Customer Reviews

Grigory Ginsburg: Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol 37

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Grigory Ginsburg was a Soviet pianist mostly known for his Liszt interpretations, but clearly with talent across the board. He died before really modern recording technique was standard practice, especially in the USSR. Here we have alive, exciting performances of some of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, and other mostly romantic fair. A highlight is the first performance I have ever heard of the Tchaikovsky Grand Sonata in G that makes sense of that ponderous piece's rhetoric. The Medtner sonata is beautifully done, as is the Prokofiev third.

I would have awarded these discs 5 stars, if the recordings were more modern sounding.

The first disc, especially the Hungarian Rhapsodies, is really wondeful and I suppose worth the price of the album. But the second is about as bad as the first is good. The choice of music is second-rate at best, and the piano on the Tchaikovsky sonata (which is a pretty dreadful piece anyway) sounds like Aunt Polly's out-of-tune parlor upright. I also wish that the people who designed these albums had come up with better packaging--it's very difficult to remove the discs without touching the recorded side.

The only better version of Liszt is John McArthur's, on the album HIDDEN. Besides that, nothing can compare to the sonic beauty and poetry and thunder of Grigory Ginsburg.