Bouffard

Debussy's Études are really the only set that deserves to be put beside Chopin's. What makes them so special? Like his, they are truly "practice pieces," systematically exploring various aspects of keyboard technique. But at the same time, they are poetic works of art, full of fantasy, charm, and musical invention. Uchida's recording is almost universally regarded as the finest version of these works to appear in modern times. Her playing combines effortless virtuosity with pianistic precision, keeping the music's artistic and pedagogical tendencies in a state of exquisite tension. This disc also established Uchida's claim to be recognized as one of the most interesting and talented pianists now active. You need to hear it.

Rufus Wainwright has popular-song chops and an ambitious streak (see his opera), so it makes sense that he’d want to set Shakespeare’s sonnets to music. On Take All My Loves, he even provides multiple interpretations of individual pieces. "Sonnet 43" is first arranged for spoken vocals and flinty electronics before it’s presented with orchestral sweep and operatic singing. “Unperfect Actor (Sonnet 23)” tilts into adult-contemporary rock, while other tracks have a progressive folk feel. Throughout, Wainright’s sonic diversity complements the range of literary devices that reside in the Bard's source material.

Pierre Boulez - Notations & Piano Sonatas - Pi-hsien Chen (2005) {hat[now]ART 162}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 236 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 180 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 HAT HUT Records | hat[now]ART 162
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Post Modern / Piano Solo

Chen's survey of Boulez's piano music (bar the little competition piece Incises) invites comparisons with Paavali Jumppanen's accounts of the three sonatas released by Deutsche Grammophon earlier in the year. Both are first rate; Chen's tempi are marginally slower, but her approach is more dramatic - some of the early Notations are positively explosive - while Jumppanen explores Boulez's command of keyboard sonority more fastidiously. Both convey the energy of the young Boulez's piano writing. It's hard to believe the Notations were composed 60 years ago, and the First Sonata, with its strange, intensely French flavour, followed a year later; this music still sounds astonishingly fresh.