Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Plays Mozart, Chopin and Franck

Advantages: A discovery unforgettable
Disadvantages: Nothing

...(Rewrite on 09/07/2001) Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (great italian "virtuoso") spent his life to search a kind of perfection during interpretations. He knew this perfection to be impossible but, for him, "perfection" was union between composer and player. Then,this perfection isn't impossible... Glenn Gould tryed the same sound by his pianos: in this way he was very careful to music structure: beauty of musical phrases, to give a geometrical "presence" to music a.s.o. Of course his Bach interpretations (but Beethoven and Mozart also), even if on a piano and not on a harpsichord or "fortepiano" , are excellent. Michelangeli is on the other side of the moon... His Chopin is mysterious, full of shadows and, in some compositions, unknowable. But, how does Michelangeli obtain this wonderful result? To answer it is simple and very... Read review

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Advantages: Unparalleled playing, Unbelievably good bargain for 6 CDs!
Disadvantages: Um, paper sleeves? No, seriously, it's great

...This box set comprises recordings from 1985-89, when Horowitz was 81 years old! In 1986 Horowitz returned to Russia after 60 years away to give his monumental Moscow recital of which the live recording is included in this set. I personally find this performance of Liszt's Sonetto 104 del Petrarca to be the finest ever recorded. Alongside this is Scarlatti, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Schumann, Chopin, Moszkowski, and Schubert. Accompanying this recital is 5 other discs of outstandingly unique playing. As he got older, Horowitz's playing became a sort of caricature of itself in the nicest possible way. By this I mean, his dynamics became more extreme, he became more expressive than ever, and his sense of style was heightened to new levels. Horowitz's Mozart playing has been criticized for being too free and not in Mozart... Read review

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Advantages: Wide range of little-know music played live by world-class pianists
Disadvantages: None for those who enjoy classical Piano Solo music

...) and some other waltzes. The emphasis in this arrangement is on Viennese flavour, and Vorraber gives a masterful performance here, bringing out the Viennese lilt and flavour to the full. In some places two melodies are played simultaneously, and Vorraber brings these out well. This is quite entertaining and not as extreme as some Godowsky arrangements which sometimes have three or even four melodies played simultaneously. This performance embodies the essence of the entire CD: virtuosity with sensitivity, never virtuosity for its own sake. Janina Fialkowska Janina Fialkowska plays a single Chopin mazurka, making a gem out of a fairly simple piece of music. It would be interesting to hear more of her performances of Polish music, but this is her only performance on this CD. Boris Bloch Boris Bloch plays two works my Mili Balakirev... Read review

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