Etude Sight

The music of award-winning composer Paul Reale has a truly authentic American voice: eclectic in its cultural references and having a respect for tradition, but with a knife-sharp edge that keeps listeners alert. This collection of piano pieces represents the widest possible variety in his catalogue chosen together with soloist John Jensen, a pianist with whom Reale has worked for most of his life and considers his ideal interpreter. Atmospheres of jazz-infused bar-life, Piazzolla’s tangos and a comic pastiche on Beethoven contrast with the dark and austere Stroke of Midnight, the chiming bells of which confront the harsh realities of mortality.

In celebration of Chopin’s 200th anniversary in 2010, here is the ultimate, complete, in particular priced 17-CD edition of the composer’s works, combining the very best recordings from the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca catalogs. Featured are some of the great Chopin interpreters of our time–Argerich, Pires, Pollini, Zimerman–with substantial contributions from particular pianists of the younger generation such as Rafał Blechacz and Yundi Li.

It's a bit odd that the four piano sonatas on this recording are almost completely unknown, given that Felix Mendelssohn's 12 string symphonies date from perhaps a year later and are fairly often performed and recorded. The sonatas are indeed youthful works, dating from 1820 when Mendelssohn was just 11. Yet they are already entirely characteristic works. All are in minor keys, and they have the admirable concision of the string symphonies; Mendelssohn avoided the tendency of so many other young composers to go all over the map.

Mstislav Rostropovich - Brahms - Cello Sonata No. 2 & Works by Popper, Debussy & Scriabin (2017) (Warner Classics)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 206 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 49 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 2017 Parlophone Records / Warner Classics | 0190295892296
Classical / Romantic / 20th Century Classical / Cello

This key title is being reissued at a special price as part of the celebration of Rostropovich - "Cellist of the Century". Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was born in Baku, USSR on March 27, 1927. His first name means "avenged glory"; he is familiarly known by the root of the name, "Slava," which means "glory." His father, Leopold, was an excellent cellist, and after 1931, a teacher at the Gnesin Institute, Moscow after attending the Moscow Conservatory. Slava's mother was an accomplished pianist. The family moved to Moscow in 1931; Slava had already begun cello studies with his father and continued them there. His first public appearance was at eight years of age. In 1939, he entered the Central Music School, studying there until 1941.

Frédéric Chopin's songs, in Polish, certainly stand to one side of his piano repertory. The 19 songs presented here were composed for personal use, addressed either to friends and lovers or to emigrés who, like Chopin, sympathized with Polish nationalist causes. There was no market for Polish-language songs in Paris, and these were not published until after the composer's death. Yet they are recognizably products of his muse, and their specialized quality sheds the light of insight onto the composer's piano music.