Preludes Archive
DEBUSSY: 24 Preludes – Craig Sheppard, piano – Romeo Records
Craig Sheppard performs the Debussy Preludes as sets of ardent tone poems by a daring explorer into harmonic and color possibilities.
Rhythm & Hues: Solo Piano Music of GERSHWIN & CHOPIN – Dr. Alicia Zizzo – 4TAY
Dr. Alicia Zizzo makes her case for Gershwin as “the Twentieth Century Chopin” rather convincingly, with a series of preludes and incidental pieces that emulate or “stimulate” the older master in jazz terms.
RACHMANINOFF: “The Welte Mignon Mystery Vol. XX” = Morceaux de fantasie; Piano Sonata in B-flat minor; Preludes 1 – 6 Op. 23 & Preludes 5 & 12 Op. 32 – Interpretations on the Welte by Hofmann, Horowitz, Borovsky, Igumnov, Maurina, Pintel, Pouishnoff, Roessel and Strecker – Tacet
Nine different pianists of the past at the sophisticated Welte recording device, with their collected interpretations of works by Rachmaninoff.
DEBUSSY: Preludes, Books I – II – Walter Gieseking, piano – Pristine Audio (plus comparison of CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC files)
The classic EMI 1953-1954 Debussy Preludes with Walter Gieseking assume an added luster in this Pristine revival. [CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC versions compared]
LERA AUERBACH: Celloquy = 24 Preludes for violoncello and piano; Sonata; Postlude – Ani Aznavoorian, cello/Lera Auerbach, p. – Cedille
Passionate music for cello and piano by Lera Auerbach combines her Russian roots with 21st century musical techniques, with stimulating results.
DEBUSSY: Préludes (Orch. by Peter Breiner) – Royal Scottish Nat. Orch./ Jun Märkl – Naxos
Orchestrator Peter Breiner turns his sights on Debussy; the results are mostly satisfying.
DEBUSSY: Children’s Corner; Suite bergamasque; Danse; Deux Arabesques; Pour le piano; Masques; L’isle joyeuse; La plus que lente – Angela Hewitt, piano – Hyperion DEBUSSY: Préludes, Books 1 and 2 – Philippe Bianconi, p. – la dolce volta “Hommage à Claude Debussy” = DEBUSSY: Images, Books 1 & 2; Estampes; Arabesque No. 1; CARLO GRANTE: Debussy-Pastiche; ALFREDO CASELLA: A la manière de. . .Claude Debussy; DUKAS: La plainte, au loin, du faune; ROBERTO PIANA: Image d’un faune – Carlo Grante, p. – Music & Arts
Three Debussy releases with something to offer. On points, Angela Hewitt is the winner, but Carlo Grante offers the most interesting program of the three.
CHOPIN: 24 Preludes, Op. 28; 2 Nocturnes; 4 Mazurkas, Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor – Maurizio Pollini, piano – DGG
Maurizio Pollini once more investigates his beloved Chopin; but aside from the new ingenuity of the four mazurkas, he appears less supple than he was in his youthful days.
Valentina Lisitsa Live at the Royal Albert Hall = RACHMANINOV, BEETHOVEN, LISZT, CHOPIN, SCRIABIN – Decca
The young Ukrainian firebrand plays a London recital that testifies to her range and acuity of musical perceptions.
Richter in Warsaw: The SCRIABIN Recital = Sviatoslav Richter, p. (1972) – Parnassus
For the Scriabinist, an indispensable recital by Svatoslav Richter surveys the master’s style from its Romantic beginnings to its ecstatic, grandiose solipsisms.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY: “Complete Orchestral Works” – Orchestre National de Lyon/soloists/Jun Markl – Naxos (9 CDs)
Everything from Debussy’s orchestral output you’ve ever wanted – and then some!
Emil Gilels Legacy, Vol. 9 = CHOPIN & SCHUBERT – Doremi
Master pianist Emil Gilels in live recital and performance, of which the Chopin Preludes offer potent insights, and the Schubert Fantasy a musical curio for the ages.
GERSHWIN: An American in Paris; Novelette in Fourths; Melody No. 17 & Sleepless Night; Rubato; Suite from Porgy and Bess; Second Rhapsody – Dorothy Lewis-Griffith, piano – Etcetera
A gifted pianist immersed in the music of Gershwin makes her own mark in transcribing familiar and less familiar works, including some debuts.
RACHMANINOFF: Preludes and Elégie; Variations on Theme by Corelli – Vassily Primakov, p. – Bridge
A disc worth exploring no matter how many recordings of Rachmaninoff’s famed Preludes you may have in your collection.
RACHMANINOV: Preludes and Melodies – Alessio Bax, piano – Signum Classics
Bax brings a fresh virtuoso’s perspective to Rachmaninov, and his traversal of the Op. 23 Preludes seems likely to become a Classic rendition.
Arthur Rubinstein: 1946-1958 Recordings = CHOPIN: Sonata No. 2; Preludes; 3 Nouvelles Etudes; Berceuse; Barcarolle – Naxos Historical
Volume 4 of Arthur Rubinstein’s restorations on Naxos gives us his only full cycle of Preludes and a potent Barcarolle, 1946-1958.
SZYMANOWSKI: Piano Works Vol. 1 = Nine Preludes, Op. 1; Serenade No. 7, Op. 55; Métopes: Three Poems for Piano, Op. 29; Sonata No. 3 for Piano, Op. 36 – Anu Vehviläinen, piano – Alba
This very recommendable disc gives us so fine a snapshot of Szymanowski’s growth as a piano composer.