Good Afternoon!
Yeah! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Houston today. Finally! Of course, I'm still inside my hotel room, so... Hmmm...
As for today's topic... let's see if I can control myself
Favorite composers and pieces:
-Debussy - I like all of "it", but I'm especially fond of his earlier pieces, especially "La plus que lente". But I also marvel everytime I listen to - and attempt to play - the "Etudes".
-Ravel - Again, I like all of "it". For my graduation recital, I played two selections from "Miroirs" ("Oiseaux tristes", and "Alborado del gracioso").
-Gershwin - The Three Preludes (well, now it's something like Five or Seven after the latest research)
-Rachmaninov - The Preludes (especially the D Major from the first opus)
-Tchaikovsky - Even though a lot of his solo output falls into the "salon music" category for some ears, there are some true gems among some of his opuses - opi?. And "The Seasons" - which are really "The Months" are a wonderful set.
-Ginastera - My piano teacher in college introduced me the music of this Argentinian composer. The later, more atonal works don't really sit too well with me, but the "American Preludes", "Danzas Criollas", and the first Piano Sonata manage to combine moments of barbarism with sheer aching beauty.
-Chopin - The Preludes, the Etudes, the Waltzes, the Scherzos, the Mazurkas, the Sonatas, the Berceuse(!), etc., etc., etc...
As for piano and orchestra:
-Beethoven - Piano Concerto, No. 1 - It was my first piece I ever performed with an orchestra, so..
-Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
-Dohnyani - Variations on a Nursery Tune ("Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman", "Twinkle, Twinkle"...)
-Liszt - Totentanz (variations on the Dies Irae)
-Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto, No. 2 and 3 (or "Rocky 2 and 3" as the piano geeks used to call them).
-Prokofiev - Piano Concerto, No. 3 - and, actually, No. 2 is pretty amazing too.
-Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue, and BOTH Piano Concertos. -Yes, the 2nd one recycles some movie themes, but I find it makes for some good listening.
Favorite pianists:
-Walter Gieseking - His Debussy recordings have, thankfully, been reissued a couple of time on CD already. -And I also keep meaning to check if his recordings of the Hindemith piano sonatas have been releases. -Well, I'm not sure if he ever recorded them... I know he "concertized" them, so...
-Robert Casadesus - For his Ravel.
-Vladimir Ashkenazy - Almost everything he has every recorded especially the Russian repertoire.
-Emil Gilels - I still turn to his recordings of the Brahms' piano concertos with Jochum when I want to listen to them. And his Grieg "Lyric Pieces" are another music library staple.
-Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart, and her Debussy "Etudes".
-Andras Schiff - Bach, Bach, Bach
-Martha Argerich - Yes, she can be a bit "eccentric" at times, but her technical prowess is simply awesome: Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit"; Prokofiev's Piano Concerto, No. 2; Liszt's Piano Concerto, No. 1 ("She doesn't stretch out those opening leaps!?!??"), and her Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, No. 1 is pretty good too.
-Richard Goode - His complete Beethoven sonatas.
-Krystian Zimmerman - Anything he has recorded. I just wish he would make more than one appearance in the US every other year.
-Stephen Kovacevich (used to be Steven Bishop-Kovacevich). -If his cycle of the Beethoven Piano Concerti are still available on Philips budget line, they're more than worth the minor investment.
As for movie pianists:
"The Competition" will always hold a special place in my heart... Richard Dreyfuss' piano faking is/was not done well (but "he" does "play" the finale of the Ginastera first piano sonata), but Amy Irving does a pretty good job.
"Madame Souzatska" - Even though Shirley MacLaine is the star, the young man in the movie does a fine job of "faking". -Which he should, since he was coached by Barry Douglas (got to love those Irish men!) who also makes an appearance in the movie.
