Rachmaninov: Sonata No. 2; Balakirev: Islamey [Import]

Sergey Rachmaninov (Composer), Sergey Taneyev (Composer), Anatol Lyadov (Composer), Mily Balakirev (Composer), Olga Kern (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Olga Kern
• Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov, Sergey Taneyev, Anatol Lyadov, Mily Balakirev
• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B0006TN8E0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,566 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superlative Musician, June 20, 2007

By 

Beverly A. Crandall "gouldnut" (california) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Sonata No. 2; Balakirev: Islamey (Audio CD)

The pantheon of brilliant women keybord artists is large: preserved for us are extraordinary performances by Dame Myra Hess, Ruth Slencynska, Wanda Landowska, Gina Bachauer, Alicia de Larrocha, Lili Kraus, Martha Argerich, Helene Grimaud, and now the fiery Russian Olga Kern. For a treat, find (or Netflix) the 2001 Van Cliburn DVD, "Playing on the Edge," and see her show a tattered copy of Rachmaninoff music that has been in her family for decades. Her Mom, she says with a smile,"could not live without music." Olga wins a gold medal with a passionate performance of Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3. Since then New Yorkers and others around the world have warmed to her. Her CD "Rachmaninov/Balakirev" features Sergei's iconic Sonata No. 2. She is fearless at the piano, capable of high drama but also the utmost delicacy. Her playing of Rachmaninoff's haunting "Elegie" in E Flat Minor (finger food--six flats!) is alone worth the price of the CD, which includes works by Taneyev, Liadov and Balakirev. Conjecture: if Glenn Gould could rightly be considered the "son" of Bach, surely Olga is the "daughter" of Rachmaninoff. And we who love music are the beneficiaries of their towering genius.

Beverly Crandall

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dazzling Performance, July 21, 2009

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Sonata No. 2; Balakirev: Islamey (Audio CD)

I was unfamiliar with Olga Kern until I came across this disc. I found the pieces of great interest as I have not had a copy of the Rachmaninov Second Piano Sonata for some time. The sonata was a problematic one for the composer that he was not satisfied with after he revised it in 1931. The sonata seems to have unsettled the composer when it first appeared in 1913. Vladimir Horowitz arranged his own version of the sonata that he recorded and also seemed to please Rachmaninov. In this recording Olga Kern makes a solid case for the revised version. The sonata has an emotionally complex and turbulent first movement that is succeeded by a dreamy middle movement. The final movement begins with a short adagio when a fanfare-like series of chords announces the movement proper, and it takes off like a rocket. Ms. Kern does a splendid job of focusing on the difficult harmonies and counterpoint but keep the poetry in the music.

Most of us know Rachmaninov's Prelude in C-sharp minor as among the composer's most famous work, and the one he wished people would forget about. I had never heard the complete piano suite Morceaux de fantasie (1892) until this recording. These are remarkable gems in the style of Liszt but also with the mark of the composer on them. The final Serenade movement is sparkling. The famous prelude is played with great sensitivity by Ms. Kern with the heavy opening chords played dramatically but not for effect. She does pause a bit longer after the first set of chords but this figures into her melancholy approach to the music. The Polka de V.R. was composed on a melody by Rachmaninov's father. I had the composer's own recording on a LP for many years and Ms. Kern approaches the work much like Rachmaninov himself.

The Prelude and Fugue by Sergei Taneyev is also an impassioned bravura piece and very absorbing. Taneyev is perhaps better known as a teacher and author of a book on counterpoint but he also wrote some very fine music that has been revived lately. The Fugue is among the most difficult works in the piano literature, which Ms. Kern plays with a magnificent clarity. The Musical Snuff Box by Anatol Liadov is played with a charming delicacy and the brief Prelude is an interesting piece reminiscent of Chopin.

In the Garden by Balakirev is far more romantic in style than I would have thought. It owes a debt to Liszt and bears his mark particularly in the descending scales. The formidable Islamey shows Ms. Kern in command of this demanding work. As with the Rachmaninov Prelude, Ms. Kern pauses after the end of the opening phrases. Thereafter, it is a wild ride that is played with magnificent control while offering beautiful coloring and phrasing.

While listening I kept expecting to hear applause and had to remind myself that this is a studio recording. Ms. Kern displayed wonderful refinement and dazzling sound throughout.

14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Delight, that Olga Kern!, November 22, 2005

By 

MARTHA SMART "MSmart" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Sonata No. 2; Balakirev: Islamey (Audio CD)

This has to be a favorite of mine. I'm a pianist for the joy of playing and listening, with profound respect for the passionate and without the critical ear that seens to spoil listening to live performances for some people. I love this recording, probably because I have watched the DVD "Playing on the Edge" so many times. And every time, as she finishes her winning performance in the Cliburn Competition, I have to stand in my living room and applaud her!