Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade op. 35 – Lorin Maazel, Berliner Philharmoniker

 

Release Date: 08/19/2008 Label: Deutsche Grammophon Number of discs: 1 Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Performer: Lorin Maazel, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

Sheherazade, Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov, in particular: dazzling, colourful orchestration and an interest in the East, which figured greatly in the history of Imperial Russia, as well as orientalism in general. It is considered Rimsky-Korsakov's most popular work. During the winter of 1887, as he worked to complete Alexander Borodin's unfinished opera Prince Igor, Rimsky-Korsakov decided to compose an orchestral piece based on pictures from The Arabian Nights as well as separate and unconnected episodes. After formulating musical sketches of his proposed work, he moved with his family to the Glinki-Mavriny dacha, in Nyezhgovitsy along the Cheryemenyetskoye Lake. During the summer there he finished Sheherazade and the Russian Easter Festival Overture. Notes in his autograph orchestral score show that the former was completed between June 4 and August 7, 1888. Sheherazade consisted of a symphonic suite of four related movements that form a unified theme. It was written to produce a sensation of fantasy narratives from the Orient.

 

flac, cover

Lisa Batiashvili - Echoes of Time

 

Release Date: February 15, 2011 Label: Deutsche Grammophon Number of discs: 1 Composers: Shostakovich, Kancheli, Rachmaninov, Arvo Part  Performer: Batiashvili, Grimaud  cd info/ buy

Review:

Lisa Batiashvili's debut album for Deutsche Grammophon "Echoes of Time" is a matter of the heart - an unusual, very individual and fascinating program by one of the most appreciated young soloists of our days. Lisa focuses her program on composers whose lives and work have been heavily influenced by the political happenings and oppressions in former Soviet Union - like Lisa herself, who went into German exile with her family during the political upheaval in Georgia in 1991. In a program spanning the whole 20th century, Lisa's album combines (modern) classics by Shostakovich and Rachmaninov with two more recent works - her Georgian compatriot Giya Kancheli's highly atmospheric V&V and Estonian Arvo Pärt's spiritual Spiegel im Spiegel for Violin and Piano, written shortly before the composer went into exile. The collection is rounded up by two short pieces: an orchestrated version of Shostakovich's elegant Waltz from the Doll's Dances cycle (1952), and Rachmaninov's all-time favorite melody Vocalise , written two years before the composers' emigration from Russia. For Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel and Rachmaninov's Vocalise Lisa teams up with one of our most distinctive pianists, Hélène Grimaud. The chemistry between these musicians has the potential to create an extraordinary musical experience.

 

flac,scans

David Helfgott - plays Rachmaninov

 

 

One of the more controversial figures in classical music would have to be David Helfgott (1947), an Australian pianist who is just as famous for his schizophrenia as for his performances.

After having read the many negative reviews of this CD it was time to really get into this recording. First off, everyone seems to review the movie ( Shine ) and to reveal their personal prejudices against those with a mental illness. This consumes their entire review and we never learn if this is a good performance or a bad one divorced from these sentiments. From the viewpoint of someone in the audience, the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto comes off very well. The orchestra under Milan Horvot is a first rate ensemble and Horvat is a more than capable accompanist. The miking may be close but at least we know that there actually IS an orchestra there unlike many recordings of this piece. Secondly, if seen as a whole, Helgott turns in an interesting performance that is at time softer and lighter than we are used hearing. The bluff and bluster of many with no feeling for this work (one pianist did this work 4 times on records and never came to a cohesive ideal) is totally absent here. Any obsessiveness with detail doesn't exist in this performance. What we do hear is a pianist who has something to say about this work--it may not be according to the rigid standards of many but it is a valid statement. This may never be a recording to top anybody's list. However the Third Concerto as played here is given a great, sturdy rendition worthy of respect. The three preludes by Rachmaninoff are performed as perfectly shaped little pearls. The Second Piano Sonata is like the Third Piano Concerto--there have been too few recordings that actually great due to its thorny score even when played with cuts. Of special merit is the second movement which Helfgott plays with gentleness. The third movement doesn't seem to come off--again, too few pianists can make it through this work. However, the attempt here is balanced and right as rain. Again, this may not stand with the immortal performances. However, everyone is entitled to an opinion. And this performance by Helfgott will stand the test of time.--Amazon

or

Is it “the most awful commercial recording of the Rachmaninoff Third ever released”!?

more info

flac, covers