This remarkable work has been recorded by many of the great pianists.
I have a few favorites but they are , of course, my choices only and I'm certain there will be many other preferences that have merit.
Mine would be:
Frederich Gulda on Philips (1953)
Walter Gieseking on Philips (1938)
Martha Argerich on DG (1974)
In addition, Ivo Pogorelich's DG recording from 1982 is wildly wonderful, although I'd not pick his interpretation over the above three.
Who do you like?
Quote from: cliftwood on July 23, 2009, 11:25:28 AM
Mine would be:
Frederich Gulda on Philips (1953)
I wasn't aware of that one. Is it still in print?
I have two: Ashkenazy (Decca) and Minoru Nojima (Reference Recordings), and no complaints with either. The Nojima has particularly terrific sound, if I recall. But haven't heard them in awhile and wouldn't mind a new version.
--Bruce
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (London 1959)
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Tokyo 1973)
Ivo Pogorelich
Samson Francois (just Scarbo recorded in 1947 or so)
Marta Argerich (DG)
First movement: Michalengeli
Second movement: Pogorelich
Third movement: Nojima
Overall, Nojima
(That is from about 15 recordings that I own and 40 or so that I have listened to at least once, complete)
For some strange reason, I have none of Michelangeli's recordings of this work.
I do, however, love Gavrilov (1977) to distraction.
You all have mentioned some great recordings, but I just wanted to add one I find particularly unique:
Vlado Perlemuter on Nimbus Records (1979)
Absolutely nothing beats Michelangeli live 1960 Prague. Unbelievable control and a much better dramatic arc than in his other live appearances. Used to be available on a 2CD set from Music & Arts with a killer Bach/Busoni Chaconne and a set of Paganini Variations for the ages.
The Pogorelich is among the most absolutely amazing piano recordings of all time, completely transcending the medium; the original Prok 6 coupling is of the same order. Check out the Ravel Pogorelich video on Youtube.
Pogorelich, Schuch (tentatively), Michelangeli (can't remember the date), and Casadesus for me.
I'll throw Naida Cole into the mix.
Quote from: Sean on July 23, 2009, 12:59:16 PM
The Pogorelich is among the most absolutely amazing piano recordings of all time, completely transcending the medium; the original Prok 6 coupling is of the same order. Check out the Ravel Pogorelich video on Youtube.
Pogorelich slightly bothers me in Le Gibet where he buries those tolling B-flats too much in the texture. Actually not to repeat myself here is my comment on the same matter from last year:
As for Le Gibet, for me that piece generally comes down to those tolling b-flats and particularly to how Michelangeli keeps them clean, clear, monomaniacally persistent and totally inevitable to the point where manages to completely freak me out. Pogorelich (in his studio recording) plays them softer and buries them more into texture.http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,33.msg240955.html#msg240955
Okay Drasko, but the blood-red colours have never been so explicit and weird- it's an amazing achievement.
Quote from: Sean on July 23, 2009, 01:52:31 PM
Okay Drasko, but the blood-red colours have never been so explicit and weird- it's an amazing achievement.
Have you heard any of the Michelangeli recordings? Pogorelich has some amazing moments, but for me he doesn't hold the whole together nearly as compellingly.
No I haven't but I can imagine, he's usually in the zone and possessed like no pianists today.
Argerich is my preferred. Then Samson François (because of Scarbo). Perlemuter because the sound of his piano and his wonderful sense of the details.
Quote from: O Mensch on July 23, 2009, 12:48:05 PM
Absolutely nothing beats Michelangeli live 1960 Prague.
Michelangeli's 1969 Helsinki performance trumps everything.
Quote from: O Mensch on July 23, 2009, 12:48:05 PM
Absolutely nothing beats Michelangeli live 1960 Prague. Unbelievable control and a much better dramatic arc than in his other live appearances. Used to be available on a 2CD set from Music & Arts with a killer Bach/Busoni Chaconne and a set of Paganini Variations for the ages.
I concur, mine is on a Multisonic CD that also includes Carnaval and Richter playing the C major Fantasie Op 17 - all top performances.
Quote from: George on July 23, 2009, 11:35:29 AM
I wasn't aware of that one. Is it still in print?
Last I saw of it George Philips included it in one of their Gulda volumes in the old GPOTC series.
I used to have it and fondly remember its attributes but the recording levels on the set were irritatingly low - too low for me anyway - and I sold it. But this was years ago and perhaps today I'd think differently about the sound.
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on July 24, 2009, 02:49:37 PM
Michelangeli's 1969 Helsinki performance trumps everything.
Really? I'm not even aware of that one. On what label was that issued?
Quote from: O Mensch on July 24, 2009, 05:15:41 PM
Really? I'm not even aware of that one. On what label was that issued?
It's an old Arkadia release. Nothing left of Arkadia these days except a legacy of short-lived one-offs that are extremely hard to find.
One oddity: the packaging incorrectly lists Lugano as the concert's origin but it's since been verified that the concert took place in Helsinki.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of this disc is the better than average sound - still not great but good overall. Considering how may Michelangeli releases are bootlegs this is a nice surprise.
Quote from: cliftwood on July 23, 2009, 11:25:28 AM
This remarkable work...
Remarkable? I have to admit I haven't paid much attention to it. I have to listen to it more carefully. Francois-Joël Thiollier is what I have.
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on July 24, 2009, 06:21:41 PM
It's an old Arkadia release. Nothing left of Arkadia these days except a legacy of short-lived one-offs that are extremely hard to find.
One oddity: the packaging incorrectly lists Lugano as the concert's origin but it's since been verified that the concert took place in Helsinki.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of this disc is the better than average sound - still not great but good overall. Considering how may Michelangeli releases are bootlegs this is a nice surprise.
Thanks. Who's the concerto with on that disc?
Quote from: O Mensch on July 25, 2009, 06:33:55 AM
Thanks. Who's the concerto with on that disc?
Should be this one:
Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI/Nino Sanzogno - Turin 2 January 1952 - Arkadia GI 904.1, Hunt CD 904, Urania URN 22230That Helsinki Gaspard de la Nuit is making me very curious to hear it since Debussy Images coming from the same recital are one of the weirdest Michelangeli performances I know, very oddly slow (more than any of his earlier or later performances of those pieces I heard) with heavily pronounced pauses and certain strange sense of stillness.
Looks like you're right (http://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Valses-nobles-sentimentales-Concerto/dp/B000027SRK/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248536806&sr=1-24). I also wasn't aware that he had ever recorded the Valses nobles et sentimentales.
Quote from: O Mensch on July 25, 2009, 07:48:13 AM
I also wasn't aware that he had ever recorded the Valses nobles et sentimentales.
There are two recordings, muffled sounding early 50s available on several labels and 1973 Tokyo in fine stereo on Tokyo FM (strictly HMV Japan unfortunately). Here is opening of '73 (in flac):
http://www.mediafire.com/?n4ayiyxnzot
Hvala lepo!
Nema na čemu, i drugi put.
Quote from: O Mensch on July 25, 2009, 06:33:55 AM
Thanks. Who's the concerto with on that disc?
Drasko's right about the orchestra and date. But sadly the performance is nothing to get excited about as the sound is dim and the piano suffers from flutter, especially noticeable in slow passages where the piano sounds as if it's under water. Rough listening.
Regarding the Valses nobles et sentimentales, it's from 1952. Once again though the sound is dim which dampens enthusiasm.
Fortunately, as I mentioned, the sound on Gaspard more than makes this disc a treasure. It's gratifyingly clean and clear with zero distortion and the audience is dead quiet except for a solitary hack midway through the slow movement (and the applause at the end).
Quote from: Drasko on July 25, 2009, 07:25:57 AM
That Helsinki Gaspard de la Nuit is making me very curious to hear it since Debussy Images coming from the same recital are one of the weirdest Michelangeli performances I know, very oddly slow (more than any of his earlier or later performances of those pieces I heard) with heavily pronounced pauses and certain strange sense of stillness.
I haven't heard the Debussy from this Helsinki recital but as far as Gaspard it's free from anything that might distort the musical line - like excessive slowness. Nothing to worry about at all, really.
In fact, I gave it a spin again just tonight and the overriding sensation after listening is just how "right" he makes it all sound. Line, dexterity, depth, mood, etc. are all in abundance.
Perhaps he got all his whimsy out in the Debussy!
What do people think of Minoru Nojima? Whenever I hear it I can't make up my mind on it.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41dm75hOffL.jpg)
Quote from: hvbias on May 13, 2022, 08:03:14 AM
What do people think of Minoru Nojima? Whenever I hear it I can't make up my mind on it.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41dm75hOffL.jpg)
Love it, it's just so refined. He's a great piano player. And specifically thanks for bringing him up because I just noticed that there are some interesting things on YouTube - a Paganini Variations which I know by reputation, and a Mozart PC 27 which I don't know existed.
Quote from: hvbias on May 13, 2022, 08:03:14 AM
What do people think of Minoru Nojima? Whenever I hear it I can't make up my mind on it.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41dm75hOffL.jpg)
Quite a good pianist, but pales in comparison with Argerich on DG, which remains my reference for this masterpiece.
Quote from: hvbias on May 13, 2022, 08:03:14 AM
What do people think of Minoru Nojima? Whenever I hear it I can't make up my mind on it.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41dm75hOffL.jpg)
I like it. There's a lovely drifting sense of mystery in the first two movements, like a mist coming off the sea.
Brian led a mini-blind comparison of Gaspard here on GMG back in 2013. 20 starters, 10 made it through to round 2 (Le Gibet) and 7 to the Final (Scarbo). Even without the files available, the thread still makes a very good read.
To pick two favourites from this thread, Argerich (live Concertgebouw) came 20th out of 20, and (studio DG) 11th out of 20. Michelangeli made it to the Final (twice), but four others were preferred - all pianists not mentioned so far in this thread - with the 'winner' being emphatically ahead of the rest.
https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21672.0.html (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21672.0.html)
Of more recent candidates, I just love Jan Lisiecki's d e a d slow Gibet - on one of those ghastly themed compilation albums, 'Night Music'.
Nojima's K595 on YouTube is quite original. Makes me think if Fou Ts'Ong in the Beethoven G major concerto.
Quote from: Mandryka on May 13, 2022, 09:58:42 AM
Love it, it's just so refined. He's a great piano player. And specifically thanks for bringing him up because I just noticed that there are some interesting things on YouTube - a Paganini Variations which I know by reputation, and a Mozart PC 27 which I don't know existed.
Nojima died just a week ago. Some of his works were stolen by Joyce Hatto too. ;D
Did some more direct comparisons (many in the blind thread), and Herbert Schuch was a fine standout. Overall Charles Rosen is the one that impressed me the most, this one just got better the more I listened to it. Michelangeli had that quality as well and interpretation wise they were not too dissimilar. There is sort of a matter of fact quality to both of them, Rosen communicates Ravel so well.
Quote from: hvbias on July 10, 2022, 02:26:52 PM
Did some more direct comparisons (many in the blind thread), and Herbert Schuch was a fine standout. Overall Charles Rosen is the one that impressed me the most, this one just got better the more I listened to it. Michelangeli had that quality as well and interpretation wise they were not too dissimilar. There is sort of a matter of fact quality to both of them, Rosen communicates Ravel so well.
For me, it doesn't get any better than Argerich on DG:
(https://is3-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music3/v4/0d/ac/3b/0dac3b9d-b9c6-7712-faa1-ac6ee120bd47/15UMGIM06363.jpg/600x600bb.jpg)
Quote from: hvbias on July 10, 2022, 02:26:52 PM
Did some more direct comparisons (many in the blind thread), and Herbert Schuch was a fine standout. Overall Charles Rosen is the one that impressed me the most, this one just got better the more I listened to it. Michelangeli had that quality as well and interpretation wise they were not too dissimilar. There is sort of a matter of fact quality to both of them, Rosen communicates Ravel so well.
The Rosen is one I have enjoyed too - but tell me, what are you really looking for? Or is it just a case of putting it on and seeing whether it touches the spot?
What do yous guys thinks of Sigurd Slattebrekk? I'm inclined to put him in the top tier for depth. He's as polished, nuanced, as Moiseiwitsch's. That's as much a fault as a virtue I guess.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 10, 2022, 08:16:06 PM
For me, it doesn't get any better than Argerich on DG:
(https://is3-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music3/v4/0d/ac/3b/0dac3b9d-b9c6-7712-faa1-ac6ee120bd47/15UMGIM06363.jpg/600x600bb.jpg)
Probably the first I heard, a superb unbridled virtuosic take on the music. Among the good ones.
Quote from: Mandryka on July 11, 2022, 07:15:44 AM
The Rosen is one I have enjoyed too - but tell me, what are you really looking for? Or is it just a case of putting it on and seeing whether it touches the spot?
A bit tougher to say in objective pianistic terms. I think of importance is the relationship between the three pieces and not seeing them in isolation (how some purely virtuoso ones come across), and within works how the individual sections relate to each other as there are long stretches with more sparsity and shorter bursts that are highly dynamic. This is where I feel Schuch and Rosen really excel. So for me this is beyond just the generic label of "French impressionist" music but is quite forward looking.
Quote from: staxomega on July 10, 2022, 02:26:52 PMDid some more direct comparisons (many in the blind thread), and Herbert Schuch was a fine standout. Overall Charles Rosen is the one that impressed me the most, this one just got better the more I listened to it. Michelangeli had that quality as well and interpretation wise they were not too dissimilar. There is sort of a matter of fact quality to both of them, Rosen communicates Ravel so well.
Comparisons over just shy of a couple of years. Some of it done blind.
Favorites - Babayan, Rosen, Schuch, Michelangeli BBC, Pogorelich, Argerich DG, Bavouzet (favorite performance of the 21st century), Moog (favorite performance from the 2010s, an incredible Scarbo. Possibly rivaling Bavouzet to take the 21s century).
A few Japanese recordings/sets that came in that missed when I was starting to finalize my thoughts that will be added or not in the future.
Always pleased to hear Charles Rosen so well spoken of, as he is often admired more as a scholar than as a pianist. I have these: Casadesus, Collard, Bavouzet, Francois, Thibaudet, Aimard, Grosvenor, Pogolerich, and Rosen. Can't say offhand which I like best; I just like the piece. I would love to hear Tzimon Barto, whom Jed Distler says "may not be the most odious Ravel pianist on disc, but he's certainly among the top two or three." (Who are the others?)
My favorite at the moment I think is the Pogorelich version on the Ravel Complete Edition on Decca.
I like this one too:
Lucas Debargue performing Ravel "Gaspard de la Nuit"
Quote from: (poco) Sforzando on April 11, 2024, 08:19:16 PMI would love to hear Tzimon Barto, whom Jed Distler says "may not be the most odious Ravel pianist on disc, but he's certainly among the top two or three." (Who are the others?)
Anton Batagov obvs. Glenn Gould if transcriptions count.
Translating some of my bullet points what I wrote down in my comparisons
Sergei Babayan - the most "orchestral" in tonal color, richness, and variety, even more so than Michelangeli (I do wish Michelangeli recorded this in the studio in good sound). The one performance I have heard of Gaspard orchestrated Babayan is what it makes me think of when it comes to it being played on piano.
Rosen, Schuch, Bavouzet - quite straight forward, unmannered (you almost forget Schuch was a student of Brendel ;D ) yet all three stood out over at least 20-25 others.
Argerich, Moog - a real pointed quality. Moog's Scarbo is the most full of nervous energy with some thunderous left hand playing, has a live like quality to it. From everything I've heard from Moog's recordings, this would be among the top what I'd want to hear from him live.
Listening through more versions of this work lately, the Samson François is better than I remembered it to be.
I'm hearing a lot of good Ondines and Le Gibets, for me the Scarbo is the one that tends to feel a little underwhelming. I like how Pogorelich does it. He kind of set a bench mark that to my ears is hard to beat.
Quote from: aukhawk on May 14, 2022, 05:59:49 AMBrian led a mini-blind comparison of Gaspard here on GMG back in 2013. 20 starters, 10 made it through to round 2 (Le Gibet) and 7 to the Final (Scarbo). Even without the files available, the thread still makes a very good read.
To pick two favourites from this thread, Argerich (live Concertgebouw) came 20th out of 20, and (studio DG) 11th out of 20. Michelangeli made it to the Final (twice), but four others were preferred - all pianists not mentioned so far in this thread - with the 'winner' being emphatically ahead of the rest.
https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21672.0.html (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21672.0.html)
Of more recent candidates, I just love Jan Lisiecki's d e a d slow Gibet - on one of those ghastly themed compilation albums, 'Night Music'.
The winner was Steven Osborne who has not yet been mentioned on this thread. His is a wonderful version. Why so coy about mentioning the winner's name?
To encourage reading of Brian's blind comparison thread
I enjoy Gaspard with Argerich and also with *Rogé (*on a lovely 2-CD set of Ravel's piano works for solo piano). :)