Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

[aukhawk]

Oiseaux - Alfonso Gomez

There's something special going on here. Big piano sound, symphonic almost, and spacious, grand, interpretations. I can't say more than that, I've not listened to more than half an hour of it, but I think it's going to be a valuable recording.

Your description predisposed me agaist him - but I had a listen and was instantly won over.  He coaxes beautiful sounds from his piano, especially at the top end - for the lowest notes I think the recording is slightly deficient, but only slightly.  Certainly up there with the best, for me.

I note he has also recorded the Vingt Regards - a few years ago - so I sampled that too but did not enjoy what I heard - he sets off far too fast for my liking, and it's hard to recover from that.

[Mandryka]

Your description predisposed me agaist him - but I had a listen and was instantly won over.  He coaxes beautiful sounds from his piano, especially at the top end - for the lowest notes I think the recording is slightly deficient, but only slightly.  Certainly up there with the best, for me.

Yep -- I have been listening to it a lot, I'm about half way through. That's a lot of piano -- I'm loving it.

He's recorded quite a few other things -- Ravel, Spanish composers I've never heard of  . . .

[Mandryka]

It's impressive from the point of virtuosity and sound. Interpretively it is not unlike Beroff's Debussy - thrilling. The complete polar opposite of  Maarten Bon/Reinbert de Leeuw and Argerich/Rabinovitch.