New Releases

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Ummm....

Ummm....hmmm...I'm going to try to be mature here. Pull yourself together, MI, pull yourself together!

Btw, some members of Pussy Riots left Russia after some of the members had been arrested.

[Artem]

I sincerely apologise to all parties involved, but will keep the spelling error.

[Mandryka]

http://www.nicolashodges.com/cds-with-trio-accanto/christian-wolff-trio-ix-.html

[staxomega]

I think like many things that Kocisis has done the first impression is that it has a sort of intense drive, energy. There is more going on, it's virtuosic, he uses some dynamic variation. But mainly it's about energy.

I think it's quite thrilling in fact, but rapidly wears out its welcome for me, and ultimately I think it's jejune. It just misses too much potential poetry in the music.

What do you think of Charles Rosen? This is one I haven't heard in ages, I thought he was similar to Kocsis but after reading what you wrote I'm agreeing with it.

It's interesting, I am an unapologetic pianophile but the more recordings I hear the more I start to develop a distaste for it on piano. Literally the only JSB keyboard work I feel this way about.

[prémont]

I am curious what people think of Zoltan Kocsis' Art of Fugue. I think this was the first one I ever bought on piano and I've never liked it. It's not quite as bad as Aimard, but it is pretty heavy handed.

I always found it clinical, that means perfectionistic and emotionally disengaged. The heavy-handedness may be due to the recordinjg.

It's interesting, I am an unapologetic pianophile but the more recordings I hear the more I start to develop a distaste for it on piano. Literally the only JSB keyboard work I feel this way about.

Funny, because the AoF is (with a few exceptions which has to to with some specific performers) the only Bach keyboard work, which I can stand when played on the piano. But of course I prefer harpsichord and organ.

[Karl Henning]

When I check at Amazon, the site indicates delivery tomorrow.

Nope. Message just in, delivery is now 31 Aug or 1 Sep. I have no complaint.

[Brian]

Wonder how they decided who gets what. Mine is on the truck, but the truck is scheduled to get here after my girlfriend is home to see it 

[JBS]

It's interesting, I am an unapologetic pianophile but the more recordings I hear the more I start to develop a distaste for it on piano. Literally the only JSB keyboard work I feel this way about.

.

Funny, because the AoF is (with a few exceptions which has to to with some specific performers) the only Bach keyboard work, which I can stand when played on the piano. But of course I prefer harpsichord and organ.

I confess I have yet to hear a performance on any kind of keyboard which I actually like. The voices are never differentiated enough--maybe an artifact of the first recordings I heard (Emerson String Quartet, MAK) were multi-instrumental, and that's how I like it.

[JBS]

Wonder how they decided who gets what. Mine is on the truck, but the truck is scheduled to get here after my girlfriend is home to see it 

And mine is still showing September 29-October 8, even though I ordered it just after Brian and before Karl.  Perhaps because I'm not a Prime member?

[JBS]

And mine is still showing September 29-October 8, even though I ordered it just after Brian and before Karl.  Perhaps because I'm not a Prime member?

Strike that.  They just emailed me that it was just shipped and will arrive at the Amazon locker location tomorrow (which means effectively I'll be able to pick it up Monday).

[staxomega]

I confess I have yet to hear a performance on any kind of keyboard which I actually like. The voices are never differentiated enough--maybe an artifact of the first recordings I heard (Emerson String Quartet, MAK) were multi-instrumental, and that's how I like it.

Point of clarification from my previous post when I said I developed "distaste for it on piano" it was for preferring harpsichord and organ. I am not a fan of multi instrument performances.

My previous post wasn't so accurate after thinking about it some more, I thought I only liked two on piano but the ones I enjoy quite a bit are Celimene Daudet (posted in the best of thread last year or year before), Hans Petermandl, Walter Reimer. And the most anachronistic Sokolov, but listening to Sokolov play this is like hearing Edwin Fischer play WTC, also not "right" but I just revel in both. And a soft spot for Koroliov for nostalgic reasons.

[JBS]

Point of clarification from my previous post when I said I developed "distaste for it on piano" it was for preferring harpsichord and organ. I am not a fan of multi instrument performances.

My previous post wasn't so accurate after thinking about it some more, I thought I only liked two on piano but the ones I enjoy quite a bit are Celimene Daudet (posted in the best of thread last year or year before), Hans Petermandl, Walter Reimer. And the most anachronistic Sokolov, but listening to Sokolov play this is like hearing Edwin Fischer play WTC, also not "right" but I just revel in both. And a soft spot for Koroliov for nostalgic reasons.

I understood you meant harpsichord/organ.

I don't have Daudet, Petermandl, and Reimer, but will make a note of them. (Current Amazon pricing for the first is outrageous, for the second expensive. And Reimer doesn't even seem to be listed there.)

[Karl Henning]

Wonder how they decided who gets what. Mine is on the truck, but the truck is scheduled to get here after my girlfriend is home to see it 

(* chortle *)

[T. D.]

I am curious what people think of Zoltan Kocsis' Art of Fugue. I think this was the first one I ever bought on piano and I've never liked it. It's not quite as bad as Aimard, but it is pretty heavy handed.

Someone mentioned the box on another forum and I streamed/downloaded a bunch of his other recordings over the week that I didn't own and found the performances generally excellent. When I was first getting into classical and small record stores still sold CDs, Kocsis was one of the major label pianists that I have never seen and it seems like quite a few of his CDs are still hard to find online. I'm not as big a fan of his Debussy recordings, though this is mostly the rather large number of great Debussy solo keyboard performances that are out there already.

What do you think of Charles Rosen? This is one I haven't heard in ages, I thought he was similar to Kocsis but after reading what you wrote I'm agreeing with it.

It's interesting, I am an unapologetic pianophile but the more recordings I hear the more I start to develop a distaste for it on piano. Literally the only JSB keyboard work I feel this way about.

I confess I have yet to hear a performance on any kind of keyboard which I actually like. The voices are never differentiated enough--maybe an artifact of the first recordings I heard (Emerson String Quartet, MAK) were multi-instrumental, and that's how I like it.

I'm also a pianophile, haven't heard a lot of recordings, but so far prefer AoF on string quartet, not sure the piece "works" on piano.
Haven't heard Kocsis's AoF, am curious enough that it's a marginal (though far from sufficient) reason to consider the forthcoming box.

[Karl Henning]

And mine is still showing September 29-October 8, even though I ordered it just after Brian and before Karl.  Perhaps because I'm not a Prime member?

I'm not Prime, or wasn't at the time I ordered. I'm currently on a trial Primeship.

[Karl Henning]

Strike that.  They just emailed me that it was just shipped and will arrive at the Amazon locker location tomorrow (which means effectively I'll be able to pick it up Monday).

Sweet!

[Selig]

Literally the only JSB keyboard work I feel this way about.

Personally if I had to choose one JSB keyboard work to never hear again on piano, it would be the Italian Concerto.

A good AoF on piano to consider adding to your list, that rarely if ever gets mentioned, is Schaghajegh Nosrati.

[staxomega]

I understood you meant harpsichord/organ.

I don't have Daudet, Petermandl, and Reimer, but will make a note of them. (Current Amazon pricing for the first is outrageous, for the second expensive. And Reimer doesn't even seem to be listed there.)

I bought the first two from some European classical online retailers. Can't remember about Reimer, this was some lucky off chance disc I bought blind.

These aren't recommendations, they won't change your mind if you don't like keyboard performances. I mostly listed them just for some frame of reference of what I like with regard to the general discourse that has been taking place.

Personally if I had to choose one JSB keyboard work to never hear again on piano, it would be the Italian Concerto.

A good AoF on piano to consider adding to your list, that rarely if ever gets mentioned, is Schaghajegh Nosrati.

I love the Italian Concerto on piano, I wish it was recorded more! I generally don't care for many of Richter's late in life recordings but this is one I adore, it's so expressive. I heard Andras Schiff play it live and it was fantastic as well, I've been hoping he would rerecord it on ECM now that his playing is so much more free and spontaneous compared to those Decca days.

I have heard Schaghajegh Nosrati, I think I posted about her and Joanna MacGregor in one of the AoF threads around the same time. She is balanced, but in comparison to the three I listed she still takes too many liberties with dynamics that comes across as more grating than interesting (to me).

[Mandryka]

If you like Ludus Tonalis, try Hans Petermandl piano AoF, he seems to play with the sort of seriousness and orderliness which I associate with Hindemith.

[Mandryka]

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8932963--dufay-le-prince-damours

Now streaming.