Customer Reviews

Lecuona: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 4

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I own the entire Tirino/Lecuona series on the BIS label and I am a teacher at a major musical institution. I have heard a lot of piano playing in my life, including much Latin American piano music, which I have a special affinity for. Simply stated: Tirino plays this music like a God. Pianism of this high a calibre dosen't get any better. Period. Of all the discs in this series, this one is my favorite,(along with Volume 3). The rumba sizzles, and Tirino infuses it with breadth, stylistic colors and rhythm with real panache. And he wrote the Spanish lyric himself! Amazing. Tirino's technical skills are monumental, BIG, Lisztian in ability, certainly far above "Clementi" or "Scarlatti", good heavens. His playing is perfect for Lecuona-in fact-for ANYTHING. Beyond staggering technique he has a singing quality and subtelty of nuance and phrasing rarely heard nowadays-flexibility of sound with thousands of variations in phrasing, tone, dynamic, and pedal subtelties that make his musicianship stand FAR above many others. His tone is rich, full, NEVER BANGING (enough already, please!), aristocratic-never vulgar. Anyone who really knows good piano playing will hear it. Tirino's playing is very warm. The Danzas Cubanas (especially Lola esta de Fiesta) are magical. Put on Lecuona's recordings and compare them side by side to Tirino's. AMAZINGLY IDENTICAL! Fact: Tirino has been recognized as the Lecuona authority in the world for a reason-TIME magazine, The New York Times, and Stereo Review can't be wrong. Neither is the Lecuona family, who have endorsed his recordings, interpretations and work. There might not even be a discussion about Lecuona these days, had it not been for the work of Tirino.

In summary-Tirino is a GREAT artist and one would be hard pressed to imagine anyone else coming along and improving on his recordings. Comments made to the contrary can be dismissed as silly, uninformed vulgarity. If you want to hear great Lecuona, and great Piano playing by a tremendous artist, this disc and others in this series are for you. If not, it might be advisable to learn music, and re-wire your brain to try and listen differently.

The playing on this disc is tremendous. From begining to end, I was in awe of Tirino. Not only a big technique: beautiful sound, long depth of phrasing, full spectrum of interpretation. And authentically Cuban to a fault. His liner notes are extremely imformative and show his monumental research as well about this music. The Rumba Rhapsody with an original Spanish lyric by Tirino is amazing: it is SO Cuban and stylistic correct! What a find. I'm buying the rest of the discs in this series.

In Each volume, Tirino's playing is Herculean. He understands all the forms-and then plays them flawlessly with total feel, command, poise, and technical panache this music requires. The rumba will have you begging for more! I don't think anyone could ever surpass the perfection Tirino brings to his Lecuona disks. Gold standard.

I love this disc. Tirino is extraordinary from the first note to the last. How dare anyone call this great artist any other name but MAESTRO. This is a must have for any music lover. In fact, this is my favorite disk out of the whole Lecuona series on BIS. Get it, or you'll be waiting till the end of time for a better recording by any artist on these works, or on any Lecuona for that matter. 5 stars plus 100!

This disc is fabulous from begining to end. Tirino is phenomenal-don't even DARE to think otherwise! This music swings and is beautiful from top to bottom. I'm going to buy all the discs in this series-if they are as good as this one, boy-I'm in for a treat. Highly recommended.

What more can be said of Tirino and his recordings of Lecuona's music except TOTAL, ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. This disc stands out for several reasons: The spirited Rumba with voices and chorus, and the Danzas Cubanas which are real gems. (as well as Vals Gitano). These danzas require EXTREME Left hand control of technique along with many colors and swing. I as a Cuban know this very well. I have never heard these pieces played better. Tirino's HUGE technique, beautiful sound, varied phrasing, and delicate subtelties never fail to amaze the listener-its incredible. Forget any negative comments-they are silly, stupid and uniformed. A better pianist, and better playing of this music you will never, EVER hear. If you want the best recordings of Lecuona's music, Tirino's series on the BIS label is IT. Get Lecuona's own recordings as well, as a point of reference. ENJOY!

How shall I describe this CD? Tommy Tirino's techincal skills are very Clementinian, which would server him well, perhaps, for the music of Scarlatti, but for Lecuona?? I don't think so. His playing is very straight-laced, inflexible. In addition, caveat emptor: listen to this CD a few times and Tommy's incessant banging of the keys will surely fray your nerves. I grant that Lecuona himself was a showman, but I very much doubt he played his music the way Tirino does. I get the impression that Tirino plays to prove to the world how good he is. I expect this from a pop-star, who performs merely to focus everyone's attention on himself, but not from an genuine artist. Sure, he has his fans who wax poetic about how God-like his playing is, how so very much like Lecuona's own style, blah, blah, blah. But these gushing accolades fail accurately to describe the contents of this CD. Tommy T's style is at best cold and irritating, at worst a vulgar display of ego. How wonderful it would be if a real artist came along and did these pieces justice! I'm afraid I'll be waiting a long time.