Search - Cecile Licad :: Plays Ravel

Superb recording! More from the artist!

Ulpiano Frederick A. Pontillas | Brighton, MA | 02/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As demonstrated by widely differing opinions from Classic CD (which had this CD as Classic CD choice) and Gramophone (which totally lambasted the CD and commented that Ms. Licad was miscast) magazines, you will either love or hate this album. This is not for traditionalists, who already have a set of rules for how Ravel should be played. Stay away from this album if you dislike idiosyncratic, emotional, and poetic Ravel. For me, these are refreshing, original, and astounding interpretations of three of Ravel's piano ouevres. The playing and interpretations make the music resonate in my memory; something that, for example, Jean-Yves Thibaudet's widely praised urbane versions fail to do. Licad's gorgeous tone is present all throughout. The Le tombeau de Couperin and the Sonatine are very impressionistic, warm, redolent of "days gone by," haunting and sad. True, she bends the rhythms of the Sonatine, but the overall effect works for me. The Gaspard has phenomenal control. Ondine and Scarbo are both stunning and magical; Le gibet is sad and mysterious. In Le gibet, there is an interesting illusion of desynchronization (the rhythm is actually uniform throughout the piece). This Gaspard is comparable to other versions such as by Argerich and Pogorelich.This CD is Ms. Licad's latest released solo album. I have read somewhere that she had recorded Chopin's Op. 25 etudes and a selection of Gottschalk's piano music. The producers of these latter albums should really hurry up and release these recordings. We had been waiting for so long!"

A mesmerizing tour de force

V. Reyes | San Diego, CA USA | 12/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The rendition of 'Gaspard de la Nuit' by Cecile Licad is an

awesome demonstration of technical prowess coupled with an

extraordinary ability to emotionally and psychologically

communicate through music. Listening to the first and third

movements of the piece, I felt almost completely mesmerized

by her playing. Her control and command of the keyboard is

truly remarkable. Her rendition of 'La Tombeau de Couperin'

is just as solid. If there is one fault in this recording,

it must be the overall sound of the 'Sonatine'. In that piece

there seems to be some distracting echo in the sound, which

I could not figure out whether to be due to Ms. Licad's odd

pedalling or to a faulty sound engineering. Overall, though,

this recording deserves a solid '5 stars'.



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