Beautiful Sonatas by Beethoven...Played by a Master, Bar Non
Gregory E. Foster | Portland, ME, USA | 06/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lovely, Lovely, Lovely......nothing else will do for an opener for this review of this beautiful album of three of the greatest piano works by Beethoven.
Oh, so carefully, yet deftly, played. Such crisp deliniated bite, where it should be. So softly and lovingly shaped phrasing. All this from these time-worn, beautiful hands on this Master Pianist, who, sadly, was not in the recording studio much the last half of his life. This man was the wonderful Eugene Istomin, who originally played with Pablo Casals at the end of his career. After Casals' death, Eugene married Marta, Pablo's widow, and also began playing with Leonard Rose (cellist), and Issac Stern, as the "Istomin, Rose, Stern Trio" and continued in this vein for many many years.
I knew him from these recordings back in the 60's and 70's, and always loved this most generously talented threesome's LP releases. With the demise of the LP, lots of people were "lost" when CD's came out, relegated to the back of the closets at the studio libraries. Slowly, Sony/CBS began releasing these recordings. Also, Eugene made a very few new recordings, of which, this is one.
I do not recall if this was his last, or the Mozart sonatas, but one of the two were. One would never know just how ill this man was to hear him play these masterworks with such deep feeling and deft fingerwork. (I do not agree with Leslie Gerber's assessment of this recording at all, and as I continue to grow still older, I am finding I disagree more and more often with "professional" assessments).
Having always held Mr. Istomin in such a high regard, I was more than doubly surprised and pleased to have had the wonderful experience of lunching with him shortly before his passing. While I was living in DC a few years ago, a friend of mine had done some electrical work for him in his apartment and became friends with him. So, he "surprised" me one day by telling me that he had a treat for me for noon's repast. What a wonderful time, sharing food with this wonderful man, and listening to him tell stories from his past in his soft and gentle voice, and to watch his hands as he spoke. Later, we went over to his apartment, and he played the "Pathetique" for me (on Vladimir Horowitz's Steinway, which he owned, parked in his living room)....wow! I shall never forget it. Afterward, he pulled out a copy of this cd and autographed it to me. How sad that only a few months later he was gone. But, I never listen to his recordings without forever being so deeply pleased that I got to meet this towering musical giant from my "childhood" of finding/discovering classical music at the age of 20!
If I could have just one wish, it would be for the "Pathetique" to have been also included on this truly Desert Island disc.
Eugene, (as Bob Hope would say), "Thanks for the Memory"....."Salute!, you Grandest of Masters!" ~operabruin
(PS: I realize this sort of runs on a little about meeting Mr. Istomin, but I thought perhaps you folks might enjoy this.)"
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1