Mikhail Pletnev - Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas nos. 2 - 7 - 8

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
There are two sides to Pletnev's character: the wayward virtuoso pianist, and the stiff, metronomic conductor. As a pianist Pletnev is fascinating; as a conductor, boring (at least usually). The reason for this dichotomy is simple: he hasn't a clue how to make an orchestra do what his fingers accomplish so effortlessly at the keyboard. Take the music of Prokofiev: he has recorded the ballet Cinderella, a performance of no particular distinction. But these sonatas are another matter entirely. Brilliant, rhapsodic, exciting, and powerful, Pletnev turns in magnificent performances, ones that stand comparison (in the 7th and 8th sonatas) with Richter, Pollini--you name it. It doesn't get any better. And as great Prokofiev sonata discs aren't exactly thick and furious in the current catalogue, this disc is a mandatory acquisition. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat Major, Op. 83: 1. Allegro inquieto - Andantino
Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat Major, Op. 83: 2. Andante caloroso
Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat Major, Op. 83: 3. Precipitato
Piano Sonata No. 2 In D Minor, Op. 14: 1. Allegro, ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No. 2 In D Minor, Op. 14: 2. Scherzo: Allegro marcato
Piano Sonata No. 2 In D Minor, Op. 14: 3. Andante
Piano Sonata No. 2 In D Minor, Op. 14: 4. Vivace - Moderato
Piano Sonata No. 8 In B Flat Major, Op. 84: 1. Andante dolce - Allegro moderato
Piano Sonata No. 8 In B Flat Major, Op. 84: 2. Andante sognando
Piano Sonata No. 8 In B Flat Major, Op. 84: 3. Vivace - Allegro ben marcato - Andantino - Vivace, come prima

Amazon.com essential recording

There are two sides to Pletnev's character: the wayward virtuoso pianist, and the stiff, metronomic conductor. As a pianist Pletnev is fascinating; as a conductor, boring (at least usually). The reason for this dichotomy is simple: he hasn't a clue how to make an orchestra do what his fingers accomplish so effortlessly at the keyboard. Take the music of Prokofiev: he has recorded the ballet Cinderella, a performance of no particular distinction. But these sonatas are another matter entirely. Brilliant, rhapsodic, exciting, and powerful, Pletnev turns in magnificent performances, ones that stand comparison (in the 7th and 8th sonatas) with Richter, Pollini--you name it. It doesn't get any better. And as great Prokofiev sonata discs aren't exactly thick and furious in the current catalogue, this disc is a mandatory acquisition. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

I don't know who's listening, but this is a lovely record.......2006-08-31

Scriabin and Prokofiev are staples of the Russian piano literature on native soil, but in the U.S. one rarely hears them in recital. It's good to have this thoughtful CD from Pletnev, because his relaxed, lyrical, inward manner is rarely heard in Prokofiev. Most pianists approach his keyborad idiom as percussive and disjointed. Pletnev keeps those features to a minimum. As a result, it's not exhausting to listen to him performing three sonatas in a row. The opening movement of Sonata #2 is almost debussian in his hands, Sonata #7 for once isn't a brittle assault, and Sonata #8 is as balletic as an out take from Romeo and Juliet.

Collectors of this music are already wedded to great performances from Richter (above all), Gilels, Graffman, Bronfman, and ohters, but Pletnev is the most original interpreter I've heard--as always, he goes his own way.

An interesting.......2000-03-11

Pletnev's renditions of these sonatas has a melodic, sometimes dream-like quality that works best on the slower movements and works against him somewhat in the fiery, mechanistic parts. The complex layering in the 3rd movement seems to get a bit muddled and lost but overall it's not a bad version. A wonderful gem on this CD is the Scherzo from the 2nd sonata. It is very entertaining and I'd say the 2nd sonata is the best thing on the disc. By the way, my favorite rendition of the 7th is by Anthony di Bonaventura, but it's apparently no longer available.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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