rachmaninov tchaikovsky shostakovich transcription

classical music:

2 reviews
Ottorino Respighi, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 1998

Beautiful piano works, beautifully performed
Included on this wonderful CD of less-familiar works of this great composer is Respighi's own piano transcription of certain of the "Ancient Airs and Dances". These are performed by Konstantin Scherbakov, a 36-year old Siberian, in virtuoso style. He handles Respighi's dense writing easily and it often seems as if he is playing with more than two hands. All of the orchestral "instruments" ...

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

14 reviews
Dmitry Shostakovich, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2001

A Twentieth Century Piano Masterwork
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) is best-known for his symphonies and for his difficult political life in the former Soviet Union. Between 1950-1951, while his work was under a performance ban, Shostakovich composed a work for solo piano, the "24 Preludes and Fugues" Op. 87, which is remarkable for its intimacy and devotion to the art of pure music. It is one of the great piano works of the ...

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2; Concert Fantasy

2 reviews
Dmitry Yablonsky, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, ...

Naxos, 2007

Tchaikovsky's Second Piano Concerto & Concert Fantasy
It was after the seperation from his wife that Tchaikovsky started work on his Piano Concerto No. 2 taking his mind off the severe depression he suffered from. He dedicated the concerto to his friend Nikolay Rubinstein, who initially criticized his Piano Concerto No. 1, although that concerto was now a part of Rubinstein's concert repertoire. He now hoped that Nikolay Rubinstein would give the ...

Domenico Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 7

5 reviews
Domenico Scarlatti, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2005

Sixteen Scarlatti Sonatas.
Hailed at a Lucerne Festival as a modern Rachmaninov and with an equally phenomenal piano technique, Konstantin Scherbakov gives his attention here to some of the sparer, gently rustling keyboard works of Domenico Scarlatti. Indeed, some of the sonatas he has chosen (for example K 291) are two-part writing of the simplest - at least he makes it sound so. Dynamics are skillfully shaded and ...

Godowsky: Piano Music, Vol. 3
Leopold Godowsky, Konstantin Scherbakov

Marco Polo, 1999

Franz Liszt: Beethoven Symphonies 7 & 8 (Piano Transcriptions)

3 reviews
Franz Liszt, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2006

Liszt's Titanic "Seventh" and "Eighth"
For Lisztians and collectors who relish their Cyprien Katsaris recording(s) (Beethoven/Liszt: Symphonies Nos. 1-9), this release may not be worth buying. Katsaris is simply indomitable because his recording presents the Liszt piano transcriptions with extra doubling and slight alterations in the service of producing greater sonority. However, I believe Scherbakov eradicates all other contenders, ...

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos 1 & 3

1 review
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Yablonsky, ...

Naxos, 2004

A Beautiful Performance from Pianist and Orchestra Alike
Konstantin Scherbakov is a Russian pianist who has of late made many recordings, primarily of Russian music, for Naxos and Marco Polo. His recording of the Shostakovich 'Preludes and Fugues' is among the very best as is his recording of Shostakovich's first piano sonata. He has also recorded Rachmaninov brilliantly; he had come to international attention in 1990 when he played Rachmaninov's ...

Polish Heart

1 review
Tekla Badarzewska, Frederic Chopin, ...

Naxos, 2000

For the classical generalist.
If you are looking to stock your classical musical shelves with a broad range of recognizable pieces, then this disc is for you. Otherwise, this album is not that great. Essentially it consists of the overplayed classical standards that happen to be Polish. If you are looking for a better introduction to modern Polish classical then try "The Varsovia Quartet play string quartets from Poland" ...

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Piano Transcription)

7 reviews
Franz Liszt, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2004

A Great Ninth...
Scherbakov does a fine job here: tempi and articulation are excellent--(I wish Scherbakov--or anyone--could have slowed-down and expanded Beethoven's wondrous Adagio [movement 3], but perhaps only Glenn Gould could have done that!) Recorded sound is excellent.

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 [DVD Audio]
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Dmitry Yablonsky, ...

Naxos, 2004

Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 1; 24 Preludes

1 review
Dmitry Shostakovich, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2003

Shostakovich's Less-Familiar Piano Music, Very Well Played
Konstantin Scherbakov seems to be becoming one of Naxos's house pianists, along with Idil Biret and Jeno Jando. Each of them is a superb artist, although each has had some weaker moments on disc. I was less than pleased with Scherbakov's performance of the Godowsky 'Passacaglia' (although, admittedly, that was on Naxos's sister label, Marco Polo). But he has given us wonderful Schubert/Liszt ...

Franz Liszt: Beethoven Symphonies 4 & 6 (Piano Transcriptions)

4 reviews
Franz Liszt, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2003

Brilliant Arrangements well played
It is amazing how masterfully Liszt arranged Beethoven's symphonies for piano, and at quite a young age too. I've now heard 1, 3, 4, and 6. True, there are times when I miss the color of the different orchestral instruments, but at other times the virtuosity of the piano arrangements makes up for it. Scherbakov's interpretations are brilliantly played, though the Pastoral symphony is not ...

Respighi: Concerto for piano; Concerto a Cinque for orchestra

1 review
Ottorino Respighi, Ewald Danel, ...

Naxos, 1999

New Found Favorite
I recently bought this disk and have fallen in love with the music. As usual, Naxos delivers a powerfull recording of a lesser known piece at a very manageable price! The Mixolydian Concerto for piano and orchestra is played marvelously. The piano both sparkles and brakes with intensity worthy of Respighi's own praise. The use of big orchestral sounds and extreme dynamics will be familiar to ...

Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1-9 Transcribed by Liszt [Box Set]

3 reviews
Franz Liszt, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2006

Great price for an amazing box set of Liszt transcriptions
Liszt's task was enormously difficult to reduce all nine of Beethoven's Symphonies to the level of a single piano and to make this possible for just ten fingers. Absolutely amazing! To make the piano sound as an orchestra would be an illusion and unreachable for any other composer. Not Liszt, he consciously made wonderful, brilliant piano pieces out of Beethoven's Symphonies. Another aspect to ...

Leopold Godowsky: Java Suite; Wine, Women and Song

1 review
Leopold Godowsky, Konstantin Scherbakov

Marco Polo, 2007

The Godowsky Renaissance Continues
For many years the piano compositions of Polish-American pianist/composer Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938) languished in obscurity, rarely played or recorded. There was always interest among cognoscenti and among pianists who loved exploring corners of the modern piano repertoire. But there it remained until an upsurge of recordings and performances began perhaps fifteen or twenty years ago. There ...

Adagio Chillout
Hugo Alfven, Samuel Barber, ...

Naxos, 2004

Scriabin: Piano Concerto; Prometheus

1 review
Alexander Scriabin, Igor Golovschin, ...

Naxos, 1999

Dancing in the Divine Fire
Alexander Scriabin's (1872-1915) "Prometheus: Poem of Fire" (1915), like his much earlier Piano Concerto (1897), uses a keyboard in the concertante role, and the common instrumentation has led to the two works being coupled in recordings. (Since the advent of the CD, the "Poem of Ecstasy" [1908] is usually included with them, although it is a purely orchestral work.) Critics often remark that ...

Respighi: Piano Concerto / Fantasia Slava

4 reviews
Ivan Tvrdik, Ottorino Respighi, ...

Naxos, 1995

How much we miss
Normally we build our library on the classics and the buy another version, and another. That is fine, it allows you to compare lectures and is very interesting. On the down side we miss music like the one in this CD. It is a jewel. Sometimes is difficult to remember that you are hearing Respighi. The perfomance and recording are first rate, after hearing it 3 times in one day, it still ...

Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 2; The Limpid Stream; A Child's Exercise Book

1 review
Dmitry Shostakovich, Konstantin Scherbakov

Naxos, 2006

Some of Shostakovich's Least Familiar Piano Music
This is, if I recall correctly, the third in the series by pianist Konstantin Scherbakov of most of Shostakovich's solo piano music. The first was the marvelous set of Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87; the second contained the lighter-hearted 24 Preludes and the acerbic First Piano Sonata. This disc contains the almost-never-heard Second Piano Sonata plus a number of very rare pieces, some of them ...

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 [Hybrid SACD]

3 reviews
Sergey Rachmaninov, Dmitry Yablonsky, ...

Lydian, 1994

Incredible
I have only listened to the 2-channel SACD track (I've got a very good stereo setup), but the quality is honestly phenominal. The music is so incredibly fluid - the piano, percussion and brass are all almost startling and possess wonderful imaging. The clarity and instrument separation are amazing.. truly a top quality SACD recording. If you like Rachmaninov's music, you will love this recording, ...

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