variations impromptus mendelssohn symphoniques

classical music:

7 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, Murray Perahia

Sony Classics, 2008

superb!
I have yet to hear any of Murray Perahia's playing, whether live or recorded, which was anything less than superbly musical. His profound musicality is always what one hears, no matter the technical demands of a piece. His technique, though astonishing, is there to serve the music, not wow the listener. This cd is filled with illuminating insights and many, many moments of incredible beauty.

Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos

8 reviews
Ludwig van Beethoven, Bernard Haitink, ...

Sony, 1990

If I were to become deaf, this is what I would hear
This recording is simply amazing. The way Perahia plays each note in such a way that notes no longer exist but ooze out as sugary themes piqued by sweet harmonics which in themselves become the theme, over and over again, like undulating waves upon a lake. The 3rd and 4th are my favorites. The recordings are perfectly clear, limited only by your own hardware--speakers, wires, etc. The piano ...

Schubert: Impromptus For Piano

17 reviews
Franz Schubert, Murray Perahia

Sony, 1990

OMFG!
Perahia's recording of Schubert is amazing! Every track on this CD is moving, insightful, and fun. Though the only other renditions I've heard are Horowitz's 899 #4 and Brendel's 899 #3, I liked Perahia's versions more. The beginning of Perahia's 899#4 is like a nice psychoacoustic tickle. All of the other impromptus also have interesting moments that touch multiple senses during careful ...

Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2

10 reviews
Frederic Chopin, Zubin Mehta, ...

Sony, 1990

Magnificent Performance
I recently purchased this CD through Amazon.com. For a live performance, the audio quality of this CD is superb. While I admire any musician who tries to do justice to Chopin's intricate compositions, this performance is truly magnificent. Murray Perahia's rendition of both concerti is the best I've ever heard -- here is a man who really understands Chopin. I appreciate the fact that he ...

Bach: Goldberg Variations

49 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, Murray Perahia

Sony, 2000

Sublime - a worthy replacement for Gould
Murray Perahia takes the Goldberg Variations to new heights here, to my mind/ear even more thoughtfully, sensitively and musically than Gould, Schiff & Hewitt (yes, pretty difficult, but that's what I think is achieved here). Here we have a supreme Goldberg interpretation, stunningly recorded. Perahia is simply so good, I can't imagine ever listening again to Gould's sing-a-along versions, ...

Bach: Keyboard Concertos Nos. 1, 2 & 4

9 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, Murray Perahia, ...

Sony, 2001

Sparkling Wit
Of course Perhaia is a great pianist and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is a great ensemble. But here I believe we get more than just the sum of the two. I was fortunate to hear a concert of Perhaia and St. Martin in the Fields here in Ann Arbor and they performed the first of these concertos. I have to tell you that the piece is so full of wit and fun that I chuckled out loud ...

Mozart: The Complete Piano Concertos

14 reviews
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Murray Perahia, ...

Sony, 2006

The best, but not all there is
I will just repeat all the praise from the other reviewers, it's a great, great set. HOWEVER, it doesn't have ALL Mozart's piano concertos---almost no sets do. Mozart "wrote" 3 concertos for harpsichord, collectively known as K. 107, which are actually arrangements of other composers' music. Perahia recorded these with piano and English Chamber Orchestra on CBS (probably Sony now) MK 39222. Also, ...

Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos

12 reviews
Felix Mendelssohn, Neville Marriner, ...

Sony, 1990

A Legendary Recording
There are so many things that could be said about this recording. It deserves a spot on any top 50 classical recordings list. The piece and the performance are both 5 stars. Mendelssohn is an undeservingly neglected composer. He is ususally thought of as an orchestral composer, since his command of the orchestra is parallel to Mozart's. But in his own time, he was as great a pianist as ...

Mozart: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major, K. 448; Schubert: Fantasia for Piano, 4 Hands in F Minor, D 940

4 reviews
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, ...

Sony, 2003

The Full Keyboard - More Mozart and Schubert!
The credentials of both of the two soloists here - Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu - are impeccable as individual interpreters of the works of both Mozart and Schubert and so it should come as no surprise that as they sit at the same keyboard the result is nothing less than satisfying. For this listener the highlight of this recording is the splendid composition by Schubert - the 'Fantasia for ...

Bach: English Suites Nos. 2, 4 & 5 / Perahia

7 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, Murray Perahia

Sony, 1999

Perahia understands Bach.
A compelling and sparkling recording, that captivates and grows on you, like all good Bach interpretations. Although not on a harpsichord, Perahia fully masters and comprehends the "authentic" creative world of JS Bach. Unlike some Gould extravaganzas, the interpreter here is totally subservient to the music. Perahia's rendition brings to light both the joy and the (strive for the) religious ...

Grieg: Greatest Hits

10 reviews
Edvard Grieg, Andrew Davis, ...

Sony, 1994

Wonderful!!!
I bought this for my husband but fell in love with it myself. I had never heard of it but now consider Edvard Grieg my favorite composer. It is magnificent.

Chopin: 4 Ballades / Perahia

9 reviews
Frederic Chopin, Murray Perahia

Sony, 1995

A virtuoso performance
The Ballades are played with technical flawlessness, energy, and brilliance. However, in some passages his playing seems to lack sufficient emotion. Perhaps some would consider this restraint and dispassionateness a virtue. But I tend to favor a more Rachmaninoffian emphasis on melody lines. Chopin, after all, was a Romantic composer. On the whole, though, highly recommended.

Mozart: Concertos for Two and Three Pianos

7 reviews
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, English Chamber Orchestra, ...

Sony, 1991

Mozart: Music for 2 and 3 Pianos
Wow...this is a wondeful recording, plain and simple. If you haven't listened to the Fanatsia in F minor, originally for mechanical organ, then this is the recording to commence doing so with. This is a fantasic rendition of this piece, full of the darkness that must have pervaded Mozart's final years. The finale of the E-flat Concerto K365 is also a one-of-a-kind showpiece with wonderful ...

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 27

7 reviews
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Murray Perahia, ...

Sony, 1991

One of the best versions of one of the best pieces of music
Given that the Mozart Concerto K 467 is probably my favorite piece of music I do not judge its interpretations lightly. I find the version to be sublime. Mind you my measuring stick is the Andante which must have a good balance between the bass of the orchestra and the piano melody. I like the Concero No. 27 but I don't think it's in the same league as the no. 21., but it's still a beautiful ...

Bach: Keyboard Concertos Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7

7 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, Murray Perahia, ...

Sony, 2002

Murray Perahia's Bach
The first thing one notices about Murray Perahia's latest recording of Bach keyboard concertos is the brisk tempo, the ebullient phrasing, and rhythmically incisive orchestral playing that carries the listener along from note to note in breathless anticipation. At the helm of the impeccable Academy of St. Martins in the Field, Murray Perahia's conducting skills are as impressively arrayed here as ...

Bach: English Suites Nos. 1, 3 & 6

5 reviews
Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, ...

Sony, 2004

Exquisite Playing Of These Bach Piano Pieces By Noted American Pianist Murray Perahia
In the liner notes to his 1998 recording of the "Bach English Suites Nos. 1, 3, 6", distinguished American pianist Murray Perahia makes these observations about the complex harmonic structures which are Bach's counterpoint in these piano pieces, "These structures are not merely clever abstractions: Through the frustration or fulfillment of different musical goals, through the deceiving and ...

Schumann:Symphoniques, Op.13/Posthumous Etudes/Papillons, Op.2

1 review
Robert Schumann, Murray Perahia

Sony, 1990

The best version of Symphonic etudes and Papillons I have ever heard
I've listened to the Symphonic Etudes and Papillons of Schumann for many years now. I first heard these pieces played by Perahia on a classical music radio station when I was in medical school. It is 10 years later and I still consider this version by Perahia to be the best among all others I have heard. I have heard Kempff's version which is too choppy. Richter's version of the Papillon ...

Handel/Scarlatti: Murray Perahia Plays Handel & Scarlatti

19 reviews
George Frederick Handel, Domenico Scarlatti, ...

Sony, 1997

The Master Pianist
Over the years I have compiled a list of pianists I want to be sure to hear in concert before I die. At the top of the list of remaining pianists yet unheard is Murray Perahia. He is, for me, possibly the most talented, most musical, most elegant pianist before the public. What, I asked myself, do I have to add to the sixteen reviews of this disc thus far submitted? Well, probably nothing ...

Chopin Etudes

24 reviews
Fryderyk Chopin, Murray Perahia

Sony, 2002

The musical soul of Poland !
Perhaps in no other genre Chopin opened his heart with major intensity. The introspectiveness of these pages reveal the spiritual core, composed as any human being of passion, poetic ardor, patritic flame, fevered lyricism and profound sentiment. The emotional scope cover practically both extremes of the human pathos; from the incandescent Revolutionary Etude No. 12 Op. 10 composed just when ...

Schubert: Impromptus; Schubert/Liszt: Song Transcriptions

3 reviews
Franz Schubert, Murray Perahia

Sony, 2005

Presence, honesty and commitment!
The presence of this promissory interpreter in the public arena has always been motive of immense approval around the world. Perahia is not only a formidable pianist, he is a musical thinker, and that is why every one of his recordings are always welcome, because they have something to say. Conviction and honesty; impeccable phrasing and exceptional fingering makes of this mature artist, one of ...

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