Scriabin: Complete Solo Piano Works

Advantages: Little known music played extremely well
Disadvantages: Music has harsh dissonances and is not easy to understand

...to play, but not very listenable, while the last, Burlando, is fun to listen to. The sonatas have contrasting moods in sections, within a single movement. They contain some exciting rhythms which are reminscent of Scriabin. There are some other preludes and short pieces, similar in style to the poems and sonatas, but with the material more condensed than in the sonatas. Overall the music is a little more difficult to listen to than late Scriabin, and I would not have appreciated the music without listening to Scriabin first. As far as I know, this is the only recording of piano music by Roslavets, and it contains all his works for solo piano. This recording is so good that it would be difficult for another pianist to produce another to compare with it. This recording is highly recommended for anyone who wants to listen... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent selection and performance of piano works by Frank Bridge
Disadvantages: A few pieces are not very interesting

...Frank Bridge was an early twentieth century English composer. His works are not widely known, but are played increasingly, and more recordings are becoming available. Some of his later works, such as his piano sonata, were influenced by Scriabin. This CD is the second of three, and covers a wide range of styles, but mostly in his earlier style. Most of the pieces on this CD are fairly easy to listen to, and can be enjoyed by the majority of classical music lovers. The opening piece, Etude Rhapsodique, is an etude appropriately played by Jacobs, in the grand manner (of Liszt and other nineteenth century virtuosi), full of late nineteenth century panache, but with Bridge's own distinctive voice. The second piece, Berceuse, is played beautifully, a gentle piece as the name would suggest (a lullaby) but again with Bridge's own... 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

...twentieth Russian composer, with partial French ancestry. He was influenced by Tchaikovsky, and his music is sometimes described as being similar to that of Alexander Scriabin (a contemporary of Catoire) but "without the neuroticism". Catoire's music has flowing melodies, and some with virtuoso passages. It is in some ways similar to that of the French composer Gabriel Faure, in its gentle reserve, and that it requires many listenings before it can be fully appreciated. Hamelin has recorded a large selection of Catoire's works for piano (on Hyperion). Again it is interesting to listen his more spontaneous performances here, compared with the studio recordings. Hamelin has also contributed to promoting Catoire's music by assisting in the publication of "The Complete Piano Music of Georgi Catoire". Hamelin plays a selection... Read review

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