Plays Schumann & Brahms (Saxophone)

On this CD:

1. Adagio & Allegro for horn (or violin or cello) & piano in A flat major, Op. 70 Langsam mit innigemAusdruck (Adagio)
Composed by Robert Schumann
Performed by Gerard Wyss, Klaus Pfister

2. Adagio & Allegro for horn (or violin or cello) & piano in A flat major, Op. 70 Rasch und feurig (Allegro con brio)
Composed by Robert Schumann
Performed by Gerard Wyss, Klaus Pfister

3. Phantasiestücke (3 Fantasy Pieces) for clarinet (or cello or violin) & piano, Op. 73
Composed by Robert Schumann
Performed by Gerard Wyss, Klaus Pfister

4. Sonata for Clarinet (or viola) & Piano No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120/1
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Gerard Wyss, Klaus Pfister

5. Sonata for Clarinet (or viola) & Piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120/2
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Gerard Wyss, Klaus Pfister

Plays Schumann & Brahms (Saxophone), Music, Klaus Pfister, Classical, Classical Composers

Marimba When...Leigh Howard Stevens plays the great Albums for the Young
Average customer rating:

A personal review from Dr. Splat Bar Jr. (read entire review)

Marimba When...Leigh Howard Stevens plays the great Albums for the Young

Manufacturer: Resonator Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Bargain Box Sets | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music
Similar Items:

Leigh Howard Stevens plays Bach on Marimba

The Marimba Festival Orchestra

Ragtime Concert

Prism

Marimba Spiritual

ASIN: B0001B4XKG
Release Date: 1999-01-01

Tracks:

Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
Serenade for the Doll
The Snow is Dancing
The Little Shepherd
Golliwogg's Cakewalk
Song of the Lark
Morning Prayer
The Hobby Horse
Italian Song
German Song
Walts
Neapolitan Dance-Song
Mazurka
The Doll's Burial
The New Doll
Nursery Tale
Sweet Dreams
Humming Song
Soldier's March
The Wild Rider
Knecht Ruprecht
May, Sweet May
Roundelay
No. 26 (untitled)
Remembrance
No. 30
Ivan Sings
Ivan Can't Go Out Today
Ivan is Ill
Ivan Goes to a Party
Ivan and Natasha
Ivan is Very Busy

Album Description

Hailed by Time magazine as "the world's greatest classical marimbist", Leigh Howard brings a fresh approach to music making on the marimba. The piano works for children featured on this CD are particularly well suited to transcription for the marimba.

Customer Reviews:

A personal review from Dr. Splat Bar Jr. (read entire review).......2006-07-19

Ok, if you're looking up this CD then the chances are that you have already heard of Leigh Howard Stevens. You've probably heard that he is a great technical musician, which you will find incorrect when you listen to his CD. I mean, he can do all of those one handed and double lateral rolls backwards and forwards and while counting his change on the Marimba while standing on his head, but who can't now? Sure, he can play the fuge from Bach's Prelude in Bflat Major while talking about current events and cracking jokes, but that doesn't mean that he is a great player; he's just lucky! And Tschaikowsky is overrated. Any composer whose name is that hard to spell should be shunned.
Really, this is a great CD by a master musician. If you are a lover of great performances of great music then you owe it to yourself to purchase this CD. Marimba When and Bach on Marimba (also by Mr. Stevens) are the two greatest marimba cds. Period.
Thank you for doing this album, Mr. Stevens.
A student from the LHS Summer Seminar 2000

Average customer rating:

Alfred Brendel Plays Liszt & Schumann

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D784, 840, 894, 959, 960
Alfred Brendel - In Portrait
Me of All People: Alfred Brendel in Conversation With Martin Meyer
Alfred Brendel: Schubert - Final Three Sonatas
Mozart: Piano Sonatas K281, K282, K576; Fantasia in C minor, K396

ASIN: B000BYNC1Y
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Tracks:

Lento Assai-Allegro Energico
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Energico-Andante Sostenuto-Lento Assai
Totentanz
Vallee D'Obermann
Adagio Sostenuto Assai-Allegro Agitato Assai
Allegro Moderato
Allegro Deciso-Marziale, Un Poco Meno Allegro
Allegro Animato

Tracks:

I. Ausserst Bewegt
II. Sehr Innig Und Nicht Zu Rasch/Intermezzo I: Sehr Lebhaft/Intermezzo II: Etwas Bewegter
III. Sehr Aufgeregt
IV. Sehr Langsam
V. Sehr Lebhaft
VI. Sehr Langsam
VII. Sehr Rasch
VIII. Schnell Und Spielend
I. Durchaus Fantastisch Und Leidenschaftlich Vorzutragen-Im Legendenton-Tempo Primo
II. Massig-Durchaus Energisch-Etwas Langsamer-Viel Bewegter
III. Langsam Getragen. Durchweg Leise Zu Halten-Etwas Bewegter

Sviatoslav Richter Plays Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann

Average customer rating:

Memorable recital!
Richter is brilliant
robert schumann, piano concerto in A minor, richter, s.,pian

Sviatoslav Richter Plays Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann

Manufacturer: BBC Legends
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

BBC Friends: Richter (Great Performers of the Twentieth Century)
Schubert, Chopin, Liszt
Beethoven: Sonatas for piano No29; Sonatas for piano No3
The Sofia Recital 1958
Schubert: Piano Sonatas

ASIN: B0000B1A5D
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Allegretto - Maggiore
III. Rondo. Allegro Comodo
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo. Allegro Assai
Fantasy In C major, D 760 'Wanderer'
Theme And Variations On The Name 'Abegg', Op.1
I. Allegro. Sehr Lebhaft
II. Romanze. Ziemlich Langsam
III. Scherzino
IV. Intermezzo. Mit Grosser Energie
V. Finale. Hochst Lebhaft
Etude In C Sharp Minor, Op.10 No.4

Customer Reviews:

Memorable recital!.......2006-07-29

The Royal Festival Hall's audiences were witnesses also knew about the grandness of this mater of the piano. Richter, had caused absolute disturbance as well as a evident furor in USA with motive of his debut in Carnegie Hall in 1960.

Richter knew to choose his repertoire according the audiences. He decided to start in Carnegie Hall with Haydn, but in London 1963 Beethoven was the chosen composer to initiate that unforgettable soirée. Impeccable phrasing and accurate fingering was enough to deserve all the praises.

The Second half of the Recital was still better, because the introspective mood of Robert Schumann was always much more closer to Richter ` s temperament. And this was a very risky decision, specially when the great audiences in London had listened to Benedetti Michelangeli in the famous recital of 1957, but smartly Richter also knew there was no other pianist with such renowned fame like him from those times. Besides he had been known in 1960 because the terrible controversy, generated with Karajan with motive of visible discrepancies around the triple Concert . So the expectative was enormous and Richter accepted the huge challenge.

The result was surprisingly effective. Richter was overwhelmingly inspired that evening and even 43 years after, the positive comments still are in the environment. He overpowered the audience with his strong artistic personality. When you listen the chosen piece, product of the sonorous applauses, Chopin `s Etude No. 4 , you will know why that night had to be a mesmerizing experience.

Additionally you will hear the most mesmerizing Wanderer that Richter ever layed.

A musical document of incalculable value!

Richter is brilliant.......2005-07-09

The contents of this CD: two Beethoven sonatas (Op. 14, #1 in E and #2 in G); Schubert's "Wanderer" Fantasy; Schumann's Theme & Variation on "Abegg" (Op. 1) and Faschingschwank aus Wien (Op. 26); and a Chopin Etude (Op. 10, #4 in C# minor). These are concert recordings from the Royal Albert Hall in 1963, but the sound quality is good and the audience noise is minimal (until the thunderous applause at the end of each piece). Richter, of course, shines. His Beethoven is powerful and precise. His interpretation of the "Wanderer" Fantasy breathes a wonderful vitality into that piece. The Schumann is wonderful, especially the relatively obscure "Faschingschwank." The Chopin --- no doubt an encore piece --- gives a rousing close to this piece. For anyone interested in these pieces, and/or anyone interested in studying Richter, one of the great pianists of the 20th century, I would heartily recommend this album.

robert schumann, piano concerto in A minor, richter, s.,pian.......2005-02-12

I haven't heard your recording, so I cannot rate it,
However, I heard a recording abour 40 yearsa ago. It is,
undoubted one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. Sviatoslave Richter is superb!!!

Average customer rating:

A compact treasure

Walter Klien plays Brahms

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol 2 / Walter Klien
Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3
Mozart: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.2

ASIN: B0006SSNIM
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Customer Reviews:

A compact treasure.......2007-02-02

The piano works of Johannes Brahms, here recorded, represent in brief the best of Brahms middle period. Here one finds a man who has reached the maturity of his years; his vision directed more towards the contemplative than the assertive. At last he finds rest.

Average customer rating:

Kreisler plays Kreisler

Kreisler plays Kreisler

Manufacturer: Classica D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Fritz Kreisler Plays Kreisler
The Kreisler Album
Heifetz Showpieces
Kreisler: Original Compositions & Arrangements
Ginette Neveu Plays Brahms

ASIN: B00005OAJ6
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Tracks:

A May Breeze
Romance, Op.94
La Precieuse In The Style Of Couperin
Ser Espagnole, Op.20 No.2
The Old Refrain
Der Opernball: Midnight Bells
Chanson & Pavane In The Style Of Couperin
Ballet in G
Larghetto
Caprice Viennois
Chinois, Op.3
Gavotte
Rondo
Rondino On A Theme By Beethoven
Mazurka, No.4 Op.67
Poupee Valsante
Humoresque, Op.101 No.7
Andante Cantabile
Hymn To The Sun
Chanson Hindoue

Tracks:

Londonderry Air - Franz Rupp
Lotus Land, Op.47 No.1 - Franz Rupp
Jota No.4 - Franz Rupp
Danza Espanola - Franz Rupp
Schon Rosmarin - Franz Rupp
La Gitana - Franz Rupp
Liebesleid - Franz Rupp
Liebesfreud - Franz Rupp
Scherzo Alla Dittersdorf - Kreisler Str Qt
Str Qt in a - Kreisler Str Qt
Str Qt in a - Kreisler Str Qt
Str Qt in a - Kreisler Str Qt
Str Qt in a - Kreisler Str Qt
Son: Adagio - Fritz Kreisler
Chansons Sans Paroles - Fritz Kreisler
Ste No.3: Air - Fritz Kreisler
Aubade Provencale In The Style Of Couperin - Fritz Kreisler

Customer Reviews:

Kreisler plays Kreisler.......2007-06-02

I purchased three different CD's of Kreisler Music for my sister. We both love it and would recommand all his music. The are very beautiful.

Average customer rating:

5 papillons for Rasteven Isserlis--- this is heaven

Steven Isserlis Plays Schumann

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Hommage à R. Sch.
Fauré: Complete Works for Cello
Brahms: Cello Sonatas
Steven Isserlis - Haydn: Cello Concertos in C & D, Sinfonia Concertante
Steven Isserlis plays Works for Cello and Orchestra

ASIN: B000003G9P
Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op 129: Nicht zu schnell
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op 129: Langsam
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op 129: Sehr lebhaft
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op 129: Cadenza
Adagio for Cello and Orchestra
Fantasiestucke, Op 73 for Cello and Piano: Zart und mit Ausdruck
Fantasiestucke, Op 73 for Cello and Piano: Lebhaft, leicht
Fantasiestucke, Op 73 for Cello and Piano: Rasch und mit Feuer
Adagio & Allegro, Op. 70 for Cello and Piano: Adagio
Adagio & Allegro, Op. 70 for Cello and Piano: Allegro
Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 for Cello and Piano: Mit Humor
Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 for Cello and Piano: Langsam
Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 for Cello and Piano: Nicht schnell, Mit viel Ton zu spielen
Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 for Cello and Piano: Nicht zu rasch
Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 for Cello and Piano: Stark und markiert
Offertorium: Mass, Op 147
Silent Track
Concerto For Cello And Orchestra, Op 129 Cadenza & Original Ending

Customer Reviews:

5 papillons for Rasteven Isserlis--- this is heaven.......2003-07-23

Quite simply : this is the greatest recording of the greatest Cello concerto that the world has ever known. Isserlis knows Schumann. His Cello bleeds the Davidsbundler Master into every passion-note. His collaborators here seem infected by the Schumann/Isserlis heavenly inspiration. How good is it beyond being the best? Well it makes Ma's terrific version sound almost mechanical! Once in a great while there exists such profound intimacy between a great composer and an artist that eternal magic shakes the firmament. Such a wedding is rare and to be treasured when found. The insouciant inclusion of the gourgeous
adagio of Bargiel, a Florestan/Eusibius protege, plus a "few extras", shows that Isserlis is not only in touch completely with Schumann, but in a total harmony that transcendentally and ethereally touches the soul as each lovng bar caresses the senses.
Everyone knows the Concerto and other cello pieces so I won't bother with any analysis except to say that from Zwickau to Endenich RAS is smiling as , perhaps, he never did in his life. Isserlis knows Schumann.And , yes : this is the greatest recording of the greatest Cello Concerto that the world has ever known.

Michelangeli Plays Schumann, Grieg, Liszt

Average customer rating:

WRONG LISZT, RIGHT LISZT

Michelangeli Plays Schumann, Grieg, Liszt

Manufacturer: Arkadia: the 78's
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004W1L7
Release Date: 2000-07-25

Customer Reviews:

WRONG LISZT, RIGHT LISZT.......2004-06-26

The Liszt concerto here is the first and not the second, for the benefit of anyone else who is trying to obtain this disc in the hope of finding the latter. I'm not now aware of any recording by Michelangeli of the second concerto. So far as I can tell, this performance of the first is the one that helped him win the Geneva competition at age 19 and elicited the exclamation from Cortot `A new Liszt is born'.

The Liszt performance is from 1939, and is perhaps slightly better recorded than the Schumann and Grieg, both dating from 1942. I own later performances of all three works by him. The later Liszt account, from his infamous Japanese tour, is preferable to this by virtue of recorded quality, the later Grieg and Schumann seem to me better as performances also. This is, I should say, strictly a record for Michelangeli-collectors. He was a notorious maverick - moody, unreliable and elusive - and his public repertory, when he deigned to put in an appearance at all, was very small. For me, the fascination in tracking his development is not just in his monumental greatness but also in his unpredictability. In some works, e.g. this Liszt concerto, he changed his interpretation very little, in others like the Schumann he changed it slightly, and in others like the Grieg he changed it spectacularly. From what I hear on this record, he seems to have been in a rather demure phase in 1942. The last movement of the Schumann is a very restrained `allegro vivace', and the first movement is downright slow. I adore Lipatti's high-velocity readings of both movements, but they don't have to be done that way and if I had to name my outright favourite performances of both the Schumann and the Grieg I would still unhesitatingly plump for Cherkassky whose speeds in the outer movements are quite moderate. What M seems to do here in the Schumann is loiter. Apart from an astonishingly leisurely first movement, he drops down a gear at the second subject of the finale. Some retardation at this point is perfectly reasonable, and Backhaus for one carries off the trick very successfully, but there are limits surely.

In the Grieg and the Liszt it's easier to form a clear view of the performances. This Grieg is rather like a lower-voltage version of the extraordinary account that he recorded later with the New Philharmonia under Fruehbeck de Burgos. The phrasing is quite similar, in particular a gorgeous suggestion of birdsong in the slow movement that he plays up spectacularly in the later version. The tempi of the outer movements in this performance are a bit slower, but the real difference is in the `charge'. His later version is the most vivid and electric I think I have ever heard from anyone, and I wonder whether the photograph of him dripping with perspiration on the leaflet with that BBC record was taken at the conclusion of the performance, as I suspect it probably was. In the Liszt he may have decided that he had a winning formula that he didn't want to change, and if so I would back his decision. I own other performances of it by Richter, Cziffra and Ogdon, all on top form, but Michelangeli has them licked. The recording here doesn't do justice to that amazing finger-power, and the quality on the Japanese performance is nothing outstanding either, but through owning it I'm able to appreciate what his audience in 1939 must have heard and wondered at.

Customer Reviews:

The best Schumann piano concert in the next years.......2004-05-07

Before I noticed this recording I had Lipatti, Richter and Benedetti Michelagenli among my battlehorses favorites.
But suddenly a czech pianist Ivan Moravec , and the Czech Philarmonic (one of the five best European orchestras) conducted by the giant Vaclav Neumann. It was an interesting riddle. So I decided to buy it in 1977.
The surprise still shocks when I remeber the first time I listened it. Moravec is a genius of the keyboard, but not onlythat, the dionisiac approach who Moravec and the czech orchestra give to this piano concerto seem to reveal more notes than this concert has in its score. So brilliant, magnificently performed with deep honesty and an outstanding poetry.
Forget all you can have heard about any other recording. Please, ignore it and try as soon as it's possible this issue.
Moravec stole this concert for himself.
The transfer on CD is extraordinary. Supraphon made a technical prodige in the transfering process, fortunely.
Warning forget the another recording with Dallas Symphony.

His music speaks for itself.......2002-09-13

Nothing that I can write approaches the eloquence of Ivan Moravec's pianism. Since you are reading this "review", you almost certainly know him already, and you know you must have this recording. The only flaw in this recording is its length, but there is never enough. In every recording of his I have heard, Moravec's thoughtful intelligence, the integrity of his repertoire, and the restraint and elegance of his artistry coalesce into a rare treasure that I keep for special moments of reflection when I can take his music from its box, hold it to the light, and marvel at the purity of its crystalline beauty.

Transcendent Schumann performance.......2001-08-24

We now have two Moravec performances of the Schumann Piano Concerto. The other one (on DOR-90172, actually recorded later than this one), with the Dallas Symphony, is paired with the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1. I'm hard pressed to choose between them - both are wonderful. If I have any preference, it's for the warmer sound of the Czech Philharmonic, due in part to the woodier woodwinds.

Cesar Franck's one-movement Symphonic Variations is a kaleidoscopic fantasy of many moods. At first I wondered if Moravec's opening tempo was too slow. But by the end I realized that it served the development well, making the other sections all the more effective by contrast. As often as not, this piece comes across as light music whose main attraction is the sunny Spanish dance finale. Moravec's ending supplies plenty of adrenaline, but his playing in the haunting middle section is a poetic revelation. The modulations here are as heavenly as anything in Faure, and Moravec's piano fairly shimmers over the cello section's brooding chorus, like stars in a vast night sky.

Schumann's Kinderszenen is among the most charming and accessible of all his pieces, but as the liner notes point out, this is music about children, not for children. It inhabits a world of shifting light and shadow where things are not always what they seem to be. Each brief vignette evokes some thread of memory that is as ephemeral as childhood itself. I doubt that many pianists have revealed this inner tension more poignantly. No performance that I know of even comes close to this one in its organic unity and exquisite shading of color, line, and harmony.

Customer Reviews:

Mesmerizing.......2007-01-09

This collection of music is by far one of the most beautiful I have listened to. The artist's style and abilities shine through with a hypnotizing quality. This CD should be in every music lover's collection.

Horszowski Plays Schumann, Mozart and Chopin

Average customer rating:

One of the greatest ever
Sheer Magic...
A Good CD

Horszowski Plays Schumann, Mozart and Chopin

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bach: French Suite No. 6; Schumann: Papillons; Chopin: Preludes; Mazurka
Bach Recital
Schubert Recital; Bach & Mozart Concertos
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 Complete
Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin

ASIN: B000005IZG
Release Date: 1992-05-28

Tracks:

Sonata In D Major, K. 576: Allegro
Sonata In D Major, K. 576: Adagio
Sonata In D Major, K. 576: Allegretto
Sonata in F major, K.332 -: Allegro
Sonata In F Major, K.332: Adagio
Sonata In F Major, K.332: Allegro assai
Mazurka in C major, Op. 24, No. 2
Nocturne in Bb minor, Op. 9, No. 1
Mazurka in B minor, Op. 33, No. 4
Arabeske, Op. 18
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Von fremden Laendern und Menschen
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Curiose Geschichte
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Hasche-Mann
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Bittendes Kind
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Glueckes genug
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Wichtige Begebenheit
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Traeumerei
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Am Camin
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Ritter vom Steckenpferd
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Fast zu ernst
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Fuerchtenmachen
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Kind im Einschlummern
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Der Dichter spricht

Amazon.com

These are nearly ideal performances, without exception. Mieczyslaw Horszowski's Mozart is played directly, but with a wealth of nuance that conveys every subtle flicker of emotion in the music. The comfortable way he plays the tricky finale of K. 332 is remarkable. Three Chopin pieces--two mazurkas and a nocturne--are kept within fairly strict rhythmic bounds, while almost imperceptible emphases point our attention towards every expressive intention. The two Schumann works are equally remarkable. Only a faint hint of blurring in moments of Kinderszenen, barely noticeable, provides a clue that the pianist was almost 96 when he recorded this exquisite disc. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

One of the greatest ever.......2007-06-15

Listen to this, or any other Horszowski recording, and you'll come to the inescapable conclusion that he is definitely one of the greatest pianists ever. His playing of Mozart is, in my opinion, without peer. The sonatas, on this disc, and the concertos, played elsewhere, are performed with such skill and beauty that they must be listened to.
I'm not sure what's "in the water" in Poland, but that country has produced some of the greatest ever, and we're lucky that Horszowski is one of the few that we can hear great digital-quality recordings of.

Sheer Magic..........2005-09-27

Mieczyslaw Horszowski lived to the age of 101 and enjoyed the longest career in the history of the performing arts. He never achieved, or aspired to, the notoriety of his friends Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz. But in his last decade, he became something of a cult figure, his performances and recordings sought out by those curious about this last link to the Golden Age of Piano Playing, and those simply wondering whether someone so elderly could still move his fingers.

As record producer Max Wilcox wrote, "the fact that his body is old is beside the point." Wilcox, who worked with Rubinstein, signed Horszowski to the Nonesuch label in the mid-1980s, and together they made four fine recordings. This one, from 1988, is the second of those four.

From the first bar of the two Mozart Sonatas, one's ears are caressed by the beauty and variety of Horszowski's tone. It's not for nothing that he was a pupil of the great Leschetitzky, who worked ceaselessly on tonal production. (We are fortunate that Horszowski lived long enough to pass this gift onto his pupils Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu.) Horszowski neither confines the sonatas to a small scale, nor hammers compositional points home (ALA Glenn Gould), but simply plays the music in a sensible tempo, with discrete rubato and dazzlingly even passage work--which serve to remind one that Mozart was a virtuoso pianist as well as a composer.

Horszowski's Chopin is ravishing, as befits a fellow Pole--whose mother studied with Karl Mikuli, himself a pupil of Chopin. Sometimes referred to as a Romantic pianist, Horszowski is Classically oriented in all respects save two: his way of phrasing a group of notes as a singer would, and his de-emphasis of the bar line. His Mazurkas have an irresistible rhythmic lilt, and I've never heard the C major Mazurka played better.

Horszowski brings tender longing to Schumann's Arabeske, with a beautiful legato touch. He gives the Kinderszenen as if experienced in childhood, rather than as an adult's reminiscence. I don't agree with this approach. What is the disillusionment of the last piece "the Poet Speaks" if not the work of an adult composer? But, within his conception, Horszowski's performance, innocent and with flashes of humor, works on it own terms.

Recorded at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, where Horszowski taught for fifty years, the sound is clear,
spacious, and natural.

A Good CD.......1999-01-01

I believe this CD should be noted for the excellent representation of Kinderszenen it holds. Horszowski's playing is swift and steady, a good heuristic look into the life of Shumann, who was estranged from his inamorata for what she called the pianist's "immaturity" (prompting him to write these pieces). His playing is quick and apt to grow on the listener.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Recommended Music:

Too Bad [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

Hans Knappertsbusch Concucts Wagner

In Flanders Fields 10

Music: Live [Import]

Dub Revolution - UK Roots: High Steppin' To The Future

Espiral

Inner Voices : Life in the Music

Rap Music rap_music_33

Just a Word Ep [CD-single] [EP]

Golden Biscuits [Extra tracks]

Freedom of Assembly

En Vivo: Desde la Plaza El Progreso de Guadalajara [Live]

Fantasma de Canterville [Explicit Lyrics]

Live from Studio A in New York City

Niyaz