Michelangeli Plays Grieg & Debussy

Editorial Reviews
From ClassicsToday.com
Some of the few concerts Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli didn't cancel took place in London, and were broadcast by the BBC. This 1965 Grieg Concerto briefly circulated on a Rococo LP, which sounds nowhere near as vibrant and impactive as BBC's remastering, odd balances and all. In essence you get the Apollonian stance and awe-inspiring control of Michelangeli's much-reissued 1943 Telefunken 78s, with much more fire and daring. Moreover, the wider dynamic range reinforces the Lisztian patina of Michelangeli's conception, and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos does an amazing job keeping up with his soloist. Michelangeli's lofty, commanding way with Debussy's Book I Preludes is familiar from his 1978 DG studio recording. But I much prefer this live 1982 Royal Festival Hall taping. For one, the gorgeous engineering fully captures how the pianist's ravishing, multi-layered sound world projected in a hall. Yes, Michelangeli may tinker with Debussy's dynamic indications and strum out chords with the left hand anachronistically anticipating the right. Yet these idiosyncracies never violate the spirit of the music. A release, in sum, that no self-respecting pianophile can ignore, even if you possess other Michelangeli versions (official and otherwise) in your collection.

Customer Reviews:

WRONG LISZT, RIGHT LISZT.......2004-06-26

The Liszt concerto here is the first and not the second, for the benefit of anyone else who is trying to obtain this disc in the hope of finding the latter. I'm not now aware of any recording by Michelangeli of the second concerto. So far as I can tell, this performance of the first is the one that helped him win the Geneva competition at age 19 and elicited the exclamation from Cortot `A new Liszt is born'.

The Liszt performance is from 1939, and is perhaps slightly better recorded than the Schumann and Grieg, both dating from 1942. I own later performances of all three works by him. The later Liszt account, from his infamous Japanese tour, is preferable to this by virtue of recorded quality, the later Grieg and Schumann seem to me better as performances also. This is, I should say, strictly a record for Michelangeli-collectors. He was a notorious maverick - moody, unreliable and elusive - and his public repertory, when he deigned to put in an appearance at all, was very small. For me, the fascination in tracking his development is not just in his monumental greatness but also in his unpredictability. In some works, e.g. this Liszt concerto, he changed his interpretation very little, in others like the Schumann he changed it slightly, and in others like the Grieg he changed it spectacularly. From what I hear on this record, he seems to have been in a rather demure phase in 1942. The last movement of the Schumann is a very restrained `allegro vivace', and the first movement is downright slow. I adore Lipatti's high-velocity readings of both movements, but they don't have to be done that way and if I had to name my outright favourite performances of both the Schumann and the Grieg I would still unhesitatingly plump for Cherkassky whose speeds in the outer movements are quite moderate. What M seems to do here in the Schumann is loiter. Apart from an astonishingly leisurely first movement, he drops down a gear at the second subject of the finale. Some retardation at this point is perfectly reasonable, and Backhaus for one carries off the trick very successfully, but there are limits surely.

In the Grieg and the Liszt it's easier to form a clear view of the performances. This Grieg is rather like a lower-voltage version of the extraordinary account that he recorded later with the New Philharmonia under Fruehbeck de Burgos. The phrasing is quite similar, in particular a gorgeous suggestion of birdsong in the slow movement that he plays up spectacularly in the later version. The tempi of the outer movements in this performance are a bit slower, but the real difference is in the `charge'. His later version is the most vivid and electric I think I have ever heard from anyone, and I wonder whether the photograph of him dripping with perspiration on the leaflet with that BBC record was taken at the conclusion of the performance, as I suspect it probably was. In the Liszt he may have decided that he had a winning formula that he didn't want to change, and if so I would back his decision. I own other performances of it by Richter, Cziffra and Ogdon, all on top form, but Michelangeli has them licked. The recording here doesn't do justice to that amazing finger-power, and the quality on the Japanese performance is nothing outstanding either, but through owning it I'm able to appreciate what his audience in 1939 must have heard and wondered at.

Customer Reviews:

And you thought you knew the Grieg Concerto....wait till you hear this!!.......2006-04-22

I thought I knew the Grieg concerto very well, owning beautiful recordings by e.g. Lupu, Zimerman.
This recording however opened a whole new Grieg-world to me: not the gentle, polite Grieg, but the virtuosic, passionate Grieg. I never heard anything like this before! What a stunning recording, and what a technical command (remember it's a live recording!). It made me realize this concerto is much, much better then I ever thought.
The Debussy is also very good, interesting to own as comparison to the Deutsche Grammophon recording.
If you want to own a truly exciting cd, buy this one today!

BREATHTAKING GRIEG!.......2004-01-29

Although the Debuusy Preludes are excellently played and well-recorded, the main appeal of this issue is Michelangeli's stunning live performace of the Grieg piano concerto. Listening to this performance is like hearing the work for the first time. He's certainly the only pianist I've ever heard who actually makes the Grieg concerto sound dangerous. The concerto usually makes pleasant rather than exciting listening, but Michelangeli changes all that, charging through this work with unbridled energy and stunning virtuosity. Just listen to him explode into the last movement. Its opening theme sounds more like Bartok than Grieg and its whirlwind final pages remind me of the dizzy waltz that ends the Prokofief Third. For once the concerto's lyrical passages sound passionate rather than placid. In every way this is the most gripping performance of the work I've ever heard. The recorded sound is mediocre. but perfectly listenable. In sum, don't miss this performance!

INCREDIBLE....MUST GET.......2003-01-02

This performance of the Grieg concerto is, IMHO, one of the VERY FINEST the world has EVER heard. Of course, we have heard many great masters tackle this piece, from the early Solomon and Moiseiwitsch to the pianists of our age, especially Murray Perahia. However, Michelangeli is in a class of his own. his playing is an incredible mix of immaculate precision and demonic virtuosity, of heartfelt sensitivity and extroverted flair. Some of my friends feel it's too aggresive for their taste, but i disagree. it's this kind of almost lisztian virtuosity that really ignites this piece. also, check out his very special way of phrasing the music, it has almost become his signature. do yourself a favor and get this CD. you'll be glad you did.

the finest.......2001-05-26

I have recordings (Michelangeli performing Grieg Concerto, op 15) from Geneva 7 June 1941, Milan 9 February 1942, Rome 27 June 1963 - and this recording (London 17 June 1965) is the finest. "Geneva" survives only in fragment (Italian imports; complete assessment of the work not possible); "Milan", the sound quality of the Teldec CD (Teldec release; the same recording can be found in Italian Imports too in which the sound quality differs one CD from another depending on a varing transfer process employed in CD transfer; as far as the transfer go, Teldec exceeds in dynamic range and tonal retrieval of the piano tone - some Italian Imports do offer a clear view of the instrument at the expense of obvious tonal thinning). "Rome" can be found in Italian imports; sound quality and performance are both fine considering the source tape (though it is exceedingly good recording by standard it falls short of the BBC's finest transfer in "London".)

On performance side, "London" simply has everything: 'teeth' (some would prefer 'temperament', 'substance'), concentration ('perfection' - usually refers to designate not only the generic notion 'overall perfection' but 'perfection here on this very occasion'), and a huge satisfaction (I need not know whose that is - since I hear one audience member's frenetic assent, shouting the supreme approval at his own expense [he's rather funny!]) I really was surprised by this BBC release, out of nowhere bringing out the best of Michelangeli and his Grieg interpretation with the fine quality recording only to be totally eclipsed by Michelangeli at his best, musically or otherwise, truly a glorious performance even for the seasoned collectors and Michelangeli fans.

the finest.......2001-05-26

Tracks:

Con Italiano BWV 971: I. Allegro
Con Italiano BWV 971: II. Andante
Con Italiano BWV 971: III. Presto
Mazurka in b, Op.33
Berceuse Op.57
Son In D L.465
Son In b L.449
Piano Con In a, Op.16: Allegro Molto Moderato - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli/Orch del Teatro alla Scala/ Alceo Galliera
Piano Con In a, Op.16: Adagio - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli/Orch del Teatro alla Scala/ Alceo Galliera
Piano Con In a, Op.16: Allegro Moderato Molto Marcato - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli/Orch del Teatro alla Scala/ Alceo Galliera