Ivan Moravec Plays Debussy & Chopin

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
These two CDs were digitally recorded for LP release in 1982-83, and thus add up to just under 95 minutes. With playing on this level, though, they'd still be a bargain at almost any price. The color, shading, and imagination Ivan Moravec applies to Debussy makes the music glow and shimmer. His Chopin playing is some of the best in the business; sample the idiomatic rhythms of the Mazurkas, or the memorable journey he makes out of the Polonaise- Fantaisie. As it happens, the discs sell for a very low price (less than that of a standard full-price single disc), making this set a major bargain. --Leslie Gerber

Amazon.com
Ivan Moravec isn't a superstar in terms of having a glitzy career. But to critics and connoisseurs, he is one of the greatest pianists. His relatively few recordings are scattered among a variety of labels. This collection, from two early-eighties digital LPs, is particularly well recorded--important for a pianist with such wonderful tonal variety. The composers are two of Moravec's specialties, and he gives them consistently colorful, imaginative performances. The short timing (94:00) is... read more

Ivan Moravec Plays Debussy & Chopin

Tracks:

Image (Book 1): Reflets Dans L'eau
Image (Book 1): Hommage A Rameau
Image (Book 1): Mouvement
Image (Book 2): Cloches a travers les feuilles
Image (Book 2): Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut
Image (Book 2): Poissons d'or
Prelude (Book 1, No. 6): Des pas sur la neige
Estampe: Pagodes
Estampe: Soiree dans Grenade
Estampe: Jardins sous la pluie

Tracks:

F Minor, Op. 63, No. 2
A Minor, Op. 68, No. 2
B Flat Major, Op. 7 No. 1
C Sharp Minor, Op. 30, No. 4
B Minor, Op. 33, No. 4
A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2
C Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2
E Minor, Op. Posth
C Sharp Minor, Op. 26, No. 1
Polonaise Fantasie In A Flat major, Op. 61

Amazon.com

These two CDs were digitally recorded for LP release in 1982-83, and thus add up to just under 95 minutes. With playing on this level, though, they'd still be a bargain at almost any price. The color, shading, and imagination Ivan Moravec applies to Debussy makes the music glow and shimmer. His Chopin playing is some of the best in the business; sample the idiomatic rhythms of the Mazurkas, or the memorable journey he makes out of the Polonaise- Fantaisie. As it happens, the discs sell for a very low price (less than that of a standard full-price single disc), making this set a major bargain. --Leslie Gerber

Amazon.com

Ivan Moravec isn't a superstar in terms of having a glitzy career. But to critics and connoisseurs, he is one of the greatest pianists. His relatively few recordings are scattered among a variety of labels. This collection, from two early-eighties digital LPs, is particularly well recorded--important for a pianist with such wonderful tonal variety. The composers are two of Moravec's specialties, and he gives them consistently colorful, imaginative performances. The short timing (94:00) is compensated by the ultra-low price, making this set a great piano bargain. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Debussy A La Moravec.......2006-01-13

Short and to the point.
Hey go ahead and ignore my opinion, go buy this and forget Roge.
But after you buy this cd, then buy Roge, and you tell me which you prefer.
I even prefer Michelangeli(4 stars) over Moravec.

Manificent playing of great music at a bargain price.......2001-11-18

This is was the first Moravec recording that I purchased. I bought it despite some reservations by a friend who had heard the Vox LPs and whose opinions on music I take very seriously. He changed his tune when he heard this recording.

Where should I begin? Moravec's technique is fabulous. His articulation is crisp, and his tone is gorgeous. What's more, his personality is expressed here not by showboating but by his unerring ability to bring out the characteristics of Debussy and Chopin. With Debussy, the shocking dissonances are made clear but, at the same time, are sweetened by a lucious tone and a sensitivity to Debussy's underappreciated tunefulness. In the Chopin, Moravec's precise technique is coupled with his sensitivity to rhythm so that the different types of pieces (mazurkas, waltzes, polonaises) are indeed unmistakably different, each type pleasing in very different way.
And all this for (the price).

Those who want to hear more Moravec should immediately purchase his Chopin Nocturnes and his Schumann Kinderszenen, both of which are, in my view, the finest that have been recorded. Period.

Finally, I heard the pianist recently in Toledo (of all places) and spoke to him after his performance. He is a kind and thoughful fellow, and I enjoy supporting him by buying his recordings.

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CD'S.......2001-03-23

This is truly one of the most beautiful CD's I own. I first heard of it about 15 years ago, before I owned a CD player: I read in a British classical music magazine that Moravec's playing of Chopin was inspired and that his playing of Debussy was reason enough to buy a disc player. The writer called CD's "silver cookies" and this disc was right at the top of his list of ten favorites. I have listened over and over and still continue to marvel at the subtleties of Moravec's pianism. Gorgeous and delicate, but these are not wispy interpretations which melt like cotton candy. Moravec plays with strength. I love the Chopin CD and think it honestly compares favorably with Rubenstein, but it is the Debussy interpretations that have stayed with me and that I come back to time and time again for a 45 minute vacation from life in New York City. The price listed above is unbeatable...about 1/2 of what I paid. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Exquisite playing.......1999-12-08

It irked the French of my Dad's generation that the greatest interpreter of Debussy piano music was Walter Gieseking - not exactly a Frenchman.

I don't know if it bothers the French today that the mantle has passed to a Czech. If it does, they should get past it, and just be grateful that anyone can play this beautifully.

The Chopin Mazurkas are I think as close to Moravec's heart as they were to the composer. He often offers them as encores at recitals, and invariably reduces the audience to hushed rapture.

All music lovers should snap up any Moravec album they come across - especially if it includes a Chopin Mazurka.

Wonderful performances........1999-11-16

I stumbled across this album several years ago and couldn't believe my good fortune. I've listened to recorded piano music for a number of years, and while I would by no means consider myself to have any special expertise, I consistently find Mr. Moravec to be the single most communicative pianist in my experience. This set, along with all of his recordings reissued on VAI that I've been able to hear, are simply wonderful.

Average customer rating:

Ivan Moravec Plays (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Supraphon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Barcarolles | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Moravec Plays Schumann & Franck
Chopin: Sonata in B-flat minor, Berceuse, etc.

ASIN: B00005YDQV
Release Date: 2001-12-18

Average customer rating:

Simply beautiful Debussy

Ivan Moravec Plays French Music

Manufacturer: Supraphon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Ivan Moravec Plays Debussy & Chopin
Moravec Plays Schumann & Franck
Chopin: Sonata in B-flat minor, Berceuse, etc.
Ivan Moravec Plays Chopin
Chopin: 24 Preludes Ballade in F Minor

ASIN: B00005YKCX
Release Date: 2002-01-29

Tracks:

Prelude, Choral Et Fugue: Prelude. Moderato
Prelude, Choral Et Fugue: Choral. Poco Piu Lento
Prelude, Choral Et Fugue: Fugue. Poco Allegro
Sonatine (In F Sharp Minor): Modere
Sonatine (In F Sharp Minor): Mouvement De Menuet
Sonatine (In F Sharp Minor): Anime
Preludes: Feux D'artifice. Moderement Anime
Preludes: La Cathedrale Engloutie. Profondement Calme
Preludes: Les Collines D'Anacapri. Tres Modere
Preludes: Les Sons Et Les Parums Tournent Dans L'air Du Soir. Modere
Preludes: La Terrasse Des Audiences Du Clair De Lune. Lent
Pour Le Piano: Prelude
Pour Le Piano: Sarabande
Pour Le Piano: Toccata

Customer Reviews:

Simply beautiful Debussy.......2003-02-02

Ivan Moravec is a pianist who doesn't always get the attention he deserves, which is a shame because his recordings of Chopin and Debussy are among the best. This CD is a re-issue of a Connoisseur Society LP that I have long cherished. The Debussy on this album is simply gorgeous. Moravec's playing on the Preludes stands up to all the other great interpretations, including those of Gieseking and Jacobs. If I were stranded on a deserted island with only one CD, I would want it to be this one.