Customer Reviews

Icon: Dinu Lipatti [Box Set]

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

 

 

Of the postwar artists who died tragiclaly young (Kathleen Ferrier, William Kapell, Guido Cantelli), the very youngest was Dinu Lipatti, who succumbed to leukemia at 33 in 1950. In death he has become as romantic a figure as any Dumas herione, his memory all the more elusive because of his angelic temperament and very truncated dsicography. Lipatti was a musician's musician, his style being refined, precise, and aristocratic. EMI owns all his commerical recordings, so far as I know, which are gathered here as one of their "Icons."

The series is admirable as an omnium gatherum, making it easy with one purchase to get everything the selected artist has done on EMI. Because of his lasting fame, not much of Lipatti has stayed out of print for long, and the extras found here (e.g., Liszt Cto. #1 and Bartok Cto. #3) are dim radio broadcasts. The actual studio work easily fits on 5 or 6 CDs -- even then we get duplicaitons of Lipatti's definitive LP of Chopin Waltzes (about which I am in the minority, finding each waltz too uniformly fleet and aloof).

In any event, the price at Amazon Marketplace is very cheap, so if you don't know Lipatti's art and can abide mono recordings from the immediate postwar years (never a pleasure on the ear), it's wonderful that he hasn't been forgotten.

Here's the complete program for the 7 CD set:

Bach, J S:
Partita No. 1 in B flat major, BWV825

Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV1052

Bartók:
Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127, Sz. 119

Brahms:
Waltz, Op. 39 No. 1 in B major

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 2 in E major

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 5 in E major

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 6 in C sharp major

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 10 in G major

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 14 in A minor

Waltz, Op. 39 No. 15 in A flat major

Chopin:
Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2

Waltzes Nos. 1-14

Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

Enescu:
Piano Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 24/3

Grieg:
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Liszt:
Petrarch Sonnet No. 104 Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième année, Italie, S161/5

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124

Mozart:
Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K310

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K467 'Elvira Madigan'

Ravel:
Alborada del gracioso (Miroirs No. 4)

Scarlatti, D:
Keyboard Sonata K380 in E major

Keyboard Sonata K9 in D minor

Schubert:
Impromptu in E flat major, D899 No. 2

Impromptu in G flat major, D899 No. 3

Schumann:
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

There are very few recordings of Dinu Lipatti, due to his tragically early death. All them are in this 7 CD set (unless I have missed something), and all of them are of otherworldly beauty. In particular the Schubert impromptu no.2 in E-flat I found to be the most soulful recording of any piece I have ever heard. Needless to say I recommend this product to absolutely everyone.

A few quotations from others who can describe Lipatti much better than I:

From Yehudi Menuhin - Lipatti was a "manifestation of a spirit realm, resistant to all pain and suffering."

From Francis Poulenc - Lipatti was "an artist of divine spirituality."

From Walter Legge - "God lent the world His chosen instrument, whom we called Dinu Lipatti, for too brief a space."

EDIT: there are actually a few rare recordings not on this set. One is from arkivmusic, another is a recording of the schumann concerto with ansermet, and another is called 'les inedits'.

To have all of Lipatti's EMI recordings is a wonderful thing. Most of the recordings sound good for their age. However, except for the Grieg/Schumann and Mozart concerto recordings the other concertos strike me as almost unlistenable. It is sad EMI could not find a better source or a better remastering engineer if that would have helped. The Besancon concert is beyond superb; the Mozart sonata is passionate, forceful and sublime all at once and I have never heard it played better nor do I hope to. To my surprise, Lipatti recorded no Beethoven, at least not on this collection. I wonder why not?

For piano artistry 5 stars--for sound quality on some of the sides, 1 star. Still, I recommend it for the artistry.

This is an essential album for Lipatti fans, and for those who never knew the man's extraordinary touch and intelligence. Lipatti, Rumanian, died at a most early age - but not before he had recorded an amazingly rich and difficult repertoire. The only 20th Century piece on this collection is Bartok's Third Piano Concerto, and it's brilliant. His Chopin work is heartfelt, luscious, and yet never so romantic that the pianist stands in the way of Chopin's writing. He is a superb technician, with a Rumanian soul.
The kind of performer any playwright would love to hear reciting his lines! Buy this album. It's absurdly inexpensive for what it contains!

I am mostly writing this review to note the sound quality on these CDs is by most standards excellent. Clearly, the classical music fans are audophiles; as I come from the world of old blues and reggae, and know what truly bad recordings are, when I read the reviews of this CD set I was somewhat nervous. For anyone who thinks listening to Robert Johnson is worth the effort (and I would think that is anyone with taste), these recordings are a delight.

As for the music itself--the other reviews are spot on. Dinu Lipatti does not merely play the piano, he sings through it; in this old music, he has found the key to his soul and expresses it beautifully. THIS is the music which he breathed, the music his life was rounded with, the music that coursed through his veins and mades sense of the universe for him--and you can hear the complete cultural immersion in these wonderful renditions.

I suspect some spark in classical music was lost during the World Wars of the 20th century, some continuity broken--I don't hear Dinu's inspired playing in more recent recordings. More recent artists--no matter how excellent--interpret the material but they don't inhabit it. Dinu Lipatti inhabits it.

IF you love music, simply love music, beyond catagory, this CD set is a must.

It is also an incredible bargain. The CDs are only 5 bucks each. What a steal!

If one had to choose the music of just one pianist,it would the music of Dinu Lipatti.To hear Dinu Lipatti is the closest thing to hear Chopin himself.