5 G

Guiomar Novaes' life story has been the stuff of legend in the classical world for decades and this CD is clear evidence why none other than Claude Debussy himself helped single her out for greatness as a teenage prodigy. Recorded when she was in her 50's, she's absolutely stupendous, pulling off difficult passage after passage with fabulous effortlessness, her trademark. But forget the 'feminine piano' tag that has been given to her at times, this CD shows she can bring on the 'thunder and lightning' whenever necessary. Thanks to Vox Box Legends for this magnificent digitally mastered 2 CD set, the wonderful sound, and very detailed, extensive liner notes that put most other liner notes to shame.

Murray Perahia is one of the few genuine stars of the piano. His recordings of Bach have been widely, although not universally acclaimed, and even the doubters have to concede that sheer force of personality has helped him command the attention of audiences. The six Bach partitas seem to go together as a set, but Perahia differentiates them to a point where you feel you have all you can handle with just a single disc; the present release is the second in a set of two. None of this is to say that his Bach is of the flashy type.

Sviatoslov Richter was a friend of the composer, and he played all of this music in Prokofiev's presence. His performances have since acquired almost cult status among pianists–a reputation they richly deserve. The Fifth Piano Concerto is a pithy, technically difficult work in five short movements, which Richter plays as though he had composed them himself. The Eighth Sonata, by contrast, was composed during the Second World War, and the contrast between simple lyricism and horrifying violence leaves no doubt whatsoever as to what the composer was attempting to describe. These mid-price reissues sound better than ever, and artistically speaking, they are priceless.