Search - Erik Satie, Aldo Ciccolini, Gabriel Tacchino :: Satie: Piano Works [Box Set]

Ciccolini Knows Satie

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 06/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Aldo Ciccolini is arguably the greatest interpreter of Erik Satie, and he can also be credited with rescuing the minimalist from certain obscurity with the recordings he made of the composer's music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. For years I have enjoyed selections of those performances and I figured it was time to upgrade to a more complete set. As a result, I recently got this title. Unfortunately, this 5CD box set from EMI Classics collects Ciccolini's digital remakes of Satie's Piano Works, and not the original recordings of which I had grown so fond. (I have since discovered that a French Import of the complete original recordings is available.) The overall difference is minimal (yes, pun intended!) but I have to give the nod to the analog performances because of a slightly warmer, brighter sound. Also with a first time recording, there is an intangible element in the charting of new territory that I feel is never quite recaptured when revisited. With that being said, for the pieces requiring two pianists, the digital accounts are superior. While Ciccolini overdubbed himself originally, here he partners with Gabriel Tacchino to greater effect. In all, this is an excellent set by an unparalled master of Satie's music, but if I had to do it over again I would have chosen the first incarnation."