Customer Reviews

Pictures Reframed- Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition From Memories of Childhood; Schumann: Kinderszenen

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

 

 

Leif Ove Andsnes plays Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition with a combination of dedication, virtuosity and understanding which few in any other living pianists bring to it. You can just hear how much love is being poured from Leif's fingers tips to the keyboard. This release only entices me to go a buy a ticket to his upcoming performance at Lincoln Center. I've always been a fan of Leif Ove Andsnes not only because he's an amazing pianist, but also because he's an innovative musician. That's why I found Pictures at an Exhibition such an amazing recording. What a brilliant idea of working with South African-born visual artist Robin Rhode to create a special program, Pictures Reframed, which centers around Pictures at an Exhibition combining music, video and still imagery.

It's a wonderful juxtaposition, this CD, of 'childhood' music!

Robert Schumann's Kinderszenen (Children Scenes) are technically accessible etudes that able children might well play but that also portray the intimate awarenesses of children so evocatively that mature pianists find them affectively satisfying. Leif Ove Andsnes plays them with delicacy and, to my ears anyway, 'fatherly' tenderness. Scumann composed these thirteen brief etudes before his marriage, yet his instincts were sweetly polyphiloprogentive ... for a man with an alcohol problem and a probably bipolar disorder. He eventually fathered eight biological children with Clara. I'd venture to guess, by the way, that the Kinderszenen are even more delightful to play than to hear. Ah, if only I'd taken piano as a child instead of trumpet ...

I first heard Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" as a child - a big rambunctious one, of twelve or thirteen - performed by S. Richter. I was entranced. Leif Ove Andsnes reports hearing the same performance at age 15 and being equally enchanted. Mussorgsky's most famous composition is marvelously pictorial, external, adolescent, naive. Adnsnes writes that it makes him think of "a child marching in to the exhibition in complete ignorance of what he will encounter." Mussorgsky was a naive composer, a child with a sorry drinking problem; his training in music was so scanty that all of his major compositions have demanded 'supplementation' - help - by later composers. "Pictures at a Exhibition" has been orchestrated by others, and Mussorgsky's piano score has been 'realized' by numerous pianists. Andsnes acknowledges that his own extrapolation of the music is based on the edition prepared by Vladimir Horowitz. Without such editorial realization, the work is sparse and sketchy. What I need to say, however, is that Andsnes's performance has awakened my own childhood rapture at this music, which had long gone dormant. Andsnes doesn't hammer his Pictures to the wall; that is, he doesn't overdramatize/over-romanticize them. He allows their playful charm to evoke 'pictures' in lush and easy sonority. What would a child see in the actual paintings by Victor Hartman that supposedly inspired Mussorgsky's Pictures? Prettiness first, I think, followed by humor and whimsy, with just a shadow of anxious dread, of fear of the dark. That's how I want to hear the music, as a child would hear it.

Andsnes performed "Pictures at an Exhibition" in concert, around the world, in collaboration with Robin Rhode, a South African 'multi-media' artist. Their "show" was entitled "Pictures Reframed". I ordered this CD before I was aware that an edition is available that includes both a CD and a DVD of the full performance. Other reviewers have asserted that the sound quality on the DVD is better than on the CD. Now I've ordered the combo, so perhaps I'll donate the CD to my local library.

This recording of Mussorgsky's 'Bilder einer Ausstellung', played by Leif Ove Andsnes, leaves much to be desired. Andsnes' piano playing misses all the rich subtilities of this piece. Speed and loudness is more important to him, than showing feelings and creating a musical landscape. The Schumann piece, also on this cd, is unfortunately not played much better.

But the main problem with this cd is the fact that the recording is terrible. There are absolutely NO dynamics in the music, it's all flat: the pianissimo pieces have the same loudness as the forte pieces! The EMI producers removed all musicality by compressing the sound. Works well for radio stations and car radio's, but not at home. If you want a fine AND musical recording of Mussorgsky's masterpiece, buy Evgeny Kissin's recording on BMG.

Only two stars.

Andsnes is an impeccably cultivated, accomplished pianist whose artistry has never interested me. He is beloved in England and cannot get a bad review there. His abilities are considerable, and he has maintained a prominent profile despite the influx of dazzling Russian pianists. Here he takes on Richter, Kissin, Bronfman, et al. at their own game. Like Horowitz, Andsnes discreetly adds octave doublings and fills out chords where needed -- many players consider Mussorgsky's original scoring a bit bare and unpianistic. His tinkering is nowhere near as idiosyncratic as Horowitz's, however. I haven't seen the special edition DVD that combines the music with a video presentation, but frankly it sounds rather gimmicky. I have never been able to fully appreciate classical music when there are visual distractions present.

As for Andsnes's interpretation, it is accomplished and middle of the road, lacking the stunning technique of KIssin on RCA, the riveting energy of Richter on Philips, or the nervous volatility of Horowitz on RCA. These are performances that totally transform the work. Does it need transforming? I suppose that depends on your age. To the young this is new music; to me, after decades of hearing it, it's a worn shoe. Andsnes's reading was greeted by the Gramophone as a special event. I hear nothing really extraordinary at all. Take your choice.

After four little heard Mussorgsky miniatures, we get to another major work, Schumann's Kinderszenen. Through no fault of his own, Andsnes is once again up against Horowitz, Kempff, and later stars like Argerich as Schumann interpreters (Richter didn't recorded this particular work). All were capable of infusing this apparently simple music with haunting nuance and indelible personality. However, this is a more successful reading than the Mussorgsky, because Andsnes cannot be faulted for stylishness and cultivation. This is a reading much in the mold of Murray Perahia, eschewing overt personality in favor of refined musicality. If such a style suits you, here is an impeccable example. I find it just a trifle too impersonal myself.

from wiki

A blunder is a particularly bad mistake. Specific instances include:

Blunder (chess), a very poor move in chess

Hopetoun Blunder, an event in Australian history.

Brand blunder, in marketing.

Draft blunder, in American sports.

Himalayan Blunder, in Indian history.

and now added;

EMI (music), a very bad recording

Leif's play I like although I have heard other better ones

Musically and technically this is awesome. Having been enticed to view the ads about this item I was intrigued about combining visual art and the auditory experience. However, it was not exactly clear (I know, it did say CD) from the ad that there was not a visual component to this product. I kept looking through the packaging to see if I missed the video part of it. If the online presentation did not mention the visual artist and refer to their live performances I might not have been so disappointed. On the other hand this wonderful recording has rekindled my enthusiasm for "Pictures" and reminded me of the initial arrangement for piano which I must now try for myself. A bonus is the inclusion of Schumann's Kinderszenen which is also played flawlessly and with great musical sensitivity.