Search - Fryderyk Chopin, Claude Debussy, Alexander Glazunov :: Emil Gilels Edition; Historic Russian Archives (10CD Box Set)

A steal

Ryan Morris | Chicago, IL | 12/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is a wealth of wonderful things here. The Chopin Sonata 3 was new to me, and it is a very good live recording, with some spectacular moments, especially in the first mvmt. It is interesting to compare the two liszt sonata's from twenty years apart. The Schumann son 1 has been a rock in his rep and any fan will have that, this recording was relelased previously on Classico D'oro along with the Hung Rhap 9. The rach preludes and ballades were relelased on a yedang release which included a rarely recorded schumann klavierstucke op 32(still the only recording i have ever found by a good pianist). The rach concerto was on a doremi release. Even for steadfst fans of this pianist there is much to enjoy. The schumann carnaval and arabeske are cahracterisit cof schumanns affinity for this composer, as is the prokofiev, though I prefer richter in the 2nd(no one is better) and the eight, while the third just sucks no matter who plays it. The Scriabin 4 is interesting to compare to more sublte performances(like fiorentino) while gilels plays it with a thrust that makes it sound like a completelyu different worki(perhaps closer what the compser intended than current performances)

Below is a complete Track listing:

disc1-

Chopin

1Nocturne op 48\01

2Piano Sonata 02

5Heroic Poloniase

6Impromptu 2

7Piano Sonata 3*



disc 2

Liszt

1Piano Sonata ('49)

2HungRhap 15

3Piano Sonata('65)

4Hung Rhap 9

5Valse Ounliee 1



disc 3

Schumann

1.Piano Sonata 1

2 Piano Sonata 2

3 Arabeske

4 Carnaval



disc 4



Prokofiev

1Sonata 2

2sonata 3

3 Sonata 8

4Vision Fugitive op 22

5 Toccata



disc 5

scriabin

sonata 3 & 4

preludes op 74

Mednter sonata op 22



disc 6



Debussy Suite pour le piano

images

estampes

Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin



Disc 7

Tch-Six Morceaux op 19

Glazunov- Sonata 2

Rach-Sele Preludes



Disc 8

Brahms Ballades op 10 & 116

Weber Sonata op 39



Disc 9

Rach Concerto 3

Tch Concerto 1



Disc 10

L:iszt Concert 1

Chopin Concerto 1

Andante Spiniato et Grande Ponaise Brill."

Superb!!!

Magdalena Nasidlak | uk | 09/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amazing performance, the only one in its kind...., quality - well, you can hear it was recorded quite long time ago and the sound quality can change within even few seconds, yet - ladies and gentlemen, let us rise above technical issues for the sake of art!"

GILELS IS SUPERB BUT THERE IS A BIG CAVEAT FOR NEWBIES

G. Engler | The Frigid Northeast | 03/25/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love the performances in this set - GIlels is truly superb. But I don't believe anyone has noted that many - not all - of these performances are historic in nature, meaning that they were recorded during the 1940s and 1950s. In most cases this does not create much of an audio problem if you can overlook (or "overhear") mono sound for the musical brilliance within the performances, as I can.



But the disc containing the Rachmoninov 3 and Tchaikovsky 1 bring this challenge to another level. Again, the performances are electrifying. B these two concerto recordings are historic recordings made in 1949. While they are wonderful they would not be my first choice or recommendation for purchase. I return to them with interest, but to really hear these concertos, I would return far more often to Argerich in the Tchaikovky or Weissenberg, in the case of the Rach 3.



These concerto recordings, made no doubt with the finest tape machines the post WWII Soviet Union had to offer, are fair at best. While the sound quality is typical for other recordings made during this period, there is a very slight, but audible, tape flutter in the material resulting in a slight fluttering of instrumental tone.



While things of this nature do not dissuade my purchase of historic recordings, I would never consider suggesting these as an introduction to the material, or to a neophyte collector.



I too would heartedly recommend the purchase of this bargain box set (which seems to hover in price anywhere between $25 and $55 on amazon) if you can tolerate, or wholeheartedly accept, the variable sound quality on some of these recordings."