Piano Solo or Concerto Recordings that make you go "wow"

[orbital]

I know lots of people find it mechanical and harsh but whatever Bach Weissenberg recorded never ceases to amaze me. Particularly the Chromatic Fantasy. That level of speed and balance is simply inhuman IMO.

[ezodisy]

Natan Brand

http://www.amazon.com/Natan-Brand-Concert-1982-1990-Legacy/dp/B0007X9TUC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1208602101&sr=1-2

Gekic's Tokyo recital

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I know lots of people find it mechanical and harsh but whatever Bach Weissenberg recorded never ceases to amaze me. Particularly the Chromatic Fantasy. That level of speed and balance is simply inhuman IMO.

I agree. I finally found the three CD set on EMI, and have been amazed that anyone can play these pieces so fast with such control. His ornamenatations and trills are probably the best I've heard on piano (on harpsichord there are Karl Richter and Ralph Kirkpatrick to contend with however!) I think his choice of instrument and / or the engineering on the Goldberg Variations make for an extremely harsh sonic that wears very thin after a few of the variations and becomes unbearable after five or six. It's too bad because it is an interesting performance. It is in the partitas however where Weissenberg really shines, especially in the fifth. All of them are superb really IMO, except for the third which he played insanely fast.

[ezodisy]

Egorov's Bach Partita no. 6.

I like this one and I think some fantastic live performances by Egorov were captured before he passed away (his Prokofiev 8 and op. 10 etudes are outstanding), but I think his Partita 6 is lacking a few things, particularly in the Toccata and Sarabande which could have more expression IMO. If you have some time Don, listen to this performance which is my favourite. I'd be interested to know if you like it at all.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5mwd1m9ottu

Speaking of Weissenberg's Bach, his Bach-Liszt Prelude & Fugue in Am always gave me a sensation of wow too. I think that that's one of the better things Tom Deacon included in the GPOC

Other wow recordings:

Sofronitsky - Schumann Fantaisie, Sym Etudes, a lot of Scriabin (op. 8/12) and Chopin

Sokolov - Prokofiev 7, Rachmaninoff PC 3, Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie, PC1, some small pieces by Rameau, Bach-Siloti and Bach-Busoni

Francois - the early recording of Scarbo, the first Ravel concerto

Richter - Prokofiev PC 5 live with Ormandy, Schumann Sonata 2 from Italy, Prokofiev 8 from Moscow, Scriabin 5 from Prague, Beethoven last 3 sonatas from Leipzig

Zhukov - Chopin Sonata 3, op. 28 Preludes, Scriabin sonata 2, op. 11 Preludes

Tipo - Chopin Nocturnes, etude 10/3, Bach Partita 2

Pogorelich - Rachmaninoff sonata 2, Musical Moment 1, Islamey, some Liszt TEs

Ginzburg - Chopin op. 25 etudes, Sonata 2

Pletnev - Chopin Preludes, a few mazurkas

Pollini - Chopin PC2

Hofmann - Chopin PC1, Casimir Hall recital

Arrau - Chopin Preludes from Prague, op. 111 DVD

Barere - Liszt sonata, Islamey

Levy - Liszt sonata, Beethoven op. 111

Michelangeli - Debussy Preludes bk 1 live, Chopin recital in Prato, the London recital from the '50s, the Warsaw recitals from the '50s, Gaspard, Scarlatti sonatas

Rosenthal - Chopin PC1

Bolet - Carnegie Hall recital, Chopin Sonata 3, a couple of waltzes

Lazar Berman - Liszt TEs, some Schubert-Liszt transcriptions

Fiorentino - the late recordings on the live 2CD APR set

Cziffra - Chopin etudes

Rachmaninoff - Carnaval, Chopin sonata 2

Volodos - Prokofiev PC2

Argerich - Prokofiev's Toccata op.11

listen to the Horowitz recording (the Francois is good too, and Demidenko's is just a little brutal)

[BorisG]

Bach (all) - Gould
Haydn (Late Piano Sonatas) - Gould
Mozart (PCs 14, 23, 25) - Moravec
Mozart (PCs 21 & 22) - Shelley
Mozart (all) - Casadesus
Beethoven (PCs 1 & 3) - Michelangeli
Beethoven (PC 2) - Argerich (EMI)
Beethoven (PC 4) - Fleisher
Beethoven (PC5) - Gelber
Schubert (all) - Lupu
Chopin (Etudes, Opp. 10, 25) - Gavrilov
Chopin (Preludes) - Argerich
Chopin (Ballades) - Demidenko
Liszt (PCs 1 & 2) - Cziffra
Schumann (all) - Lupu
Schumann (all) - Gavrilov
Debussy (all) - Jacobs
Debussy (all) - Michelangeli
Saint-Saens (PCs 2 & 5) - Thibaudet/Dutoit
Albeniz, de Falla, Granados, Turina (all) - de Larrocha (Decca)
Turina (all) - de Larrocha (EMI)
Barber (Piano Sonata) - Hamelin
Khachaturian (PC) - Berezovsky
Prokofiev (PC3) - Argerich (DG)
Rachmaninov (PC2) - Ashkenazy
Rachmaninov (PC3) - Argerich (Philips)
Ravel (PC Left-hand) - Fowke
Ravel (PC G) - Michelangeli

[Norbeone]

listen to the Horowitz recording (the Francois is good too, and Demidenko's is just a little brutal)

I've listened to both of his recordings, and like both of them. But not as much as Argerich's.

[BorisG]

I've listened to both of his recordings, and like both of them. But not as much as Argerich's.

Janis.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

If you have some time Don, listen to this performance which is my favourite. I'd be interested to know if you like it at all.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5mwd1m9ottu

Cool. I'll check it out and get back to you, Sid (it is Sid, right?).

[Brian]

Natan Brand

http://www.amazon.com/Natan-Brand-Concert-1982-1990-Legacy/dp/B0007X9TUC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1208602101&sr=1-2

Gekic's Tokyo recital

Well, sir, having fallen quite in love with Gekic's Tokyo recital after your recommendation, I think I will have to try out Natan Brand...

[rubio]

Barere - Liszt sonata, Islamey

Do any of the listed Barere recordings come highly recommended? I have never heard this pianist.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_m?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=islamey+barere&x=10&y=25

Pogorelich - Rachmaninoff sonata 2, Islamey

And where are these two performances available? From time to time through rmcr?

[MISHUGINA]

Richter playing a Chopin etude here  : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3azkJP_vkN8
Volodos: Rach 3 with BPO/Levine
Gilels: "Emperor" Adagio with Karl Bohm/CzechPO. Gorgeous!

[ezodisy]

Well, sir, having fallen quite in love with Gekic's Tokyo recital after your recommendation, I think I will have to try out Natan Brand...

I suspect you'll like it if you like the Gekic recital. Brand is even more colourful and audacious, though of course Gekic's superman technique is a one-off

Yeah Don let me know. Rubio, the live Barere/Carnegie Hall recordings are the ones to hear, especially the one with the Liszt sonata (I don't remember if the Chopin Ballade 1 and Islamey are on a separate disc). They were remastered a few years ago (I wouldn't bother with the early HMV recordings). Right now I don't have the Pogorelich Carnegie Hall bootleg with the Islamey from the early '90s but I'll track down a Pogorelich website which has recent audio clips including an Islamey from a couple of years ago.

[B_cereus]

Sofronitsky in Scriabin.

[adamdavid80]

Really?  Am I overlooking it, and is there really no mention of Alfred Brendel anywhere in here?

His performance of Mozart's 21st Piano Concerto with Marriner conducting is marvellous.  Really playful and wild in the first movement - to me, it evokes a spirited, talented child in ballet class just going off to do his/her own thing - while the teacher (the orchestra) tries to rein the child back in, but simultaneously realizing "WOW!  This kid's got talent!"  Conversely, the second movement is really isolated and a little lonely, as if the child is begining to realize that learning a little discipline is necessary to truly advance and to maintain the relationship with the other students (orchestra).

Speaking of lonely, Clara Haskil performing Mozart's k330 piano sonata is terrific.  On one hand, you're hearing her doing what she was put on this earth to do, but simultaneously it sounds like there's a very, very large part of her that wishes she could simply be playing in the privacy of her living room, with no audience there.  Parts of this performance sound like she's very self-conscious of the audience and that it's being recorded and  wants to get the hell out of there.

I completely relate.   

[Bulldog]

Really?  Am I overlooking it, and is there really no mention of Alfred Brendel anywhere in here?

I'll also mention Brendel - his Schubert D 959 has the wow factor for me.

Sticking with Schubert, I find Ranki's D 894 very exciting, but it never has been out on CD.

[Todd]

I'll also mention Brendel - his Schubert D 959 has the wow factor for me.

I'm not a huge Brendel fan, but I must agree here.  (The 80s recording at any rate.)

[rappy]

Glenn Gould's affectionate and very romantic take on Richard Strauss's Piano Sonata in B minor op.5

That one is incredible. Never heard someone playing with so much emotion.

[rubio]

I'll also mention Brendel - his Schubert D 959 has the wow factor for me.

Sticking with Schubert, I find Ranki's D 894 very exciting, but it never has been out on CD.

Do you refer to the studio or the live recording of the D959 with Brendel (on Philips)?

[Bulldog]

I'm not a huge Brendel fan, but I must agree here.  (The 80s recording at any rate.)

That's the one.

[adamdavid80]

I have the Uchida, and I'm medium satisfied with it. So I wonder if it's due to the music or the performances. How does Klara Wurtz compare to Uchida interpretation-wise?

You can do better.  For me, her interpretations are a little fussy and lush (with Tate conducting).

Try a variety of interpreters.  Staier is a recent discovery for me, and the aforementioned Alfred Brendel on No. 21 makes me feel like a 12 year old girl at a 1964 Beatles concert.