Ravel: Gaspard de La Nuit

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Andrei Gavrilov's 1982 Rachmaninoff recital is a knockout. His astounding technique allows him to navigate Rachmaninoff's thick, swirling textures without getting bogged down by details. The B-flat Major Prelude and F- sharp Minor Étude-Tableau, for instance, boast unrelenting ferocity and rhythmic drive, while the introspective selections never yield to sentimental lingering. The pianist's fidgety rubatos in the Ravel, though, impede rather than support the music's natural flow. Make sure you have the Ivo Pogorelich (DG) or Arturo Michelangeli (Music & Arts) Gaspards in your larder, and buy this for the Rachmaninoff. --Jed Distler

Tracks:

Prld Op.23 No.2 in B flat
Prld Op.23 No.1 in f#
Etude-Tableau Op.39 No.3 in f#
Prld Op.23 No.6 in E flat
Prld Op.32 No.12in g#
Prld Op.23 No.5 in g
Elegie Op.3 No.1 in e flat
Moment Musical Op.16 No.3 in b
Moment Musical Op.16 No.4 in e
Moment Musical Op.16 No.5 in D flat
Moment Musical Op.16 No.6 in C
Etude-Tableau, Op.39 No.5 e flat
Gaspard De La Nuit: I. Ondine. Lent
Gaspard De La Nuit: II. Le Gibet. Tres Lent
Gaspard De La Nuit: III. Scarbo. Modere

Amazon.com

Andrei Gavrilov's 1982 Rachmaninoff recital is a knockout. His astounding technique allows him to navigate Rachmaninoff's thick, swirling textures without getting bogged down by details. The B-flat Major Prelude and F- sharp Minor Étude-Tableau, for instance, boast unrelenting ferocity and rhythmic drive, while the introspective selections never yield to sentimental lingering. The pianist's fidgety rubatos in the Ravel, though, impede rather than support the music's natural flow. Make sure you have the Ivo Pogorelich (DG) or Arturo Michelangeli (Music & Arts) Gaspards in your larder, and buy this for the Rachmaninoff. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Good Rachmaninov But Better Ravel........2006-01-05

I am an admirer of Gavrilov based on his recordings of Bach's piano concertos and Prokofiev's sonatas. However, as impressive as his virtuoso pyrotechnics are on this 1984 recording of a selection of Rachmaninov's Preludes and Moments musicaux, I much preferred the slower passages than the ones played at great speed and with great force. I compared Gavrilov's version of Rachmaninov's Prelude, Op. 23/2, which is the first track on this CD, with Dmitri Alexeev's recording of the same piece, and found that I preferred Alexeev's.

I found the quality of the recorded sound less harsh on the Alexeev 2-CD set; also, even though this is a Prelude that is played fast and with fortissimo passages, I found that Alexeev nevertheless managed to convey moments of lyrical beauty in this piece that Gavrilov did not.

The problem may not necessarily be with Gavrilov's performance, but something in the actual recorded sound of the piano in the fortissimo passages, which have a sound that reminds me too much that the piano is a percussive instrument. As one of the other reviewers has written, "the recording quality itself is abundant and up-front (perhaps even too up-front for some tastes)." I believe that the "some tastes" group includes me.

There are different variables that can affect the sound of a recording, such as the instrument used, the placing of the microphone, the type of recording equipment used, the acoustics of the recording location, and the sound engineering. Something about the sound quality of the piano in the louder and faster passages of Rachmaninov sounds a bit harsh to my ears.

And yet, leaving aside the somewhat harsh qualities of the faster and more energetic pieces, the slower Rachmaninov selections, such as the second track, "Prelude, Op. 23/1," for example, or the seventh track, "Elegie, Op. 3/1," are quite beautiful.

As for the 1978 recording of Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit," that completes this CD, the performance is wonderful. In the Ravel selection, the piano has a tone that is softer and more rich, not only because these are generally slow passages, but perhaps because the recording was made at a different time and under different circumstances. In the Ravel, even when the playing becomes more rapid and louder in some passages, the actual sound of the piano remains full and rich, not hollow or metallic.

For an excellent performance of the Rachmaninov Preludes and Moments musicaux, I would recommend the 2-CD 1993 recording by Dmitri Alexeev, on Virgin Classics, of the Preludes Op. 23 & 32, the Morceaux de fantaisie Op. 3, and the Moments musicaux Op. 16. It has better sound quality and is much more complete.

Also, whereas the CD insert of the Alexeev 2-CD set has a small but informative essay, the insert of the Gavrilov CD has no information at all about either the Rachmaninov or Ravel compositions, and only a few very brief, sketchy notes about Gavrilov together with a paragraph of general information about pianos are constructed.

I recommend this CD without reservation for the Ravel, and with some reservation for the Rachmaninov.

A smashing sampling of Rachmaninov........2002-05-20

The greatest disappointment one will get from hearing Gavrilov play the assorted Preludes and Etudes Tableaux of Rachmaninov on this disc is that the complete works aren't available (and shame on EMI if they recorded them all and did not issue them).

My evaluation concurs strongly with the reviews made of Andrei Gavrilov in such publications as the Penguin Guide to CDs. His account of all the works on this disc (Rachmaninov and Ravel) demonstrates a powerful and near superhuman vitality. The recording quality itself is abundant and up-front (perhaps even too up-front for some tastes). Nevertheless, the listener will never be bored with this disc. These performances, though only samplings of entire Rachmaninov sets, stand strongly among those of other great artists such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Howard Shelley.

This is an excellent value at very low price.

Jed Distler, you make me sick.......1999-08-14

See the one-line summary

Worth it for the Ravel too..........1999-07-19

I disagree that Gavrilov's Ravel is sub-par. I own the Pogorelich and two of several Michelangeli recordings of the Gaspard and I believe Gavrilov's is the most satisfying overall. All three recordings, as well as Argerich's, deserve a place in any Gaspard-collection. Gavrilov's rendition conveys more emotion than any other recording, which is remarkable given the piece's technical difficulty.As spellbinding as the Moments Musicaux and Etudes Tableaux, the Ravel makes this disc a must-own for Gaspard and Rachmaninov aficionados.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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Complete Vogue Recordings, Vol. 2 [Original recording remastered] [Import]

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Megatonnage: The Best of Two Tons

Johnny Cool: Billy May's Original Motion Picture Score - Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] [Soundtrack]

Haydn: String Quartets Op. 33 Nos. 1, 2 & 4

Little Dog

Opus in Swing [Import] [Original recording remastered]

Live Through This

Frente a Frente

Latin Music: 0385 [Import]

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Sonic Boom