Truls Mørk ~ Rachmaninov - Op. Nos. 19, 34, 2 · Miaskovsky - Op.12 / Thibaudet [Import]

Sergey Rachmaninov (Artist), Nikolay Myaskovsky (Artist), Truls Mørk (Artist), Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002SQG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,024 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best and most moving Rachmaninov CD, May 15, 2001

By 

K. Hartman (Washington, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Truls Mørk ~ Rachmaninov - Op. Nos. 19, 34, 2 · Miaskovsky - Op.12 / Thibaudet (Audio CD)

When I first purchased this CD, I didn't realize what I had gotten. Each track is played with such strong emotion that I guarantee will move you. No other Rach. CD that posses these songs sound as good and professional as this one! Truls Mørk and Jean-Yves Thibaudet work wonderfully together. I wish they would do more! I played this CD so much, that, unfortunately, I wore it out and tried for a year or so to find another one. Finally, they made more. If you want to hear the gentle side of Rach., I highly recommend owning this CD. It is indeed worth every penny!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ravishing Rachmaninov + a Bonus, February 11, 2007

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truls Mørk ~ Rachmaninov - Op. Nos. 19, 34, 2 · Miaskovsky - Op.12 / Thibaudet (Audio CD)

I was wary of this CD for obvious reasons - Rachmoninov wore his emotions on his sleeve and was that most Romantic of composers. Thibaudet is the quintessential Frenchman with a serious intellectual, restrained approach to both performance and interpretation. French composers (Flaubert, Debussey, Satie) are his cup of tea; his Ravel is simply unapproachable. So it was with a little trepidation when I made the purchase.

While this is not the ultra-Romanticism of the old Russian school but overall, I should not have been worried. The collusion between Mørk and Thibaudet is seamless, as if they had long been a duo. Rachmaninov, always lush and soulful, is given a fresh rendering with obviously deep emotions. But it was the Myaskovsky that proved the surprise. He is a much-neglected Russian composer that drifted from Romanticism into the sterile confines the Soviet "style" but never quite lost the old Romantic touch. This particular work is one of his first and is therefore in the old style. It "sounds" simultaneously late Romantic and French in approach and temperament, thus a good fit for Mr. Thiebaudet.

My Grade - B+

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply engaging, February 19, 2011

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Truls Mørk ~ Rachmaninov - Op. Nos. 19, 34, 2 · Miaskovsky - Op.12 / Thibaudet (Audio CD)

Rachmaninov's masterly (and in conception quite symphonic) cello sonata is well known; Miaskovsky's first (I have not heard the second) less so, and while it is hardly in Rachmaninov's league it is still very well worth getting to know. Rachmaninov's sonata is also pretty well represented on disc; there may be slightly more lyrically romantic version out there than this one from Mørk and Thibaudet, but Mørk's phrasing is beautiful, the cello tone is consistently gorgeous and the music coheres better than in some more emotionally charged versions. Mørk and Thibaudet are at the best in the faster music, where crisp playing and clear articulation are crucial virtues, but even if the slow music is less emotionally intense than in alternative versions, they are eminently satisfying here as well. For my money this is definitely a top-runner if not the benchmark.

The shorter works are less engaging; I cannot honestly say that the cello and piano version of the Vocalise is among the most convincing of the many arrangements, and the two very early pieces are overall rather inconsequential (though it is all well played). The Miaskovsky is a different matter; despite a certain lack of originality, there is clearly an individual voice shining through; his thematic material is strong (if a tad uneven) and Miaskovsky was a master of development. The performance sounds excellent to my ears (I have not heard any alternatives) and given clear and good sound quality it helps adding up to what is in the end really a disc to treasure.