and then his playing assumes a most attractive clarity and steadiness, almost making the music sound fugal. The return of the rolled chords are alternatively to the fore and subdued, and once again Plano builds up to a powerful but controlled climax, followed by right hand playing that almost mimics water effects in some other famous pieces. He then fades away to the coda with contemplative playing.

To call the sound SOTA is to understate its quality. The Fazioli sounds absolutely beautiful.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MG6T1RX/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

I don't go for Liszt much, find him very uneven but thought I really should try something to balance out the 5 recordings of the Sonata that I have. As this is available on Amazon for £6.99 I decided to give it a go. 2 discs of quite honestly the best piano recording I've yet heard, and fairly stupendous music which was all new to me. Glad I did.

 

[Todd A]

2 discs of quite honestly the best piano recording I've yet heard, and fairly stupendous music which was all new to me. Glad I did.

Glad you liked it. It is a really good set. For me, Liszt's magnum opus is the complete Années de pèlerinage. If you've not listened to it, one of the best overall cycles available, from unknown pianist Julian Gorus, is under ten pounds for the three disc set. Sound is excellent, if not as good as the Plano set. Mūza Rubackytė's set is superb as well, and in absolutely wonderful sound, but the current price is crazy high. (Also, Decca Italy solo piano recordings made in Fazioli Hall are uniformly superb.)

 

[Todd A]

Kun Woo Paik's Benediction. Paik's take is the slowest of all in my collection at 22'24". The opening of the Moderato is so slow that it just about breaks the musical line. The playing doesn't create a sense of depth so much as stasis. Paik blurs the rolled chords and takes his time building up to the climax, where he pulls back before everyone else, and then he plays the rest of the section with a near static tempo. The Andante, too. The Piu sostenuto starts off the same, and not until about the time that the fast versions would have ended does Paik pick up the pace to merely slow. Yet, as slow as he plays, he holds the work together, and as he gradually picks up speed, it adds to the increased sense of drama in the second climax. The right hand runs that follow are back to super slow, each note clear and distinct. Long pauses extend some passages and slow left hand arpeggios sound guitar-like. The cumulative effect is serene and meditative. It's an idiosyncratic take, but Paik executes his vision superbly.

 

[Todd A]

Michael Korstick's Benediction. Middle of the road timing wise, Korstick packs a lot in. He starts the Moderato at a slightly slow pace, and plays with a sensitive touch. Even when he speeds up a bit, the rolled chords sound gentle, but then, as he speeds up for the climax, he deploys his pneumatic fingers to generate a massive sonority while still playing with superb clarity. He backs off appropriately through the coda, and the Andante comes off quite lyrically, though a couple bass notes are a bit terse. The Piu sostenuto starts off slow and quite beautiful, with the tempo increasing markedly as the climax approaches, which is delivered with weight and speed and steel, with the subsequent right hand runs dashed off before Korstick switches to a slower approach. The playing isn't especially evocative of anything so much as it is pianistically extremely satisfying. Superb.

 

[Todd A]

FFG's Benediction. At just a hair under twenty minutes, FFG's take is very broad of tempo and individual in nature. The Moderato is very slow, introspective, and intimate. It's a musical confession. The blurred rolled chords paired with a hypnotic bass line captivate, and FFG takes his sweet time building up to the climax, in which he doesn't speed up, but he does thicken his sonority, rendering it almost organ-like, complete with a few wall-rattling bass notes. The music leading to the end of the section is heavenly, the pianist seeming unburdened with worldly thoughts. The Andante is also quite slow and meditative, with some very delicate playing punctuated by the occasional thundering bass note or chord. FFG mixes up pedaling, sometimes riding the sustain and holding chords, and sometimes letting some music fall off quickly. Somehow he manages to make the Piu sostenuto sound more ethereal and transcendent than the preceding sections right out of the gate, and he once again takes his time building to a satisfying and powerful climax, with right hand runs that approximate the effect the chains of trills in LvB's Op 111, with FFG intent on delivering a Lisztian vision of Elysian Fields, which he does. An astounding recording, and one of my favorites. Maybe one day he will see fit to record the Annees.