Customer Reviews

The People United Will Never Be Defeated

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4 star:		(1)
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I remember reading about this piece and thinking that series of 36 variations would be a total snore. Then I read that the variations were based on a Chilean folk song from the revolution & I got intrigued. I decided to sample the pieces on the internet & I liked what I heard. I was attracted to this version in particular because it has a recording of the folk song before the Rzewski variations begin. I think its good to be able to hear the work that inspired the composer.

After I ordered the disc and was able to listen to the whole thing, I realized what an absolute work of genius this is. The work is broken down into six sections of six variations each. Then there are "rules" governing each of the six subsections. The variations are subtle, beautiful, melodic, dissonant, chaotic & combinations of all of that. It is really amazing the variety he has achieved.

In addition to the pieces being superb, Stephen Drury's performance is as good as one could hope for. His performance is sharp & crisp. Not only is it technically great, but its rendered with warmth & great passion. The performer obviously really enjoys playing this too.

Great sound, great performance, great piece. This is what classical music is all about.

This is one of the true masterpieces of piano literature from the latter half of the 20th century. Some have called "el pueblo unido..." the Diabelli-variations of the 20th century. The piece is a caleidoscope of musical styles, ranging from romanticism to minimalism and to percussive mechanical bursts, all these elements follow a compelling emotional and architectural logic. I have heard the recent Hamelin CD and this earlier recording by Stephen Drury. I find Drury's contribution more convincing since there is more music in it. The passion inherent to the theme itself and the musical contrasts of the variations are more effectively portrayed in Drury's version, I think. Hamelin is good as well but the manual execution gets sometimes over the emotional intensity of the music.

The preceding reviewers of this piece have done a superb job in examining its merits and this fine performance, so I will not add to their comments.

In my opinion, this work should be ranked among some of the fine mammoths of twentieth-century piano music, including Sorabji's "Opus Clavicembalisticum" and Messiaen's "Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus."

I am no Marxist, but listeners of all political persuasions can enjoy this piece because it does hold one's interest through all of the variations that Rzewski weaves from the theme.

This is the only recording I've heard, so I can't really compare it to others, but this was one of those discs that I just decided to buy one day without having ever heard the music.

It became a welcome addition to my CD collection.

I hope that you, too, will try this.

I can't review this disc objectively. Two years ago I sat not more than ten feet from Drury and watched him perform this marathon piece at the Boston Conservatory. I was blown away.

When I listen to the CD with my eyes closed, I can still see Drury's lean, powerful hands prancing and stomping up and down the keyboard. It's a superb performance of an inventive, modern (though very accessible) set of variations.

Of the three performances of this piece that I've heard, this is the best one aside from a live performance that I heard that was absolutely sensational. The piece itself is dinosauric in scope. It's an absolute monster that has an incredible message and requires superhuman technique from the performer. Drury's execution of the piece is quite good and filled with emotion and his technical prowess is very present on this recording. It's also great that this recording offers a version of the theme ("El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido") in more or less it's original setting. The only thing I could have asked from from Drury is to have employed the optional improvisation that Rzewski offers to the performer after the 36 variations that really can take the piece to a new level. While this recording is really great, I would really like to get my hands on a recording with the improvisation at the end.

Steven Drury's performance of Fred Rzewski's 36 Variations on a Chilean protest song, "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" is a convincing example of protest music that connects on multiple levels. The use of a crowd singing at a rally (which opens the recording) captures the intensity of the theme perfectly. Performance is first rate, and the structural complexity of the piece is intriguing. The pianism is intelligent. It's little wonder that many pianists have found this set so satisfying to performer and listeners alike.