Karol Szymanowski: Works for Piano

1. Masques (3) for piano, Op. 34, M35
Composed by Karol Szymanowski
with Joanna Domanska

2. Mazurkas (20), for piano, Op. 50, M56
Composed by Karol Szymanowski
with Joanna Domanska

Tracks:

Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31
Reflections in the Water
Etude, Op. 4, No. 3
Etude, Op. 10, No. 12: Revolutionary
La plus que lente
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
Nocturne, Op. 62, No. 2
Dedication
Etude, Op. 8, No. 12
Clair de lune
Etude tableau, Op. 39, No. 5
The Isle of Joy

Customer Reviews:

Soul Food.......2003-10-03

This collection is simply delicious! It is no less than food for the soul. Van Cliburn is my favorite pianist for the sheer fact that he does not get in the way of the performance. Cliburn plays the music as it was intended to be heard. Never too fast or too slow, Cliburn seems to be in tune with the timing of the Gods! Chopin has never been played more beautifully. Chopin's music requires sensitivity to each and every note. So often a pianist will rush through Chopin as if he were a jockey at the Kentucky Derby; not Cliburn. Cliburn caresses each note and brings out the subtle and sublime harmonies that Chopin composed. We are fortunate to have the recordings of Van Cliburn and esspecially his Chopin and Debussy. Treat yourself to this soul satisfying gift!

Absolutely wonderful.......2000-04-12

This features some of the most beautiful songs played by the one of the best pianists in the world. Van Cliburn clearly enjoys and loves playing these pieces. There is a wide spectrum of "classical music" played from Scriabin to Chopin. I definietly recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates fine music and outstanding performances.

Szymanowski: Piano Works; Works for Violin & Piano

Average customer rating:

Szymanowski: Piano Works; Works for Violin & Piano

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000B668VI
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Tracks:

I: Presto
II: Andantino Soave
III: Vivace Assai
IV: Presto
V: Andante Espressivo
VI: Vivace
VII: Allegro Molto
VIII: Lento Assai Mesto
IX: Animato
X: Presto
XI: Andante Soave
XII: Presto Energico
I: L'Ile Des Sirenes
II: Calypso
III: Nausicaa
I: Sheherazade
II: Tantris Le Bouffon
III: Seranade De Don Juan
XIII: Moderato
XV: Allegretto Dolce
VII: Poco Vivace
I: Allegretto Grazioso - Mikhail Rudy
II: Moderato

Tracks:

I: La Fontaine D' Arethuse
II: Narcisse
III: Dryades Et Pan
Romance Pour Violon Et Piano Op.23
I: Caprice No.20
II: Caprice No.21
III: Caprice No.24 (Theme Varife)
Notturno E Tarantella Op.28

Average customer rating:

A geniune bargain at any price
Mazurkas and Etudes best

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works, Vol. 3

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works, Vol. 1
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Szymanowski: Harnasie (Ballet Pantomime) Op.55/Mandragora (Patomime), Op. 43/Etude For Orchestra In B

ASIN: B00004U2KY
Release Date: 2000-08-15

Tracks:

Mazurkas, Op.50: No.13: Moderato
Mazurkas, Op.50: No.14: Animato
Mazurkas, Op.50: No.15: Allegretto Dolce
Mazurkas, Op.50: No.16: Allegramente - Vigoroso
Etudes, Op.33: No.1: Presto
Etudes, Op.33: No.2: Andantino Soave
Etudes, Op.33: No.3: Vivace Assai
Etudes, Op.33: No.4: Presto
Etudes, Op.33: No.5: Andante Espressivo
Etudes, Op.33: No.6: Vivace
Etudes, Op.33: No.7: Allegro Molto
Etudes, Op.33: No.8: Lento Assai Mesto
Etudes, Op.33: No.9: Animato
Etudes, Op.33: No.10: Presto
Etudes, Op.33: No.11: Andante Soave
Etudes, Op.33: No.12: Presto Energico
Folk Dances Of The World: Poland IV: Mazurka
Folk Dances Of The World: Poland V: Krakowiak
Folk Dances Of The World: Poland VI: Oberek
Folk Dances Of The World: Poland VII: Polonaise
Prld And Fugue in c#: Prld
Prld And Fugue in c#: Fugue
Pno Son in c, Op.8: Allegro Moderato
Pno Son in c, Op.8: Adagio
Pno Son in c, Op.8: Tempo Di Minuetto
Pno Son in c, Op.8: Finale

Customer Reviews:

A geniune bargain at any price.......2006-04-30

I always tended to make Szymanowski not much and had little interest in him because the 2 discs I had of his didn't really appeal much to me (and neither did his long name). I recently discovered reviews of some of his piano works and decided to give it a try again. I was simply astounded by this volume and wish I had heard it a long time ago instead of blacklisting him
as of little importance based on my past below average experiences with him. This composer, when it comes to piano, is plain brilliant and has moulded some great composers before him to help him achieve his own astonishing art form. I am rushing to get the three other volumes by Naxos. This composer is a new found treasure!

Mazurkas and Etudes best.......2001-12-21

This is the third and last disc of Szymanowski's piano music by Naxos. In fact, I probably would not have bought it if either of the other two discs were at the store, but it has some very cool pieces. The Mazurkas Op. 50 have the quirky dance rhythm that is associated with mazurkas, and a lot of additional twists and turns that make them quite fascinating. The oblique-sounding (but not ugly) harmonies are supposedly characteristic of the folk music that inspired him to write the pieces. The Etudes Op. 33 are very refreshing to hear. They are extremely well crafted pieces, and in an extremely complex harmonic language no less. The twelve pieces alternate between slow and fast but seem linked by some kind of common thread. Little convoluted details appear throughout, and be sure to listen for the ending which defies all expectation. As for the other works.. compared to the earlier mazurkas, the Folk Dances seem less inspired, and Szymanowski's early works (the Prelude and Fugue and Sonata) were obviously written before he fully developed his own style. But overall, the interpretations are good and the disc is well worth the price.

Enescu, Bartók, Szymanowski: Works for Violin & Piano

Average customer rating:

A sensation nonetheless
Frolicking with Ida and Vladimir
Wow

Enescu, Bartók, Szymanowski: Works for Violin & Piano

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Polish | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004DTQT
Release Date: 2000-06-13

Tracks:

Mythes, Op.30: I La Fontaine d'Arethuse
Mythes, Op.30: II Narcisse
Mythes, Op.30: III Dryades et Pan
Violin Sonata No.3, Op.25: I Moderato malinconico
Violin Sonata No.3, Op.25: II Andante sostenuto e misterioso
Violin Sonata No.3, Op.25: III Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso
First Rhapsody: I Moderato
First Rhapsody: OO Allegretto moderato
Romanian Folkdances: I Stick Dance
Romanian Folkdances: II Sash Dance
Romanian Folkdances: III In One Spot
Romanian Folkdances: IV Dance Of Buchumi
Romanian Folkdances: V Romanian Dance
Romanian Folkdances: VI Fast Dance

Tracks:

Sonata In G Major, Op.30 No.3: I Allegro assai
Sonata In G Major, Op.30 No.3: II Tempo di minuetto
Sonata In G Major, Op.30 No.3: III Allegro vivace
Sonatina In G Minor, D408: I Allegro giusto
Sonatina In G Minor, D408: II Andante
Sonatina In G Minor, D408: III Allegro vivace
Sonatina In G Minor, D408: IV Allegro moderato
Waltz, Op.39 No.15
Tambourin chinois, Op.3
Schon Rosmarin
Zapateado, Op.23, No.2
Hebrew Melody
Scherzo tarantelle, Op.16
Malaguena, Op.71 No.6
Danza No.1 From la vida breve
Notturno e Tarantella, Op.28: Notturno
Notturno e Tarantella, Op.28: Tarantella
Roxane's Song From King Roger
Romanian Folkdances: I Joc cu bata
Romanian Folkdances: II Braul
Romanian Folkdances: III Pe loc
Romanian Folkdances: IV Buciumeana
Romanian Folkdances: V Poarga romanesca
Romanian Folkdances: VI Maruntel

Amazon.com

The new CD was recorded and issued to celebrate the 75th birthday of a legendary violinist who has never become a mainstream superstar. As Haendel's early recordings--like the ones on the bonus CD included here, or the concerto recordings on Testament--demonstrate, she has long been a patrician interpreter of the highest musical and technical standards. In fact, she may be a shade too patrician for some of the repertoire on this recording. With Ashkenazy in uncommonly vigorous and assertive form, Haendel, although always in command of the music and her instrument, doesn't play these mostly folk-based Eastern European showpieces with the kind of flair they invite. She is always sensible and never exactly sleepy, but her Enescu, for example, is much more polite than Menuhin's. The bonus CD, though, despite showing its age and mild lingering effects of Decca's noisy 78s pressings, gives us a more powerful, exciting Haendel, and it's worth more than the asking price of the set. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

A sensation nonetheless.......2003-12-07

Dependent upon what "mainstream" in the editorial review stands for - if that means Elman, Oistrakh, Perlman: the most selling violinists in the biggest market, Haendel is indeed off the mainstream. Otherwise, the more selling, the more they are off the mainstream instead, as most of the cases turn out to be.

But Haendel in this case did make it clear that she herself was not happy with the record. The causes? There are quite a number of them. Ashkenazy is a celebrity and he is selling. But is he the right partner for her for this repertiore? Could Eschenbach or even Zimmermann be a better choice? Would we have something quite different if this record comes out a decade or two ( or even three) earlier...?

In any event, not many of us are equally familiar with these pieces and so to many of us, they are fresh and appealing like nothing else. Haendel is still deservingly the Queen of the Violin, and hopefully Ashkensazy is as selling as ever.

Recommended for those who relish either Eastern Europe music or the drama and lyricism of Haendel's playing, or both.

Frolicking with Ida and Vladimir.......2000-08-04

Nearly a generation before Glenn Gould's towering 1955 recording of the Goldberg variations, Ida Haendel had recorded Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Kreisler and others on Decca. About a generation after Gould's 1982 swansong reprise of the Goldbergs, Ida Haendel was still firing on all eight cylinders (or was it four? Her birth year is variously reported as 1928 and 1924). This 2-CD set captures important fragments from both the early and more recent stages of this remarkable career.

Ida Haendel was wisked out of Poland by her parents in 1939, landed in London, studied with Carl Flesch and Henryk Szering and others, and by Henry Roth's count produced 83 phonograph records. On the first disk here, Ms. Haendel is graciously accompanied by superstar Vladimir Ashkenazy, who is especially exuberant and in top form technically as well. The two quite obviously had a fine old time frolicking together through Eastern European music by Enescu, Bartok and Szymanowski. The second disk, an extraordinary bonus, is a bit scratchy at times, but Haendel's youthful virtuousity is clearly revealed through the haze.

Wow.......2000-07-30

I just got this CD yesterday and am still listening and absorbing, but it has to be said that the bonus CD is truly remarkable, while the Haendel/Ashkenazy coupling in Szymanovsi's "Mythes" is stunning...very heroic and convincing music making done by both artists.

Average customer rating:

Naxos's/Roscoe's well-mixed strange couplings/disc compilations for the occasional hearer, Jones@Nimbus for the collector!
NEXT STOP...... SZYMANOWSKI....!!!

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

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Szymanowski: Harnasie (Ballet Pantomime) Op.55/Mandragora (Patomime), Op. 43/Etude For Orchestra In B

ASIN: B000001432
Release Date: 1995-06-06

Tracks:

Mazurka, Op. 50 Nos. 1-4: No.1
Mazurka, Op. 50 Nos. 1-4: No. 2
Mazurka, Op. 50 Nos. 1-4: No. 3
Mazurka, Op. 50 Nos. 1-4: No. 4
Metopes, Op. 29: L'Ile des Sirs
Metopes, Op. 29: Calypso
Metopes, Op. 29: Nausicaa
Four Studies, Op. 4: No. 1
Four Studies, Op. 4: No. 2
Four Studies, Op. 4: No. 3
Four Studies, Op. 4: No. 4
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 21: Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 21: Allegretto tranquillo

Customer Reviews:

Naxos's/Roscoe's well-mixed strange couplings/disc compilations for the occasional hearer, Jones@Nimbus for the collector!.......2006-08-08

If you are interested in the complete piano music by Szymanowski, you can choose between four single Naxos CD's with Martin Roscoe, or a 4 CD Set by Nimbus Records with Martin Jones. The Nimbus box costs a bit more than 4 x Naxos but with a free coupon code (virtual voucher) the prices end up equal, so price cannot matter. What does matter is the artist's performance, and the manner of the disc compilations. Roscoe needed 12 years (1994-2006) to complete the Naxos project and has won numerous awards and praise for it during that period, whereas Jones needed 1 year (1992-1993) only with no significant award; so objectively speaking, Roscoe's performance is 'better'..although there is nothing to criticize regarding Jones's perfect playing. In my crusty ears both performances sound very much alike, to be honest; so who plays should not matter either. Finally the most distinctive feature of the two releases is the compilation on each disc: Jones's is 100% chronological (op.1,3,4,8,10,14,etc.), so that you can find all(!) of the middle-Szymanowski on disc three; CD1&2 represent the early, and CD4 the late (CD4 has 100% the exact compilation as Marc-Andre Hamelin's recording on hyperion records!) composer. This makes listening to the CD's very very easy and comforting. In opposition, Roscoe seems to have mixed all operas arbitrarily on the discs and he even splitted the Mazurkas Op.50 and spread them on all four CD's. Strange thing to do! Sorry, i cannot detect any kind of logical order within the Roscoe release. You might like the element of surprise when listening to a Roscoe disc..but I find these illogical couplings with its arbitrary doses of early-middle-late Szymanowski rather irritating than enjoyable. It somewhat spoils the collector's edition *IMHO*. And that's maybe exactly the point of Naxos: Roscoe's CD's aim at the occasional listener who only wants *one* disc, representative for Szymanowski's oeuvre, and no matter which disc he chooses, it will always contain a similar dose of early, middle, and late. In our case, such devised marketing did not work for me! :P The booklet for Jones@Nimbus has 12 pages of true reading, excellent and detailed; the total times for his four CD's are 69.06, 66.06, 66.06, 67.34 (sum=4h29min); produced and copyright 1999.
A last word on the music itself, if Bortikievich (Bortkiewicz) was the 'Russian Chopin', then Szymanowski must be called the 'Polish Scriabin^2': early-Szymanowski sounds like early-Scriabin, just with squared virtuosity and complexity; middle-Szymanowski sounds like late-Scriabin with double frenzy and intensity. So, if you enjoy Scriabin, you will like most of Szymanowski, bet?!

NEXT STOP...... SZYMANOWSKI....!!!.......2003-01-04

Karol Szymanowski [1882-1937], son of Poland and modernist kindred of Chopin, is well-served by Mr. Roscoe in this first volume (of three, so far) issued by Naxos of the composer's complete piano music, and is, as well, an exemplary introduction. Although I decry the scattering of integral sets of pieces (e.g. the twenty Mazurkas, Op. 50), and I'm sure Producer Gary Cole could have coordinated the works to CD intact, still (and just the same, as a good friend once ruminated), since Szymanowski's piano music doesn't appear to be overrunning the classical catalogue, we should be grateful for anything available.

The opening four Op. 50 Mazurkas (all dedicated to Artur Rubinstein) are fetching and nicely nuanced in Roscoe's hands, especially No.'s 1 and 3, whose combined elements make a fascinating Chopin/Scriabin mix.

The Metopes, Op. 29 bring tantalizing aural pictures from the world of Homer's Odyssey, and with it the wanderings of legendary hero, Odysseus. Szymanowski's exotic use of impressionism and mood recalls the obvious influence of Debussy and Ravel. The assimilation, however, is engrossing.

Most attractive are the Op. 4 Etudes, especially the very Scriabinesque, and beautiful, No.'s 1 and 3. Chopin's muse hovers nearby as Mr. Roscoe sensitively coaxes every note.

Sonata No. 2, Op. 21, running nearly twenty-nine minutes, is an entirely different affair. Often powerfully virtuosic, often tender, the work is quite like Rachmaninov in its scope, and quite superb, as well, on its own terms.

The Naxos engineers have given Mr. Roscoe's performances faithful reproduction; likewise, the pianist has given the composer his due.

[Running time: 66:44]

Average customer rating:

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Szymanowski: Harnasie (Ballet Pantomime) Op.55/Mandragora (Patomime), Op. 43/Etude For Orchestra In B

ASIN: B0000014DD
Release Date: 1997-02-04

Tracks:

Mazurkas Op.50 No.5: Moderato
Mazurkas Op.50 No.6: Vivace (Junacko)
Mazurkas Op.50 No.7: Poco Vivace (Tempo Oberka)
Mazurkas Op.50 No.8: Moderato (Non Troppo)
Mazurkas Op.50 No.9: Tempo Moderato
Mazurkas Op.50 No.10: Allegramente - Vivace - Con Brio
Mazurkas Op.50 No.11: Allegretto
Mazurkas Op.50 No.12: Allegro Moderato
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: Intro: Andante Doloroso Rubato
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: Andantino Semplice
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.1 Meno Mosso
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.2 Agitato
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.3 Lento Mesto Ma Poco Agitato
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.4 Allegro Molto Agitato
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.5 Andantino
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.6 Andante Dolcissimo
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.7 Piu Mosso
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.8 Marcia Funebre
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.9 Piu Mosso (Allegro)
Vars On A Polish Theme, Op.10: No.10 Finale: Allegro Vivo - Maestoso
Masques, Op.34: No.1 Sheherazade
Masques, Op.34: No.2 Tantris Le Bouffon
Masques, Op.34: No.3 Ser De Don Juan
Fant in C, Op.14: No.1 Grave
Fant in C, Op.14: No.2 Non Troppo Allegro
Fant in C, Op.14: No.3 Allegro Molto

Average customer rating:

At Last, Another Volume in Martin Roscoe's Szymanowski Series

Szymanowski: Piano Works, Vol. 4

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Szymanowski: Harnasie (Ballet Pantomime) Op.55/Mandragora (Patomime), Op. 43/Etude For Orchestra In B

ASIN: B000BK53CY
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Tracks:

I. Andante Ma Non Troppo
II. Andante Con Moto
III. Andantino
IV. Andantino Con Moto
V. Allegro Molto Impetuoso
VI. Lento Mesto
VII. Moderato
VIII. Andante Ma Non Troppo
IX. Lento Mesto
Tema Andantino Tranquillo E Semplice
Variation I: L'Istesso Tempo
Variation II: Agitato
Variation III: Andante Quasi Tempo Di Mazurka
Variation IV: Con Moto
Variation V: Lento Dolce
Variation VI: Scherzando: Vivace Molto
Variation VII: Allegro Agitato Ed Energico
Variation VIII: Meno Mosso: Mesto
Variation IX: Tempo Di Valse: Grazioso
Variation X: Andantino
Variation XI: Andantino Dolce Affettuoso
Variation XII: Allegro Con Fuoco
Moderato
Vivace: Agitato
Poco Vivace
Allegramente: Con Brio
Allegretto Grazioso
Moderato
Valse Romantique
I. Presto
II. Adagio: Mesto
III. Assai Vivace: Scherzando
IV. Fuga

Customer Reviews:

At Last, Another Volume in Martin Roscoe's Szymanowski Series.......2006-01-08

It has been five long years since the previous release in the series devoted to Szymanowski's piano music played by British pianist Martin Roscoe. One had given up hope that there would be more but, mirabile dictu!, here is Volume 4 and it contains the work I'd been hoping for, the Third Piano Sonata. There is, to be sure, stiff competition for the sonata in the recently released performance by Piotr Anderszewski on Virgin Classics, but this performance is arguably the equal of that one and at budget price to boot. There has been a release of the complete Mazurkas by Marc-André Hamelin that has come out in the meantime as well, and as there are six of the mazurkas played here, there is some comparison to be made. In that case I would give the nod to Hamelin. Still the mazurkas included here, those from Opp. 50 and 62, are finely done, if not in quite as scintillating fashion as those by Hamelin. The somewhat quirky mazurkas require a finely tuned rhythmic sense that Hamelin seems to have under somewhat better control than Roscoe.

The CD contains music from Szymanowski's earliest years when he was still under the influence of Chopin (Preludes, Op. 1) or Brahms (Variations, Op. 3) to the middle period when he had discovered the French impressionists (the Sonata, Op. 36) and on to the latter Mazurkas (Op. 62).

The Sonata is a marvel of construction. It is played without pause but has the usual four movements. There is the usual whole-tone impressionism one has come to expect in middle and late period Szymanowski, but in addition, throughout but particularly in the final fugal movement, there are several planes of sound that Roscoe manages to keep distinct. He seems to know when to shine a light on each of the different planes appropriately. This extraordinarily intricate work is played with clarity, passion and a singing line. Anderszewski plays it beautifully, too, and is perhaps given slightly richer sound, but there is nothing to complain about either in Roscoe's performance or in the recorded sound provided him by the Naxos engineers. (A relief, as one remembers how awful the sound on some earlier Roscoe Nimbus label recordings was.)

There is little question that Szymanowski has been undervalued and it appears that his music is only now beginning to be fully appreciated. Musically valid budget releases like this one can only help in that effort.

Recommended, along with the earlier issues in the series.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005A7M0
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Sonata No. 3; Métopes; Masques

Average customer rating:

New standard in Szymanowski interpretation
Glittering
An Artist With The Entire Keyboard Under His Hands
Superlative Szymanowski

Karol Szymanowski: Piano Sonata No. 3; Métopes; Masques

Manufacturer: Virgin Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mahler: Symphony No. 6
Dukas: Piano Sonata; Decaux; Clairs de Lune
Chabrier: Piano Music

ASIN: B000852GCC
Release Date: 2005-08-02

Tracks:

Scheherazade
Tantris Le Bouffon
Serenade De Don Juan
Presto
Adagio
Assai Vivace
Fuga
L'ile Des Sirenes
Calypso
Nausicaa

Amazon.com

Szymanowski is best known for his large-scale, colorful orchestral works. Some find his fascinating piano scores too elusive---compounds of Debussyian Impressionism and Scriabinesque mysticism. Without slighting those features, Piotr Anderszewski makes these important works spring to life, infusing them with depth, color, and excitement. Alongside this, other recordings seem dutiful essays that miss the heart of the music. How Anderszewski works his magic is a solvable mystery. His tempos seem slow but are just right, letting the music breath thus increasing intensity and allowing its colors to make their effect. His tone is full and round; details are caught on the fly, the dynamics controlled yet seeming spontaneous. The Sonata is a formal work capped by an exciting fugal last movement. Masques is a triptych whose first piece drips with sensuality. The second swings wildly from the bittersweet to the poignant; the final one is a Ravelian take on the Don Juan story. Métopes is another triptych based on episodes from the Odyssey. Its virtuoso demands include Debussyian water music and wild dissonant dances, all performed to perfection. A must-hear for fans of great piano music. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

New standard in Szymanowski interpretation.......2007-02-08

After encountering both ups and downs in Anderszewski's earlier recordings the high praise lavished on this cd suggested that the pianist had succeeded in hitting his groove definitively. That praise was fully justified since this recording is stunning.

The color, the drama and structure that Anderszewski unearths in each of these interpretations is unparalleled. In addition, no pianist has hit the nail of Szymanowski's musical idiom so solidly on the head. Fortunately the quality of this great interpretation is met by that of the recording. What results is a revelatory cd that puts the composer of these works on the same level as the great Scriabin.

To all pianophiles: run, don't walk. A must!

Glittering.......2006-12-08

The keyboard comes alive in this CD. The power is supplied by the gifted and extremely versatile Hungarian-Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski (whose web site is [...]). I would warn the listener that this music requires several hearings but on the sixth or seventh the incredible beauty and inner logic of the pieces emerge.

And "shine" is the operative word. The music sparkles and shimmers - there is no better word than glitter. Strangely, there was no clear "favorite" on the album. I was expecting the Sonata to overwhelm everything else but its miniaturized structure enabled it to fit right in with the Metopes and masques. I loved the Adagio Mesto (Sonata) but the fugue (entered without pause from the third movement) was a show stopper. Think of it as the musical lovechild of Bach & Stravinsky. The final cut on the CD, "Nausicaa" transports the listener into a languid, dream-like world that suddenly "glitters" in an avalanche of notes before returning to the dream. It maintains (more so than either of the other Metopes) an internal structure and consistency. My Grade - A+

An Artist With The Entire Keyboard Under His Hands.......2005-12-24

Karol Szymanowski's music is too often neglected in the recital hall and the concert hall. Some believe his complex orchestral pieces are too rich to digest in a hearing, some feel his music is too much of a mixture of Impressionism and Expressionism (!), and some mistake his works for undiscovered Debussy, Messiaen, or Scriabin. Each of those mistaken attributes is reason enough for giving his music a try. The listener who may find the massive orchestral works too daunting would do well to start with this extraordinary recording of Szymanowski piano works, played to utter perfection by the brilliantly gifted poet Piotr Anderszewski. There is definitely an affinity here.

Each of the three selections here allow Anderszewski to demonstrate just what makes him such an exciting artist: he is able to flow with the passion and make the myriad colors weave into a fantastic tapestry of sound, all the while refusing to neglect the wispy little roulades that Szymanowski uses as tag line phrases after his full-bodied excursions of tonalities. The results are so stunning that the immediate response is to play them again, sure that subtleties were missed. The Sonata No. 3 makes grand sense architecturally, proving that this unique composer fully understands formal patterns. But it is in the ravishingly beautiful 'Masques' and 'Métopes' that the sensual magic is best heard. Like Messiaen, Szymanowski searches for and finds the realm of the spiritual, and in Anderszewski's interpretation every avenue of expression is well served. He plays as though his finger span covers the entire keyboard, so precise is the control over the sound spectrum!

This is a recording for those who love fine piano works and fine pianistic skills. It is a wondrous achievement. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Superlative Szymanowski.......2005-09-22

Szymanowski's piano music has languished in relative obscurity for all the wrong reasons. The three works represented on this disc - all unjustly neglected - are admittedly less accessible than the Ravelian impressionism they draw widely upon, and they are also less immmediately alluring than the melodic mystique of Debussy, but this does not mean they are academic or willfully abstruse. Instead, they require, and richly reward, repeated listening. For there is much beauty in this music: Métopes has all the voluptuous sensuality of Scriabin's early sonatas, and Masques is harmonically varied and colourful in its vibrant tonality, whilst the more traditional third piano sonata is muscular in its percussiveness without missing out on lilting lyricism.

Anderszewski's advocacy makes the best possible case for this challenging but beautiful music. His steely precision might occasionally lack the warmth of Jones's recording on Nimbus, but this is a small loss, as he more than makes up for this with his articulate delivery of every complex melodic thread, rapid-fire filigree and tumbling chordal cascade. Though his tone is full-bodied and sonorous, his interpretations do not lack any requisite spontaneity or fire. Importantly, he focuses Szymanowski's musical architecture of contrasts and oppositions with unprecedented clarity. His scintillating pianism doesn't skimp the music's hypnotic mystery either; his palette is fully attuned to the music's dreamy waves of post-impressionistic enchantment. In short, his playing is sensitive to the composer's nuances, intensely exciting and eerily reflective in equal measure. He vividly brings these pieces to life, alternately painting mirages of sound that shimmer in the air and blasting out dazzling supernovae of musical energy. There is no better introduction to Szymanowski's unique sound world.