I love Naxos’ passion for completeness. It matches my own compulsion. I have no doubt that they will eventually have every piano work by Muzio Clementi available. And probably all of his orchestral works, concertos, and other pieces besides. This release features works from three points in Clementi’s career. The Op. 23 sonatas were published […]
piano
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Martin Perry pairs Weisgall and Hindemith
Martin Perry couples two works the complement each other — one’s very well-known, the other deserves to be. The well-known work is Paul Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis. This 1942 masterwork is a summation of Hindemith’s mature style. Its frequent comparisons to Bach’s “Art of the Fugue” are valid. Counterpoint is at the heart of both works, […]
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Kate Loder Piano Music – a Victorian composer returns
In the 1840s The Musical World called Kate Loder (1825-1904) one of the finest pianists of the day “without reference to her age or sex or country.” Loder was young, female, and British at a time when audiences preferred their musicians older, male, and foreign (preferably German). Loder came from a musical family and exhibited […]
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Horowitz at the Met
A personal reflection A recent revisit of the first digital recording (RCA ATC1-1260 (1981) by the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) was the occasion of a personal reconsideration of his career. Among other pianists Horowitz was a legend. He could achieve effects at the keyboard that still remain mysterious to even the most skilled pianistic […]
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Marc Ponthus plays Boulez with authority
Boulez didn’t write much for solo piano. But what he lacked in quantity he certainly made up for in quality. This release contains all six of Boulez’s published solo piano works, and it makes for a fascinating program. All three piano sonatas are included, of course. The 1948 Second Sonata’s probably the best known, and […]
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Aleck Karis plays Poulenc with humor and wit
Aleck Karis delivers some fine performances of Francis Poulenc’s piano music with this release. Karis plays with a lightness of tone and just the right amount of emotional restraint to make these works sound absolutely charming. And Karis pays just as much attention to the program. The works aren’t arranged chronologically, but rather in a […]
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Leon Fleisher – All the Things You Are
Listen to this album very carefully. Otherwise, it’s easy to forget that Leon Fleisher is performing with just his left hand. The chords are so artfully arpeggiated, and the movement up and down the keyboard so swift, that Fleisher maintains the illusion that he’s playing with both hands. And that’s sort of the point. These […]
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Snapshots – Peter Knell miniatures shine in new collection
This recording features two works by Peter Knell, and one by Sergei Prokofiev — but there’s a good reason for its inclusion. The title work, Snapshots is a set of 22 short vignettes for piano. Each one is a delightful miniature. Knell has arranged them so that they form a logical progression, making Snapshots an […]
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Del Tredici: Gotham Glory has Glorious Counterpoint
David Del Tredici has an affinity for counterpoint — and the talent to compose it, too. That impression really comes through in this new collection from Naxos. The release is mostly made up of what Del Tredici terms “Ballades,” although they’re actually paired toccatas and fugues. The Aeolean Ballade is the most tonal of the […]