Ashkenazy's Complete Solo Recordings--And His 10 Best Generally
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Vladimir Ashkenazy is unquestionably one of our most gifted artists--a great pianist, a sensitive partner in chamber music, and an excellent conductor. His recorded legacy reflects every aspect of his abilities. Check out Decca's 89 CD box of the complete solo recordings, and if you're a ClassicsToday.com subscriber, you can also explore his 10 best recordings as soloist, accompanist and conductor. If you're not a subscriber, please consider signing up here: www.classicsto...
Growing up during the 1970s and 80s, Vladimir Ashkenazy was one of my heroes. Finally got to meet him in London in 1989 where he autographed my copy of his Scriabin Sonatas. He then said, "So you like Scriabin?"
He has to be one of the most personable classical artists known to anybody. He never said an unkind word, and readily posed for pictures and selfies with children. Saw that with my own eyes in Hong Kong. His warm personality can be heard in his piano recordings.
Agree. He is ultra-approachable.
Ashkenazy's Rach 2 with LSO was the very first classical record I ever bought. One of my favorite pianists of all time.
All His Chopin recordings are first rate in my book!
I’m a Schubert fan, and my favorite recording of Schubert’s piano sonata in G major, number 18, is by Ashkenazy, included in this box, CD 69. It is a thing of beauty, and a desert island cd for me.
Same! My favourite recording of my favourite Schubert composition. Saw him live in recital the tail end of the '80s: the Schubert Wanderer Fantasie and the Schumann Sonata in F minor. He was totally in command of the keyboard. Spoke to him for a few moments a couple of years later, after a rehearsal with the Philharmonia. Told him how much I loved his recording of the Schubert sonata in G. Ah, well yes, he said, it's a very beautiful piece.
Very approachable artist.
@@davidgoulden5956 David, since you shared this awesome story, I’ll tell you my little Ashkenazy story. Back in 2011, I had the great privilege of being able to buy my very own Steinway D 9 foot grand piano. When you buy a Steinway D, the company offers for you to select one of them at the factory in Astoria New York. On the day of selection, they promise to have at least 4 to choose from, and the day you are there, you are the only guest at the factory. As I was making my selection, I found out that Vladimir Ashkenazy had been there just the day before, to select a Steinway D for himself. The piano technician who was assisting me told me that Ashkenazy briefly played each of the 5 that were available for his selection, then asked him (the technician) which one he liked. The technician immediately pointed to one of the five, and Ashkenazy, without any hesitation, said “that’s the one I’ll take”. I think that story says a lot about the man himself. Jeff.
@@burke9497 Yours is a much more memorable story than mine, Jeff. And you are so right - VA's deferring to the piano technician is very revealing of the man. Best to you. D. (NB: saw Pollini play our favourite Schubert sonata at the RFH '88 or '89. I can still see/hear parts of the performance all these years later. He hasn't recorded it commercially, as you know, but there are a couple of live perfomances on YT. Have a listen.)
I wish I be able to afford this one!
Took your recommendation for action and purchased his 11 cd Rachmaninov collection. Looking forward to listening.
I wished Ashkenazy would have recorded all the Scriabin preludes and etudes in the 70's. Would have been epic.
I was a huge fan of Ashkenazy in the 70s and 80s and bought many of this recordings. Even though I've never been an audiophile, I always found the London/Decca sound on his recordings frustrating. The treble was beautiful, almost bell-like, but the bass was booming soft-edged.
Hi Davidbundlertanze is my favorite by far.
Very accurate description of VA's tone as caught by the Decca engineers. I saw him play the piano just the one time. Was seated perhaps three rows from this marvellous artist and I can verify that his tone was more beguiling than his many Decca records convey.
I saw him playing Davidbundlertanze at Alumni Hall in London Ontario back in the 70’s. It was an incredible recital. Unfortunately the hall was 2/3 empty. My piano teacher who had seen everybody said it was the greatest recital she had ever seen. Rubinstein said the two performers he thought could carry on his mantle were Barenboim and Ashkenazy They should have stuck to the piano.
What a wonderful review!
13:50 his incredible Melodya Mephisto can usually be found on RUclips. Well worth a listen!
There are pianists whom I like quite a lot, even maybe if they are not of "legendary calibre", who may never get such complete editions. An example is Edward Kilenyi, who made so many recordings that Remington and other bargain labels recorded prolifically in the 1950s (although his 78s before that are very desirable to have). Kilenyi's playing was refreshingly straitforward, rhymically steady, and a welcome antidote to performers who were more interpretive, for better or worse, in their playing. It's just soul-satisfying to hear such honest, unwilful playing, as in his recordings of Chopin's waltzes or etudes, which I have played on the gramophone so frequently; I think that it is only Ania Dorfmann in those waltzes and Guiomar Novaes in the études whom I have listened to with that kind of frequency. (I have a partiality for female pianists, for some reason or other.) There are greater recordings of those works, but the directness and lack of affectation of Novaes, Dorfmann, and of Kilenyi really do have their charms. Only Dorfmann and Novaes, of those pianists, has had boxed reissues in any real frequency, but Kilenyi deserves that attention, too.
But that's the problem, isn't it? There's too much of everything. It doesn't matter who you like (or who I like). There's tons of it, much of it excellent, and the fact is that if none of those artists get complete editions it makes not a whit of difference.
Kilenyi taught piano at F.S.U. when I was there in the 80's .His recital was attended by everyone. I would luv to again hear his recordings thanks for reminding me of him . I don't think straitforward or rhythmically steady is something that will make me want to hear him again.I don't want to hear Beeth . op.57's that sound like the page and everyone else again. Pogorelich,Sokolov and Pretnev are arrtists I go to for refreshing new interpretations even when they're are indulgent. Few people are buying records anymore if you can make something new :great. Mehta and Bashtishvili(whatever her name) give a Schumann concerto on film I will never forget . I actually brought 2 dvd's because of that! Im prepared to be bored I have to listen carefully when I go to concerts desperate for phraseology etc.
I've been collecting classical lps and cds for well over 40 years (good God!) and like you said, Ashkenazy has always been one of those artists you could 'always count on'. The performance would always be good and reliable, not overly self-indulgent like other artists could do. And for the several different record companies I worked for over the years (when you could still go to a record store and there would be a large classical section to shop in), I sold a lot of Ashkenazy. I do have several of the other boxes Decca has put out, but may have to plunk down the money for this one.
Also Dave, if you are looking for something new to review (ha ha), would love it if you got around to the new I Musici box that just came out. I do have a number of their recordings but am curious of your opinion of the new box. They were another group that I always found to be rather reliable in their recordings, especially with them being one of the early well known chamber orchestra artists making recordings. I always liked them and St Martins in the Fields, which I do hope that Decca will put out another box for them since the first box probably doesn't cover half of what their total output was. We'll see!
I Musici is coming!
I've greatly enjoyed this set, and I agree with Dave's point about the endless rerecording of repertoire. Certainly there was justification for, say Arthur Rubinstein rerecording works as technology improved from 78rpm discs to mono LPs to stereo. But rather than making stereo recordings of much of his Spanish repertoire or several Beethoven Sonatas he hadn't previously recorded (such as the Pastorale and Tempest), Rubinstein and RCA opted to make yet more recordings of his core concerto repertoire - and nobody has been able to convince me his late recordings with Barenboim or Mehta were on the same level as those he did with Reiner, Krips, Wallenstein, or Leinsdorf. And it's pretty much the same with Ashkenazy's redos of his solo recordings. Generally I prefer the earlier ones.
I love Ashkenazy's Chopin 2, Bartok 3, Rachmaninoff 2 (Previn), Schumann, , Prokovief 3, Beethoven 3-4 Concertos (Solti). The Mozart Sonata for 2 Pianos with Frager is just wonderful. I recently bought his complete Rachmaninoff Etudes-Tableux (Eloquence) and thought they were fantastic. His Liszt Transcendental Etude selections (Feux Follets) are splendid, and some Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues really stand out (love the Ab and E minor), Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Prokofiev Sonata No. 6, Chopin Nocturnes Op. 48 1-2 and 4th Scherzo, Schumann Carnaval, Schubert Wanderer-Fantasie, Debussy L'Isle Joyeuse and much more. The Great Pianists of Century selection was very well chosen incl. Ravel's Gaspard (early version), Rachmaninoff Corelli Variations, Schumann Humoreske. The Nupen video of Ashkenazy talking about and playing the Corelli Variations is definitey worth watching. The Melodiya 1960s complete Chopin Etudes is a good reminder of Ashkenazy's phenomenal early playing that made such a strong impression on the music world.
Howard Blake's "Walking in the Air" is from his score for the animated film "The Snowman".
Are u sAying Ashkenazy is also a film composer ? What?
I agree that re-recording pieces is bad unless there are substantial changes in interpretation or recording technology.
Hello! What are your thoughts on Ashkenazy's and Gavrilov's Decca recording of the Concerto for two pianos and the Rite?
Admittedly I own his full concerto box set which has repetition but with different orchestras is somewhat intriguing. A little I solo piano goes a long way for me so this not something I might get, I am mystified why the famous Decca sound was unable to capture his sound. Also considering he stayed with Decca I wonder if his re recording for solo and orchest4al work, was Decca directed versus his own desire to keep re recording. I may be wrong but he doesn't strike me as someone obessessd with re recording .
Well...Roger Dettmer trashed Ashkenazy's Brahms 2nd Concerto (Haitink), when he thought it was by Ashkenazy. But then praised it to high heaven, when he thought it recorded by Joyce Hatto.
But as Jed Distler points out (and I should have too) his earlier Second with Mehta is terrific.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Totally agree. I have both and appreciate the assets of both.
🤣
Hi Dave - what about a talk on the greatest Chopin “complete works”/editions? Pretty please?
Thanks Dave. Yes, what a great artist, so I agree with everything you say as to hits and not so hits. There aren’t really any “misses” and like many I’ve heard a lot of this stuff. I had to check whether he hadn’t done all the Prokofiev sonatas as I thought he had as a decca duo, but no, what a shame. I must have been mixing this up with the concertos in my mind.
I guess Katchen for Brahms and Bolet for Liszt limited his opportunities for decca there.
Really agree re Bach WTC and the Shostakovich, shouldn’t be overlooked.
Schumann, well yes. There are no really good overall sets of this music as far as I can tell, which is interesting (people are not even doing it volume by volume as with some other composers). I have a very old set by Reine Gianoli which is rather good but sonically sometimes a real problem. Most seem to be really selective here, but it’s interesting that the whole range of it tends not to get taken on (as there’s some very good “minor” Schumann as your review of the 4 hand set recently showed).
Florian Uhlig is quite good--I may cover that. And there's Eric Le Sage on Alpha too.
The Le Sage Schumann are wonderfully recorded, as well as fine performances. Katchen is variable in Brahms. He makes mincemeat of the early sonatas, rushing as he does.
@@jasonclark1966 yes I’m a fan of Lesage and I’ve heard that but I didn’t enjoy it as much as his chamber music things. I think Schumann is one of those composers where there are terrific performances of the best known works so it’s hard to do the whole thing at the same level. I mean Argerich or Uchida would never take it on so
@@DavesClassicalGuide That’d be very good Dave as I recalled there was something going on there after posting. I really like Le Sage (his Poulenc and Schumann chamber music especially) but somehow the range of the Schumann piano music does maybe wear him down a little.
So glad to see Reine Gianoli (and especially her Schumann) get a shout-out here. She was a huge discovery for me a while back. A genuinely individual artist. Her Symphonic Etudes had me leaning in and listening like I'd never heard the piece before. Only Cortot has held my moment-by-moment attention that way--the phrasing, touch, color incomparable.
I am glad you spoke so positive about Ashkenazy playing Liszt . He also recorded the Mephisto valse on Columbia 1957 together with “feux follets “ Prokofiev Sonata 7 and Rachmaninov Corelli Variationes . This album has been reissued on CD by “ Testament “ named “ The young Ashkenazy. “
David, I'm disappointed you could not come up with 10 best orchestral recordings of Vladimir Ashkenazy. I somehow feel short changed...
Maybe some other time. I like the mix--it represents him far more completely, and fine though some of it may be, his orchestral stuff isn't his most consistent.
@@DavesClassicalGuide okay David, he wasn't the best conductor and may be hard to come up with 10 outstanding recordings. I do cherish his Rachmaninov 1st.
It's not hard--it's not what I wanted to do.
His interpretations are really good but his piano tone, which I believe is the result of Decca engineering, is leaving me feeling cold. His live recordings, despite much worse sound quality truly show how great he could be.
Dunno about Ashkenazy's remakes but Sutherland remade almost all of her core repertoire and the second times are almost invariably better than the firsts
better diction, fewer droops, virtuosity intact, and much better cast and recorded. Maybe the exception that proves the remakeitis rule.