Who nails César Franck's Piano music?

[Mandryka]

Cortot, Sokolov, Richter, Fiorentino, Rubinstein, Moravec, Hough . . .


You can mention as many recordings as you like.

[Drasko]

For Prelude, choral et fugue first and foremost Rubinstein (1970 studio) gorgeous, direct to the point, bold, sweeping, no pussyfooting. Then Sokolov (bootleg from Helsinki), very diferent but as convincing, finely chiseled, minutely detailed, vertical. Then Bolet, touch late in career but still impressive. Then Moravec, Cortot, Richter, whomever ...

I'm much less familiar with Prelude, aria et final. Cortot and Bolet seem fine to me.

Can't stand Variations symphoniques no matter who's playing.

[Mandryka]

For Prelude, choral et fugue first and foremost Rubinstein (1970 studio) gorgeous, direct to the point, bold, sweeping, no pussyfooting. Then Sokolov (bootleg from Helsinki), very different but as convincing, finely chiseled, minutely detailed, vertical. Then Bolet, touch late in career but still impressive. Then Moravec, Cortot, Richter, whomever ...

I'm much less familiar with Prelude, aria et final. Cortot and Bolet seem fine to me.

Can't stand Variations symphoniques no matter who's playing.

I agree -- in fact I think Rubinstein is very good in French music.

He recorded Prelude, choral et fugue three times --45, 52 and 70. Have you tried the earlier ones? He certainly was a different pianist in the 40s than he was in the 70s.

For the Prelude, aria et final the one I seem to listen to the most is from Fiorentino.

I have the Hough recording, but truth is I haven't played it much.

[Drasko]

He recorded Prelude, choral et fugue three times --45, 52 and 70. Have you tried the earlier ones? He certainly was a different pianist in the 40s than he was in the 70s.

In this case last is the best. First one is very fast and gets hectic in the fugue. Don't remember much about second one.

[mjwal]

I happen to have the LP of Rubinstein playing the PCF - which I thought was impressive till I heard Egon Petri's rendering on a dell'Arte LP - overwhelming, transcendent, what Adrian Corleonis would call a divinatory performance. One of the reasons why I keep my LPs and record player.

[ccar]

I happen to have the LP of Rubinstein playing the PCF - which I thought was impressive till I heard Egon Petri's rendering on a dell'Arte LP - overwhelming, transcendent,

Thank you for remembering me of Egon Petri. His PCF was included in the APR release and is indeed very special.



Other interesting readings (apart from the above mentioned Richter, Cortot, Fiorentino, Moravec, Rubinstein...) are Blanche Selva, Dino Ciani, del Pueyo, Cherkassky and Samson François.

[mjwal]

Only the dell'Arte LP was a first ever issue of material from live recitals in 1957/8: the sound is rich and penetrating, better than the release the label issued of Beethoven 109-111 from the same time. I haven't got the APR - neither has Amazon.fr at present.

[Mandryka]

I'd like to hear it -- you can get the APR dosc from Appian's web shop.

http://www.aprrecordings.co.uk/apr2/currentcatalogue.php

I don't know what to think about Petri. I have heard his Paganini Variations. I didn't think it was a particularly special performance.

I also recently got some late Beethoven sonatas. I listened to 109 last night for the first time. I thought it was quite exciting and totally without charm.

I haven't done AB comparisons but he reminded me of Matia Grinburg: she lacks charisma too.


I wonder what the pianophiles round here think of him.

[ccar]

Only the dell'Arte LP was a first ever issue of material from live recitals in 1957/8: the sound is rich and penetrating, better than the release the label issued of Beethoven 109-111 from the same time. I haven't got the APR - neither has Amazon.fr at present.

We can taste the Swiss 1957 broadcasts in youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRb4KS95DSY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TTfuUnn2AM



The sound of the 1957 is better than the 1940 APR but the earlier recording is also worth to listen. The PCF was one of Petri's favored pieces and it is curious to see it included in this description of a 1929 "informal" recital: 
   
"A pretty good example of combined memory and endurance was that given by Egon Petri at the Music Circle on Sunday evening last. The eminent pianist gave there an informal recital, playing the following in the order named: Bach's Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother, the Organ Prelude and Fugue in D major, the Waldstein, twenty-four Preludes of Chopin, two Elegies of Busoni, two Intermezzi and a Rhapsodie of Brahms, the Wanderer Fantasie, the Brahm's Paganini Variations, Franck's Prelude, Choral and Fugue, Liszt's Figaro, and the Goldberg Variations. Petri was as fresh as paint at the end."

                                                                       What a programme !