Search - Charles-Marie Widor, Jean Roger-Ducasse, Naji Hakim :: Symphonie

Ridiculous indeed

05/07/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I too feel this is a majorly flawed performance of the works represented. The playing is rushed, has no sense of musical line or style, is outside the bounds of good musical taste, and is loaded with mistakes galore. If you are interested in hearing an accurate, musically aware performance, do not purchase this recording."

Heroic

03/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wayne is a bold musician with incredible technique. I heard him at a recital he gave in Barbados and was very impressed. To all the old fuddy duddies out there, this is the 21st century and you guys need to get with it or leave it alone."

Virgil Fox would have loved him!

Hector L. Cepeda | Valencia, CA USA | 01/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having just finished listening, once again, to Mr. Marshall's lively reading of the Finale from Widor's Symphonie No.6, I counted myself extremely fortunate for having placed my bet with Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide's recommendation, and not that of certain Amazon aesthetes whose observations can be rendered down to and encapsulated by the following: "... eccentric, presumptuous, and ostentatious... indulging in caprices...striving merely to be absolutely different from other people..." This scathing, 19th century review was directed at Beethoven. How dare he be different! Indeed, how dare Mr. Marshall? Quite easily... since he possesses the technical brilliance and creative backbone to offer the intelligent, open-minded listener much more than just further standard treatments of works that have become grizzled through repetition and petrified interpretation. I feel no sorrow for those who can point to any artistic form and insist that it must be done one way, and no other way. Such people kill art.



And for those who complain that Mr. Marshall's notes fly by too quickly to be discerned or played properly... nonsense! For you unfortunate folk, allow me to offer the following recommendations. First, have your hearing checked by a good otolaryngologist, and second, replace your current sound system. If doing so does not alleviate your problem, then I recommend that you get yourself quickly to a colorectal surgeon; I understand that harboring insects in the lower GI tract can be fatal.



For the rest of you whose hearing, speakers, and intestinal workings are in fine order, I unreservedly recommend this CD. Throughout, Mr. Marshall's playing displays the boldness, panache, and energy not heard since Virgil Fox (or -- since we're on the subject of keyboards -- Glenn Gould). And we all (well, most of us) know what fine company that is."