Lazar Khidekel

Hailed by some as the third primary figure among great Russian pianists of the twentieth century's second half, Lazar Berman has occasionally lived up to that reputation, but frequently has not. Emil Gilels, the first genius-level Soviet pianist to become well-known in the West, insisted that there was one artist, yet unheard in the West, who was the greater artist. Later, after Sviatoslav Richter's arrival in Europe and America, most felt Gilels had been correct. Still later, however, Gilels maintained that yet another pianist, Lazar Berman, was the finest of the three. After the initial stir created by Berman's 1976 American tour and other appearances in the West, critical opinion held that, while he was an extraordinary if uneven artist, he was not superior to the protean Richter or to the clear-minded Gilels. Still, his art was of an order by no means common.

The Transcendental Études (French: Études d'exécution transcendante), S.139, are a set of twelve compositions for piano by Franz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of an 1837 set (which had not borne the title "d'exécution transcendante"), which in turn were – for the most part – an elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826.

Liszt's three volumes of Annees de pelerinage are rarely recorded complete, largely because many pianists remain baffled by the dark-hued prophecy and romanticism of the third and final book. So it is particularly gratifying to welcome Lazar Berman's superb 1977 DG recordings back into the catalogue, particularly when so finely remastered on CD. Berman is hardly celebrated as the most subtle or refined of pianists, but at his greatest he combines grandeur and sensibility to a rare degree and his response to Book Three, in particular, is of the highest musical quality and poetic insight.

I have many versions of this great concerto. My first ever exposure to this work was a recording by Witold Malcuzynski that I have now acquired on CD. Since the 1960s I have collected recordings by many great pianists including Bronfman, Glemser, Ashkenazy, Janis, Gilels, Vasary, Horowitz, Lympany, Gieseking, Helfgott, de Larrocha, Rachmaninoff, Wild, Kapell, Bolet, Argerich, Malcuzynski - and just when I thought I'd heard all the Rach 3 had to say, along comes this sublime recording by the late great Lazar Berman. The playing is clear, romantic, musically intelligent, exciting and enjoyable and satisfying in every way.

Sam Lazar - Space Flight (1960) {Universal Victor Japan MVCJ-19120 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 224 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 36 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1998 Argo / MCA / Universal Victor Japan | MVCJ-19120
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Organ Hammond B-3

Space Flight is an album recorded by organist Sam Lazar on June 1, 1960 for Argo Records. This was Lazar's debut recording, and the second recording by guitarist Grant Green. It seems that Sam Lazar only made three LPs during his musical career and all of them were for Chicago's Chess family of labels and released on their now largely forgotten but hugely important jazz imprint Argo Records. Lazar is certainly an early pioneer of the soul/blues drenched genre of organ players and his albums are highly collectable amongst Hammond B3 collectors.