Best Elegies
From time to time pianists have experimented with recording on less than full-sized instruments and/or on especially well-preserved or reconditioned pre-modern Steinways. And here is another.As Leif Ove Andsnes tells us, Grieg's model B Steinway of 1892 sits 'in the high-ceilinged, wood-floored and wood-panelled drawing room at Troldhaugen', the villa on the outskirts of Bergen now preserved as a Grieg museum. This is partly a feature of the instrument itself, with its absence of excessive resonance, its harp-like bass, nut-brown middle register and bell-like treble; and it's partly that the open perspectives of the recording allow you to imagine the surroundings of pure Norwegian air.As with all the best early-piano recordings, this means that the instrument can be pushed to the limit without screaming blue murder. 38 Andsnes can pedal richly without endangering clarity; the resulting halo effect is one that composers of Grieg's time knew well but that the modern piano struggles to re-create.The same instrument played by a less-than-comprehensively equipped pianist might not occasion any special comment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The present CD - published in December 2001 - includes 24 of the 66 Pieces, several of them among Grieg’s more recognizable music, for example, Arietta, Norwegian Melody, Elegy, March of the Trolls, The Brook, Summer Evening. For the few readers who have been out of touch with the latest in classical music, Leif Ove Andsnes, already an accomplished pianist, became incredibly popular following his recent production (2012-2014) of the “The Beethoven Journey“ CD set, with the composer‘s five piano concerti and the Choral Fantasy."
"This is a very sensitive, delightful album."
"Andsnes plays these pieces beautifully, with abundant heart (and on Grieg's own 1892 piano at Grieg's Troldhaugen home)."
"The less familiar pieces are well performed, and, hopefully, he will record all of the Lyric Pieces some day. The novelty of this recording is, of course, that Andsnes plays Grieg's own Steinway but there also is a very performance as well."
"We all have our favorite performers, but I've heard enough of Andsnes by now--not only his version of the Lyric Pieces, but also the Grieg Concerto and the Rachmaninov Second and Third--to know that, at least for me, his technique and musicality are superb."
"The best I have. ever heard."
"A wonderful addition to any music collection."
"While Mr. Andsnes showed dazzling technique, by comparison Gilels' refined elegance lent the piece the gentle and simple grace that it deserved."
David Russell's program ranges wide and far, from arrangements of such exotica as Arcos Fantasia on Themes from Verdi's La Traviata to original guitar solos by the likes of Villa Lobos and modern Latin composers. In arrangements of familiar piano works like the five Grieg Lyric Pieces or Debussy's La Fille aux Chevaux de Lin , Russell's playing is so warmly idiomatic he makes you forget the originals and revel in the rounded, radiant tone of his guitar.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of the best I have heard."
"There is no other classical guitarist with the superb sound of his guitar and his mastery of it."
"The song from Deer Hunter makes the cd well worth it."
"Best guitarist of this era."
"It's such a pleasure to listen to a guitarist who both loves his instrument and has spent the time to master it."
"This another stand out CD from David Russell."
"David Russell is one of the most amazing guitarists on this planet and plays with precision and passion that is as near to perfect as you will ever find."
"David Russell has joined Christopher Parkening as one of my two favorite classical guitarists, but Russell has a much larger repertoire and brings perfect sensitivity and expression to each and every genre."
Etudes d'exécution transcendante - Mariotte - Valse de Marie - Adagio en ut majeur - Elégie sur des motifs du Prince Louis Ferdinand de Prusse / Leslie Howard, piano.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Among some of the great individual recordings include Sviatoslav Richter's timeless Ricordanza and torrent Feux Follets. The rest of the works don't particularly stand out, so unless you are buying this CD to complete your collection, Id go with the following CD instead for the Transcendental Etudes: http://www.pianistdiscography.com/discography/pianistLabel.php?cdnum=58&labRich=9&PIANIST=5."
"Sure, Bolet and Arrau play the slower movements very distinctly, but their fast movements lack the savageness that I like to hear in Liszt."
"Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, played superbly by Howard."
Best Airs
"Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. "Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. "Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. "Grieg: Humoresque, Op. "Grieg: Arietta, Op. "Grieg: Homesickness, Op. "Grieg: At Your Feet, Op.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It manages to eclipse even the more famous A Minor Piano Concerto which comes in an earnest, straightforward reading with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Ole Kristian Ruud. (The same recording as on the CD album). The accompanying 56-minute documentary is not so much a Grieg biography as Andsnes' personal search for a better understanding of the genesis of the G Minor Ballade, a piece which he had never performed in public before. Sound is only available in LPCM Stereo but it is lovely; very present, wide ranging and preserving that special timbre of Grieg's own Steinway, set amidst the intimate acoustics of his home. Favourites here are the simple and lovely "Arietta", the melancholic "Homesickness" and of course the joyfully rousing "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen". This DVD makes a lovely memento of his latest survey of Grieg's music compiled for the 100th Anniversary of the great composer's death."
"Through this and other recordings and performances, Leif Ove Andsnes has established himself as a preeminent Grieg pianist of the modern era."
"He plays the Ballad in G minor, the Piano Concerto in A minor with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud, and a nice selection of Lyric Pieces with warmth and obvious love for the music."
"Enjoyed this film on the life and music of Grieg."
"I had listened to Leif Ove Andsnes CD of this great music, but this DVD does a wonderful job of tracing the life and musical genius of Grieg."
"Watched over 10 times already."
"Excellent!"
Best Requiems
Tuscan tenor Andrea Bocelli was already an international superstar (for Romanza, Aria, and Sogno) when he made his first album of arias and sacred music. "I have known these pieces since childhood," he explains, and it's clear that he loves them all.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I first saw Bocelli in the DVD version of this same CD at a local shopping mall at Christmastime a few years ago, and just thought he looked cool standing there singing well. Saw Bocelli live at the 15,000 capacity MCI Center in Washington in December 05 where he performed some of the same material; it was great; next day was dismayed to read snide newspaper review of "the man from Tuscany." But Bocelli has a more conversation tone in his singing (think Frank Sinatra versus Caruso) and has a straight-up noblility rather than continuous breathless desperation that I just like to listen to better."
"This collection of sacred arias is truly inspired!"
"So thankful that God gave us Andrea and his fantastic voice."
"He has such a beautiful voice."
"Inspirational and beautiful."
"CD didn't work write."