Vladimir V. Majakovskij Poesie

Alfred Schnittkes "Suite im alten Stil" hat etwas Verwirrendes: Im Gegensatz zu ähnlichen Werken von Grieg und Strawinsky klingt sie wirklich wie eine barocke Komposition, gebrochen nur durch ein paar romantische Harmonien. Der uninformierte Hörer merkt, dass hier etwas nicht stimmt und dass es sich zumindest um einen recht exzentrischen Barockmeister handeln muss, den man nicht so recht einzuordnen vermag.

Alfred Schnittkes "Suite im alten Stil" hat etwas Verwirrendes: Im Gegensatz zu ähnlichen Werken von Grieg und Strawinsky klingt sie wirklich wie eine barocke Komposition, gebrochen nur durch ein paar romantische Harmonien. Der uninformierte Hörer merkt, dass hier etwas nicht stimmt und dass es sich zumindest um einen recht exzentrischen Barockmeister handeln muss, den man nicht so recht einzuordnen vermag.

Alfred Schnittkes "Suite im alten Stil" hat etwas Verwirrendes: Im Gegensatz zu ähnlichen Werken von Grieg und Strawinsky klingt sie wirklich wie eine barocke Komposition, gebrochen nur durch ein paar romantische Harmonien. Der uninformierte Hörer merkt, dass hier etwas nicht stimmt und dass es sich zumindest um einen recht exzentrischen Barockmeister handeln muss, den man nicht so recht einzuordnen vermag.

This two-disc set, one of numerous crossover collections released by the Decca/Universal family of labels, bears the name of Russian pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy only in small print at the end of the list of pieces included. Newcomers to classical music can rest assured that they're getting a two-for-one bonus by purchasing Essential Chopin – not only an introduction to the Polish-French composer who helped elevate the small solo piano work to the pinnacle of musical art, but also a sampling of the talents of one of the great keyboard artists of our own time. Ashkenazy rumbles with power on the more extended Ballades and the "Revolutionary" Etude in C minor, Op. 10/2, while Chopin's lighter dance-rhythm pieces and lyrical Nocturnes sparkle under Ashkenazy's effortless hands.

Box set containing sonatas performed by the pianist Vladimir Horowitz. As well as the tracks listed it also includes 'Sonata in B Minor' by Franz Liszt, 'Concerto Without Orchestra' by Robert Schumann, 'Andante Moderato' from 'Sonata in F minor, K466' by Domenico Scarlatti, 'Sonata in E-Flat Major for Piano, Hob.XVI:49' by Joseph Haydn, 'Sonata Quasi Concerto, Op. 33, No. 3 in C Major' by Muzio Clementi and 'Sonata No. 21 in C Major for Piano, Op. 53, 'Waldstein'' by Ludwig van Beethoven, amongst others.

The earliest piece on this disc is the delightful Pastorale, written in 1907, when Stravinsky was 25; the latest is the enigmatic Epitaphium, written 52 years later. In between come a clutch of pieces from that fascinating period of Stravinsky’s life when he was moving from Russianism to neo-classicism via jazz. The remaining two, the Octet of 1923 and the Septet of 1953, are both firmly in Stravinsky’s witty, poised neo-classical style, though the Septet is moving towards new, tougher territory. Stravinsky himself made classic recordings of these pieces in the Sixties, now reissued on CD on the Sony label. These are always electric, if sometimes a little untidy, and so closely recorded you feel the players are sitting in your lap. By that lofty benchmark this new recording measures up superbly. Tempos are just as brisk and alert as Stravinsky’s, the accents just as incisive. These qualities are combined with a beautiful soft-grained tone – a nice change from Stravinsky’s lemon-sharp sound.

“Gergiev conducts a sweeping performance, with a typically superb cast of the Kirov's revival years, full of rising stars - Diadkova, Ognovenko, Bezzubenkov and the superb character tenor Gassiev. Charming also is the staging, reproduced from airy, painterly 1920s sets. Museum opera, maybe; but then museums are there to preserve treasures. And this is an absolute gem.”(Music Magazine)