Tenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition [Import]

Various (Artist), Frederic Chopin (Composer), Sergey Rachmaninov (Composer), Franz Schubert (Composer), Robert Schumann (Composer), Multi (Conductor), Aviram Reichert (Performer), Yakov Kasman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Aviram Reichert, Yakov Kasman
• Conductor: Multi
• Composer: Frederic Chopin, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann
• Audio CD (October 14, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B0000007FZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #632,596 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven But Interesting Performances from 2nd and 3rd Place Winners, May 22, 2000

By 

Michael A Pahre (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition (Audio CD)

Recordings of the prize winning performances for piano competitions provide a great opportunity to hear new artists---the good, the bad, and the soon-to-be-forgotten. The tenth Van Cliburn international piano competition produced two albums: one by the first prize winner (Jon Nakamatsu), and the other by the 2nd (Yakov Kasman) and 3rd (Aviram Reichert) place winners. As you can expect, the quality of the runners up is uneven---with some performances gems, others lackluster. The recordings are all live and unedited, as far as I can tell.

Schumann's Allegro in B minor is a peculiar piece, long-winded, and somewhat difficult to follow. Kasman sifts out the verbiage in the music to present a fairly clear and logical reading, although the ending disappoints. He then proceeds to play the Rachmaninoff first piano sonata with lots of conviction and amazing chops. He cuts through the thick writing and counter-rhythms to bring out singing melodies, dreamy moods, and thundering climaxes. (I think he managed to break a string in the middle of the 3rd movement and also pounded several others out of tune.) This performance is the highlight of the disk. (He has since recorded the first and second sonatas for Calliope.)

The Schubert A minor sonata (Op. 143, D. 784) is a dramatic work, although it is never thickly scored. Reichart plays the whole work with plenty of energy, and the finale with particularly nimble fingers. Sometimes he inserts mannered and abrupt pauses before big chords, and at times his articulations in the first movement are inconsistent and depart from the score. The Chopin nocturne (C minor, Op. 48) is played convincingly---from the gentle, sorrowful procession of the opening to the dramatic pianism of the middle section. Finally, the Chopin etude (B minor, Op. 25) is tossed off effectively. He creates whirling washes of sound, although too much use of the pedal sometimes muddles the octaves.

The rating of three stars reflects a comparison of the overall quality of the disk to that of established pianists. If you are more interested in seeing the quality of the next generation of pianists, however, this disk is well worth investigating.