Byron Janis: Prokofiev; Rachmaninov...(Recorded By Mercury On Location In Moscow)

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Prokofiev's Third was one of the concertos that appeared in the Richard Dreyfuss movie "The Competition," and Byron Janis's performance is generally considered to be more than competition-worthy. In fact, many consider it the best ever, also a function of Kirill Kondrashin's inspired accompaniments. Janis's performance is a bit slower than usual, not because he lacks energy or technique, but rather because he actually takes the time to play all of those notes and make something musically satisfying out of them. It's a very personal interpretation, carried through with blazing conviction; and the coupling, Rachmaninoff's early First Concerto, is equally stunning. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

I. Andante-Allegro
II. Tema Con Variazione
III. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
I. Vivace
II. Andante
III. Allegro Vivace
Toccata
Variations On A Theme By Clara Wieck ('Quasi Variazioni')
Song Without Words, Op.62, No.1
I. Run, Run
II. March
III. Hobby-Horse

Customer Reviews:

Sunny.......2007-02-05

I consider myself supremely unqualified to rate any musical item. I am more than happy to criticize literature. Ironically, I have a degree in music and no such thing in literature. But, then again, my literature professor never smacked my hands with a ruler and told me to stop despoiling his piano with my clumsy touch. I wonder if there was anyway to write that last sentence without the suggestion of piano-human sex.

So take this with the salt it deserves--this album is top-notch.

There is something about Janis's playing that I can't put my finger on: somehow, no matter the piece, there is a feeling of cheerfulness. One would expect this in the Prokofiev, but we find it even in the melancholy Rachmaninoff, even slivers of it in the morose Schumann excerpt. It's no cause for complaint: one still gets all the emotion these works deserve. Somehow, still, everything seems so bright and sunny in Janis's hands.

His playing is above any criticism.

This is, perhaps, not my favorite recording of the Rach 1, but that may simply be because I'm used to a more somber sound. Nonetheless, it is a remarkable rendition, clear as a bell. The Prokofiev 3rd is breathtaking, the typical sarcasm and snide humor of the composer.

The Op. 11 Tocatta must be heard to be believed.

The Pinto pieces are charming little bits of dessert.

My only complaint, and this goes not to Janis, is that the album is somewhat old and thus suffers from a kind of dusty grain in the sound. That detracts not a bit from the music itself, however.

Average customer rating:

Amazing Recordings
This recording smokes

Byron Janis 2

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Byron Janis
Shura Cherkassky
Leopold Godowsky
Great Pianists (series) - Ignaz Friedman plays Beethoven, Chopin, Hummel, Mendelssohn, etc.
Andrei Gavrilov

ASIN: B00000JNQ5
Release Date: 1999-07-20

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 1 In E flat: 1. Allegro Maestoso
Piano Concerto No. 1 In E flat: 2. Quasi Adagio - Allegretto Vivace - Allegro Animato
Piano Concerto No. 1 In E flat: 3. Allegro Marziale Animato
Piano Concerto No. 1 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 1: 1. Vivace
Piano Concerto No. 1 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 1: 2. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 1 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 1: 3. Allegro Vivace
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C, Op. 26: 1. Andante - Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 3 In. C, Op. 26: 2. Tema Con Variazioni
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C, Op. 26: 3. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Toccata, Op. 11

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor, Op. 18: 1. Moderato
Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor, Op. 18: 2. Adagio Sostenuto
Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor, Op. 18: 3. Allegro Scherzando
Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14 'Concerto without Orchestra': 3. Quasi Variazioni (Variations On A Theme By Clara Wieck)
3 Romanzen, Op. 28: No. 2 In F Sharp
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 23: 1. Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso - Allegro Con Spirito
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 23: 2. Andantino Semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo I
Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 23: 3. Allegro Con Fuoco

Amazon.com

The gold-fingered Byron Janis is often mentioned in the same context as the other young American lions in an era of cold war cultural competition, Van Cliburn and William Kapell. This anthology gives you a good sense of what it was that made Janis in particular so exciting during his vintage years in the early '60s (before the arthritis that derailed his career had struck, and from which he has attempted a recent comeback). Janis had a voracious appetite for taking risks, perhaps a part of the legacy of his one-on-one study with Vladimir Horowitz--but it's a kind of risk taking that is all his own and makes the concertos performed under Kiril Kondrashin (from a famous Moscow concert in 1962) pulse with discovery and excitement. He tears fearlessly into the "martial" finale of the Liszt Concerto No. 1 but also contributes buoyant high spirits. Against much subsequent competition, this account of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto--a piece used in the Richard Dreyfuss film The Competition--still amazes for its unerring sense of direction that still finds room for the composer's contradictory moods. Instead of reducing to acidic attitude and motoric machismo, Janis (obviously inspired by the white-hot input from the Moscow Philharmonic and Kondrashin) offers a wealth of textures and colorings, as well as much warmth. A more unabashedly romantic artist is at work in the First Piano Concerto of Rachmaninoff, which gets a dusting off and is presented with passionate conviction--wonderfully complementing Janis's rich account of the more-familiar Second Piano Concerto (listen to how much he packs into his build of the opening parade of sustained chords), where you shouldn't let yourself be off put by some of the strings' frayed intonation. Solo pieces here are a mesmerizing, knock-out early Prokofiev Toccata and a deeply personal bit from a Schumann rarity (the variations from the Piano Sonata No. 3, known as "concerto without orchestra"), which is maddeningly ripped from its context and leaves you aching to hear the work entire. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Recordings.......2001-01-07

This entire cd is amazing. Janis is widely underated but his Liszt is some of the best out there. Along with Earl Wild and John McArthur I rank him among the best performers of Franz's work. This cd will not disapoint.

This recording smokes.......1999-11-09

This is an outstanding set in an outstanding series. Janis is a terribly underrated and somewhat forgotten pianist. His technique is superb, but his sense of the music is always sure. He plays withe great energy and passion and conveys the overall shape of many of these concertos very well. Particularly outstanding is his performance of the Prokofiev 3. Despite the power, and the speed, this work is clearly going somewhere. I listened to it on headphones and my ears were smoking by the last note. I imagine that the piano took quite a beating as well. This is a recording which even the most jaded listeners to Russian concerto works will appreciate.

Byron Janis: Prokofiev; Rachmaninov...(Recorded By Mercury On Location In Moscow)

Average customer rating:

WOW!
SIMPLY THE BEST!
Janis delivers

Byron Janis: Prokofiev; Rachmaninov...(Recorded By Mercury On Location In Moscow)

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Moussorgsky: Picture at an Exhibition/Chopin: Etude in F major/Waltz in A minor
Dvorak: Concerto for cello in Bm; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme
Paul Paray Conducts Dances of Death
Bizet: Carmen Suite; Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2; Thomas: Mignon & Raymond Overtures

ASIN: B0000057M5
Release Date: 1994-02-15

Tracks:

- Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Opus 26: - Andante - Allegro
- Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Opus 26: - Tema con variazione
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Opus 26: - Allegro ma non troppo
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 1: - Vivace
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 1: - Andante
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 1: - Allegro vivace
- Toccata
Variations on a Theme by Clara Wieck -'Quasi Variazioni'- - Schumann
Songs without Words, Op. 61, No. 1 - Mendelssohn
- Three Scenes from Childhood: - Run, Run
- Three Scenes from Childhood: - March
- Three Scenes from Childhood: - Hobby-Horse

Amazon.com

Prokofiev's Third was one of the concertos that appeared in the Richard Dreyfuss movie "The Competition," and Byron Janis's performance is generally considered to be more than competition-worthy. In fact, many consider it the best ever, also a function of Kirill Kondrashin's inspired accompaniments. Janis's performance is a bit slower than usual, not because he lacks energy or technique, but rather because he actually takes the time to play all of those notes and make something musically satisfying out of them. It's a very personal interpretation, carried through with blazing conviction; and the coupling, Rachmaninoff's early First Concerto, is equally stunning. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

WOW!.......2007-06-15

Totally magnificent. Awesome. The synchrony between orchestra and piano is wonderful, too.

SIMPLY THE BEST!.......2005-11-14

This is simply the best perfomance of this concerto and the ONLY one in which the pianist plays ALL the notes! Also, the only performance which reveals the inner colors of the piece. A marvel!

Janis delivers.......2000-05-03

The best attribute of this recording must be the rhythmic drive of both the pianist and the orchestra. I find Janis and Horowitz both to possess this "living rhythm", probably as a result of their work together. The first movement is fresh and alive for me again. You might notice that the editorial suggests that many believe this to be the best recording of this work. Count me among those.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

After Hours Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Import]

Gianni Raimondi, Vol.1

Clarinet Bonbons

Undeniable

Classical Chillout Lounge

Feng Shui: Harmony Balance Energy

Ciao Amore

Dios (Malos)

Borrowed Heaven/Talk on Comers/for [Import]

Beethoven Violin Concerto in D/Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor

Carnegie Hall Concert [Import]

Caravana de Suenos

Christmas

Les Introuvables de Alexis Weissenberg

Chords In Blue - Jazz Harp