Rachmaninov: Transcriptions, Corelli Variations

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Cliburn Competition medallist Olga Kern plays Rachmaninov as if he wrote this music just for her. She's a virtuoso in the grand tradition, playing with a huge tone and brilliant fingerwork, captured with life-like realism by the engineers. The big work here is the Corelli Variations, a fiendishly difficult set of twenty variations on a Baroque sarabande, La Folia. The composer wrote it to wow his audiences, but it's also serious, full of with dark-toned poetry, serene lyricism, and a huge climax that ends in a poignant coda. Kern plays it with tremendous power and fleet agility. The rest of the disc consists of Rachmaninov's transcriptions of his own and other composers’ music, ranging from romanticized Bach to an opulent rewrite of Schubert's Wohin? to his elaborate cadenza for Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Kern plays the Liszt with plenty of dash, evoking its gypsy flavor and exploiting its opportunities for virtuosity. Here's one competition winner who seems destined for stardom. -- Dan Davis

Tracks:

Preludio
Gavotte
Gigue
Wohin?
Lilacs Op. 21, No. 5
Scherzo
Daisies Op. 38, No. 3
Liebeslied
Liebesfreud
Minuet
Lullaby Op. 16, No. 1
Hopak
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli, Op. 42

Amazon.com

Cliburn Competition medallist Olga Kern plays Rachmaninov as if he wrote this music just for her. She's a virtuoso in the grand tradition, playing with a huge tone and brilliant fingerwork, captured with life-like realism by the engineers. The big work here is the Corelli Variations, a fiendishly difficult set of twenty variations on a Baroque sarabande, La Folia. The composer wrote it to wow his audiences, but it's also serious, full of with dark-toned poetry, serene lyricism, and a huge climax that ends in a poignant coda. Kern plays it with tremendous power and fleet agility. The rest of the disc consists of Rachmaninov's transcriptions of his own and other composers' music, ranging from romanticized Bach to an opulent rewrite of Schubert's Wohin? to his elaborate cadenza for Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Kern plays the Liszt with plenty of dash, evoking its gypsy flavor and exploiting its opportunities for virtuosity. Here's one competition winner who seems destined for stardom. -- Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Music to Treasure.......2007-06-20

Olga Kern, the young Russian pianist and Van Cliburn gold medal winner (2001), offers a wide-ranging selection of Rachmaninoff transcriptions, starting with J.S. Bach's superb Suite from the Partita in E major for violin. Many of these are favorites that the public has loved for decades: Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 with a cadenza by Sergei himself; plus lyrical and demanding arrangements from Bizet, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky. For this listener, the supreme moments are Olga's performance of Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme of Corelli, which have been recorded by many virtuosos. It was like hearing them for the first time--fresh, dynamic and radiantly powerful! If you are tired of reading wimpy movie, book and music reviews that leave you wondering whether to bite, here's one vote: say yes!
Beverly Crandall

Olga is a Pianist among Pianists.......2006-11-03

I was privileged to hear Olga perform at Zankell Hall at her Carnegie Hall debut several years ago. Her performances have a very rich individual flare, exactness and confidence. I was not disappointed with her then and I was not disappointed with this cd, Corelli Variations. On this cd, Olga's performances exude something definitely masculine. Though this may not appeal to everyone, it is simply a matter of every pianist having his individual style, feel and texture, if you will. Her playing is warm and vivacious at the same time, and what she says, she says beautifully. The programme is also quite captivating, especially the Bach transcriptions. Thank you Ms Kern!

Ha ha! I have an autographed copy!.......2005-12-02

I was lucky enough to receive an autographed copy of this cd from my brother for christmas, who went to see Olga live, and it definitely made my favorite X-mas gift list. This cd has excellent selections, Olga is a veritable phenomonon, her interpretation and control of the piano is superb, if you love excellently performed classical piano music, use harpoons, tranquilizer darts, or anything else you may need to get this cd. Even if it isn't (sigh) autrographed...

Absolutely essential -Virtousity at its best.......2005-03-11

Firstly i must say Im not very much fond of a solo piano but the first time i heard Olga Kern's Corelli Variations I immediately went to order this magnificent CD. Olga plays with maturity, virtoussity as if the music was written for her. I usually prefer the piano accompanied by a a violin or cello but this time around I was taken by surprise. ALL songs are out of this world I would not be able to describe the songs in musically terms but i know this is good. Go on thrill yourself with the best music. The inlay booklet is included with English, French& Dutsch translations with information about composer ,songs & artist.One might add that the outside cover of the CD is very artistically beautiful with red dress &shaded pianos background just like Ms Kern, so its not misleading, you know the saying "what u see is what u get".

OLGA KERN - A GREAT FUTURE.......2004-12-09

I CANNOT RAVE ENOUGH ABOUT THIS ALBUM.
IT ABSOLUTELY LIFTS YOU UP AND KEEPS YOU THERE THROUGHOUT
MS. KERN'S SUPERB PERFORMANCES. THIS IS A RARE FIND
AND THERE IS NO DOUBT MS. KERN DESERVED THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE VAN CLIBURN COMPETITION. THIS ALBUM CONTAINS A WONDERFUL
VARIETY OF MUSICAL INTERPRETATIONS, ORIGINALLY TRANSCRIBED
BY THE GREAT RACHMANINOFF. THERE'S SELECTIONS BY BACH, SHUBERT,
RIMSKI-KORSAKOV, TSCHAIKOVSKY, KREISLER AND MUCH, MUCH MORE,
PLAYED WITH ALL THE BRAVURA & FABULOUS TECHNICAL SKILL MS. KERN CAN IMPART. THE ICING ON THE CAKE IS THE FINAL SELECTION; THE CORELLI VARIATIONS. BUY THIS ALBUM, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Average customer rating:

A Brillant pianist and beautiful music

Baroque Reflections for Piano

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002Z7KJ2
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Tracks:

I. Toccata
II. Fugue
I. Andante
II. Adagio
III. Presto
Prelude In B Minor
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
Melodie
Sarabande
Chaconne
Prelude
Gavotte
Gigue
I. Theme & Variation 1
II. Variations 2-6
III. Variations 7-9
IV. Variations 10-13
V. Intermezzo
VI. Variations 14-17
VII. Variaiotns 18-20, Coda

Customer Reviews:

A Brillant pianist and beautiful music.......2007-01-22

Before Warner Bros relegants this incredible debut recital to the recycle bin, snap it up. Bax's plays (especially the Bach pieces) is nothing short of stunning. Where Gould can be harsh, Bax caresses the music. These are amazing transcriptions (especially Gluck). Bax is the 'real thing' and this album will provide hours and hours of pleasurable listening.

Average customer rating:

Daily Dose of Perlman

Encores

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000002RQK
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Prelude & Allegro (In The Style Of Pugani)
Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22
Perpetuum Mobile
Berceuse Sfaradite
Polonaise de Concert, Op. 4
La Fille aux cheveux de lin
Variations On A Theme By Corelli
Ao pe da fogueria (Prelude XV)
Vocalise, Op.34 No.14
Scherzo Tarntelle, Op. 16
Romance In A Major, Op.94 No.2
Sonata No. 12 In E Minor, Op.3 No.6
Zapateado, Op.23

Customer Reviews:

Daily Dose of Perlman.......2000-09-27

It was the last piece on this CD that captured my soul, and rendered me unable to go through a day without listening to this collection. Sarasate's "Zapateado" is the ultimate challenge and Perlman's virtuosity in meeting it is staggering. But once I got beyond my hunger to hear Zapatedo again and again, drinking in every note, I realized this collection runs the gamut of mood and technique from the heart-racing Scherzo Tarantelle, the intense Perpetuum Mobile, to the almost cloyingly sweet Berceuse. What I enjoy most about this wonderfully diverse collection is not only the dazzle of Perlman's performance, but the perfect interplay of Sander's piano. Violin and piano weave together in a partnership displaying the genius of each composer as well as the genius of the performers. The Perlman/Sanders partnership was surely made in heaven.

Rachmaninov: Transcriptions for Orchestra

Average customer rating:

Rachmaninoff Rarities
Rach's 5th Piano Concerto

Rachmaninov: Transcriptions for Orchestra

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000AUA
Release Date: 1994-03-22

Tracks:

Concerto Elegiaque For Piano And Orchestra In D Minor Op. 9b: I Moderato - Allegro vivace
Concerto Elegiaque For Piano And Orchestra In D Minor Op. 9b: II Quasi variazione
Concerto Elegiaque For Piano And Orchestra In D Minor Op. 9b: III Allegro risoluto
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Theme. Andante
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation l. Poco piu mosso
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation ll. L'istesso
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation lll. Tempo di menuetto
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation IV. Andante
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation V. Allegro (ma non tanto)
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Vl. L'istesso tempo
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Vll. Vivace
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Vlll. Adagio misterioso
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation lX. Un poco piu mosso
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation X. Allegro scherzando
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Xl. Allegro vivace
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Xll. L'istesso tempo
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation Xlll. Agitato
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Intermezzo. A tempo rubato
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XlV. Adante (come prima)
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XV. L'istesso tempo
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XVl. Allegro vivace
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XVll. L'istesso tempo
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XVlll. Allegro con brio
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XlX. Piu mosso. Agitato
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Variation XX. Piu moso
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli Op. 42: Coda. Andante
Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14: Lentamente

Customer Reviews:

Rachmaninoff Rarities.......2003-03-30

Flush with a tradition of bringing the best out of rare works from the best-known composers in the world, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and its current music director Neeme Jarvi turn to two rarely heard works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, plus the composer's far better-known "Vocalise."

The "Concerto Elegiaque" is a tremendously inventive expansion of the composer's 1894 chamber work "Trio Elegiaque" (composed to honor his mentor Tchaikovsky) into a full-blown piano concerto in D Minor. The Australian pianist Alan Kogosowski's brilliant orchestration of the piece (in the tradition of Rachmaninoff's four official piano concertos) is brilliantly performed by the Detroit Symphony under Jarvi's incisive direction; and Kogosowski himself proves to be an excellent pianist--maybe not on the level of great ones like Krystian Zimmerman or Artur Rubinstein, but an excellent one all the same.

Written while he was on vacation in France in 1931, the composer's "Variations On A Theme Of Corelli", like Brahms' celebrated "Haydn Variations", has had the authenticity of its theme questioned (no one can really be sure that the theme used, "La Folia", is an actual Corelli piece). Still, this excellent and extremely rare piano piece, thanks to the Rumanian conductor Corneliu Dumbraveanu, has been transcribed brilliantly for orchestra, and is performed brilliantly by the DSO. This CD ends with Rachmaninoff's short but poignant "Vocalise", scored for small orchestra and considered to be a miniature masterpiece.

Jarvi has continued the tradition of excellence and diversity that were the hallmarks of the Detroit Symphony under his illustrious predecessors Paul Paray (from 1951 to 1963) and Antal Dorati (from 1977 to 1988). These reconstructions of rare Rachmaninoff pieces and the popular "Vocalise" are proof that this quality has continued to make the Detroit Symphony one of America's finest orchestras.

Rach's 5th Piano Concerto.......2002-11-16

Rachmaninov's Opus 9 "Eligiac Trio" is stunningly gorgeous in the hands of even just an average piano trio, but it is exquisite as a concerto. If you have ever wished that old Sergei had written another piano concerto, this one is for you.

Rachmaninov: Corelli Variations; Piano Transcriptions

Average customer rating:

Rachmaninov: Corelli Variations; Piano Transcriptions

Manufacturer: Fuga Libera Label
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000E3K6AM
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Average customer rating:

Favourite Violin Pieces

Manufacturer: Arte Nova
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Opera & Vocal | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000056Q41
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Tracks:

Fritz Kreisler- Variations On A Theme By Corelli
Ernst Von Donyi- Ruralia Hungarica Op. 32c Presto
Ernst Von Donyi- Ruralia Hungarica Op. 32c Andante Rubato Alla Zingaresca
Ernst Von Donyi- Ruralia Hungarica Op. 32c Molto Vivace
Christoph Willibald Gluck- Melody From -Orfeo And Euridice-
Franco Ferrara- Burlesca
Gygy Geszler- Bsiga
JenHubay- Der Zephir Op. 30, No. 5
Rene Principe- El Campielo
Manuel De Falla- Danza Espagnola
Maria Theresia Von Paradis- Sicilienne
Pablo De Sarasate- Introduction And Tarantella
Sergei Rachmaninov- Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances Jocul Cu Ba
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances Brl
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances Pe Loc
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances Buciumeana
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances -Poarga- Romesca
Ba Bart- Romanian Folkdances Manuntelul
Maurice Ravel- Tzigane

Album Details

Mirijam Contzen was Born in Munster, Germanu, in 1976. At the Age of Five She Perfomed in Public for the First Time. She One First Prize at the 1993 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, which Opened the Doors of the International Music World to the Artist, who was Only 16. In this Album, Mirijam Performs the Works of Fritz Kreisler, Fanco Ferrara, Remy Principe, Pablo De Sarasate, Maurice Ravel, Bela Brtok, Sergei Rachmaninov, Jeno Hubay, and Others.

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