Search - Frederic Chiu :: Prokofiev: Complete Music for Solo Piano [Box Set]

Brilliant performances, but not quite perfect

andrew morris | Basingstoke, UK | 03/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is a wealth of great music on this disc, and all at an unbelievable price. The set does not start brilliantly, with a sonata set that sounds as though it has been recorded in his front room. Some of the playing is a bit woolly, but you can tell that his heart is there, especially in the 6th sonata, where the sparks positively fly. For my taste, the 8th starts off way too slow, and the exciting close of the first movement is too fast with way too much pedal, losing all detail. His antipathy towards the 1st sonata is obvious from the sleeve notes, and he plays it rather aggressively.
The sonata recordings come from the beginning of his recording career, and it becomes evident that his control has improved over time. The next disc, entitled `early fame' has an absolutely stonking `suggestion diabolique', the best I have heard on record, and his `toccata' is electric. His `sarcasms' are truly frightening, and the `juvenilia' provide a fascinating insight into the development of Prokofiev's piano music. There is a disc of violin and piano music in this set, and this is good, although I find myself wishing that Pierre Amoyal's tone were not so thin.
The pricing of this set confuses me, in the UK, these discs are available individually at full price, yet I bought the whole set at super budget price, and it is advertised as a super budget set. I was not initially pleased with this set, but I am now so glad that I bought it; it has opened my ears to so much wonderful piano music. I would have liked the inclusion of the fragment of the 10th sonata, though."