Search - Schumann, Janis :: Piano Concerti

My favorite disc of Tchaikovsky Piano Conc. #1

dutchman@innet.com | Dade City, Fla. U.S.A. | 09/12/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Byron Janis's warmth and love of the music shine thru His expertise to allow one to be immersed in only the music. The overall best Pianist I've ever listened to in 40 years of my passion for Classical Music."

Vibrant & Eloquent Playing by Janis

Scriabinmahler | UK | 10/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1962 stereo recording of Schumann's Piano Concerto belongs to the very finest alongside Richter and Fleisher's electrifying account. Few pianists can match Byron Janis' vibrant and deeply expressive reading of the concerto. Technically dazzling, his tone refined and colourful. The clarity of his musical mind is reflected in every detail and the architecture of the work holds seamlessly as a whole. The poetry and Romanticism of the music is most eloquently expressed through his totally self-effacing, yet inspiring musicianship.



Tchaikovsky's 1st concerto was recorded in 1960 at Wembley Town Hall. This performance is even more gripping, as the pianist pushes himself to the very edge of human ability both technically and artistically. Sometimes in the outer movements, the risk he takes is astonishing. In the slow movement and slow sections, you hear the most breath taking piano playing you can imagine. The vitality and expressiveness of the orchestra matches the pianist.



Today, you rarely encounter performances of such depth and stature. Is the art of piano playing dead now?



I don't know very much about the recording technology, but the both performances do sound incredibly realistic and alive. Here's some quotation from the booklet about 'Mercury Living Presence' if you have time to read.



"Single-microphone recordings had been made before, of course, but the idea of recording large-scale symphonic works like Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture in such a manner was bold and innovative...The Living Presence recording technique was simplicity itself. First, the height, angle, and position of each microphone (single for monophonic, and three for stereo) was dictated by the orchestral forces involved, the dimensions and physical characteristics of the hall and the nature of the musical work itself. The final placement decision was made jointly by the recording director and engineer...The three microphones for stereo were set to an omni-directional pattern and suspended along the frontal area of the orchestra...so that their overlapping patterns covered all instrumental sections....After that, control of balance and dynamics was placed strictly in the hands of the conductor and his musicians; there was no electronic limiting, boosting, equalizing, or mixing used during the recording sessions-one of the principal reasons why artists enjoyed recording for Mercury....Extra or "touch-up" microphones were not employed, even for recordings of concertos, operas, or other works for soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Thus, the true clarity and full panorama of the sound could be vividly captured, as well as the perspective and spatial dimension of an actual performance.""