Perahia Mendelessohn

Murray Perahia's piano playing, like the great Mozart himself, will never go out of style. (Murray's unfortunate hairstyle on the cover, however, is an entirely different matter!) This is because Perahia's refreshingly direct, straightforward style will always be fashionable. Let the others bang away, speed up the tempo or add all their esoteric flourishes, I'll take Perahia's simplicity any day. On this early digital recording from 1983, the pianist again shines on Mozart's second-to-last Piano Concerto, the 26th, nicknamed the "Coronation" since it was written in honor of King Leopold II's momentous event.

These two works form a perfect, contrasting pairing of the two most sublime piano compositions for four hands in existence: the Mozart ineffably sunny yet majestic, in a brilliant D major, the Schubert Fantasia achingly melancholy and beautiful, played by two musicians who are characterised by expressive understatement. In my experience, Lupu has since, in later years, become inclined to give detached, almost indifferent performances which verge on the remote, whereas here he and Perahia play with both strength and delicacy without ever giving in to excessive rubato or cheap, overt emotionalism.

I continue to find the whole of Perahia's recording stimulating and fresh. I said in my first review that the freshness of a still quite youthful player is there. With never a hint of gratuitous agitation, the sense of an invigorating energy being released in the act of performance comes across strongly; and I'm sure Beethoven would have loved it. As Perahia with the wind his sails carries you along—in the finale of the Appassionata above all—his virtuosity is special, electrifying in effect, transcendental, brilliantly illuminating.

Murray Perahia's account of the Grieg Concerto is utterly absorbing. The playing is brilliant, but the pianist's approach–more Chopinesque than Lisztian–keeps that brilliance at the service of larger expressive goals. The result is a performance aglow with understated intensity, one in which the prevalent feeling is often melancholy, at times even bleak. Sir Colin Davis draws a wonderfully refined accompaniment from the Bavarian orchestra in this live reading of the score. The recording, from Munich's Philharmonic Hall, is excellent and effectively captures the beautiful tone Perahia coaxes from his piano.

…[O]utstanding…with Perahia's playing wonderfully refreshing in the Andante and a superb response from the four wind soloists… Clearly all the players are enjoying this rewarding music.

S’il fallait donner une définition au romantisme du début du XIXe siècle, la simple écoute de ce disque rendrait toutes autres explications superflues. Tout ce qui caractérise ce célèbre mouvement de pensée artistique et intellectuel est présent au sein de ces chef-d'œuvres du plus imprégné de ses compositeurs. On y trouve intimement mêlés la passion et l’amour mais aussi le doute et l’espoir sans oublier la poésie, puissante inspiratrice de l’œuvre de Schumann. Murray Perahia y brille de tout feux et ce n’est pas la prise de son qui me démentira. Le piano est d’une richesse harmonique qui nous laisse pantois. Des graves profonds et charpentés aux aiguës aériens et cristallins, l’instrument est restitué dans ses vraies dimensions. Ce disque est un condensé de ce qui se fait de mieux en la matière.

These six suites are English in name only, conforming largely to the accepted form and order of a suite of dances, providing Bach with a template for his unrivalled contrapuntal skill in which he was utterly at home. The result is a set of pieces with wonderful rhythmic variation and delightful fluency of lines, and these are among Bach's finest keyboard works, in my view. They are inventive, endlessly rewarding and, above all, hugely enjoyable to listen to.

This is one of those few "absolutely perfect" works of art or nature one comes across in one's liftime. It's like Michelangelo's "David" or the best moonrise you've ever seen over a desert mountain. It's shocking, it's so good. It will leave you overwhelmed. I've never heard any other recording of Chopin come anywhere close to being as magic as this. Anyone who can do this kind of sorcery, if only once, should be showered with garlands and their name should be praised for centuries.

Murray Perahia is a master interpreter of Beethoven. Here are his recordings of three Piano Sonatas that prompted the Penguin Guide to proclaim Perhaia “an authoritative and sensitive interpreter of Beethoven”. His release has long been awaited after almost 30 years of the original LP release. The results are of predictable excelency,as most of Perahia"s recordings: Taste,great technique and an ever improving maturity.

These three piano concertos are constructed from sonatas by J C Bach. Mozart's poetic lightness of touch he later developed to a very high standard as yet to materialize. Yet they are delightful pieces without the emotion and drama of concertos to come. The disc also features Johann Samuel Schrother's piano concerto in C major, Op. 3 no. 3 a contempary of Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the concerto's cadenzas.