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Sunday, December 18, 2016

Dmitri Shostakovich; Charles-Valentin Alkan - Preludes (Olli Mustonen)


Information

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich; Charles-Valentin Alkan
  • (01-24) Shostakovich - 24 Preludes, Op. 34
  • (25-49) Alkan - 25 Preludes, Op. 31

Olli Mustonen, piano
Date: 1990
Label: Decca
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4330552


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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Available again through Arkivmusic.com’s valuable on-demand reissue program, this indispensable 1991 release imaginatively pairs Shostakovich’s Op. 34 Preludes with Alkan’s lesser-known yet equally quirky Op. 31 Preludes. Most importantly, Olli Mustonen uses his extraordinary technical aplomb, boundless palette of articulations, and highly refined dynamic gradations both to serve the text and to plumb each composer’s sound world.

In the Shostakovich, for example, note the pianist’s minutely calibrated and tonally varied rapid staccato lines that seemingly take on the character of orchestral instruments in Nos. 2, 5, 9, and 11, and in the “demented ballet” images Nos. 15 and 21 evoke. Yet Mustonen also fully projects the music’s darker, brooding underside: I’m still reeling from the shattering force and infallible timing of No. 14’s central climax.

Likewise, pinpoint refinement and bristling character consistently infuse vitality and meaning into Alkan’s Preludes. Mustonen’s exquisitely-crafted ornaments and rhythmic elongations generate unexpected tension throughout No. 2, while the timbral contrasts between melody and accompaniment in Nos. 3, 8, and 13 often suggest a pair of instruments in tandem. Quick repeated chords (such as those in Nos. 17 and elsewhere) boast a uniformity and hair-trigger precision that must be heard to be believed. While the overly bright sonics create a piercing effect at loudest moments, that’s a minor reservation in light of Mustonen’s revelatory excellence. I’d go so far as to say that Mustonen has not made a finer solo disc to date.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/alkanshostakovich-preludes
https://www.amazon.com/Shostakovich-24-Preludes-Op-Alkan/dp/B00000E4VZ

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Dmitri Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Russian composer and pianist, and a prominent figure of 20th-century music. Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Shostakovich's music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the post-Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

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Charles-Valentin Alkan (30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French composer and pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, among the leading pianists in Paris, a city in which he spent virtually his entire life. His music requires extreme technical virtuosity, reflecting his own abilities. Busoni ranked Alkan with Liszt, Chopin, Schumann and Brahms as one of the five greatest composers for the piano since Beethoven. For much of the 20th century, Alkan's work remained in obscurity, but from the 1960s onwards it was steadily revived.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Valentin_Alkan

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Olli Mustonen (born 7 June 1967 in Vantaa, Finland) is a Finnish pianist, conductor and composer. Mustonen studied harpsichord and piano with Ralf Gothóni and then Eero Heinonen. He studied composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara. His debut solo piano recording for Decca, of the cycles of preludes by Shostakovich and Charles-Valentin Alkan, won both the Gramophone and Edison awards. He has also made recordings for RCA and Ondine, notably of works by Beethoven and various modern Russian composers.

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6 comments:

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  2. MUCHAS GRACIAS !!! … Merci! Thank you! Obrigado! Спасибо! !ありがう! Arigato! Danke! Dziękuję! Dank je u! Mulţumesc! Teşekkür ederim! Tack! Tack så mycket! Grazie! Kiitos! תודה לך! Takk! Dakujem,ďakujem vám! Hvala! شكراً!shokran! Ευχαριστώ! 감사합니다! Děkuji! Tak skal du have! Dankon! Hvala! Najlepša hvala! Gràcies! Faleminderit! Ačiū! De’koju! Labai ačiū! ขอบคุณ! Shukrīya! بہت) شكريه (bahut)! Cảm ơn cô! Cảm ơn cô nhiều! Благодаря! Þakka þér! Baie dankie! Takk fyri! Sipas dekem! متشکرم! Благодарам! Təşəkkür! Paldies! Pateicos! Tencinu! Terima kasih! Дуже дякую! Спасибі! Баярлалаа! Гялайлаа! Танд их баярлалаа! Terima kasih! ধন্যবাদ (dhonyobād)! Salamat! Trugarez!

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  4. Dear Magical Journey. Can you re-upload this recording?
    Thank you.
    Best Regards.

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  5. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Skip Ad' (or 'Get link').
    If you are asked to download or install anything, IGNORE, only download from file hosting site (mega.nz).
    If MEGA shows 'Bandwidth Limit Exceeded' message, try to create a free account.

    http://raboninco.com/8oDJ
    or
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    or
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