Maurice Ravel; Sergei Rachmaninov - Piano Concertos (Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli)

Information

Composer: Maurice Ravel; Sergei Rachmaninov

1. Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major: I. Allegramente
2. Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major: II. Adagio assai
3. Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major: III. Presto
4. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40: I. Allegro vivace
5. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40: II. Largo
6. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40: III. Allegro vivace

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, piano

Philharmonia Orchestra

Ettore Gracis, conductor

Date: 1957

Label: EMI

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s classic recordings of the Ravel G major and Rachmaninov G minor concertos have never been out of the catalog since they first appeared more than 40 years ago. Surface and style are one in this music, and the Italian pianist remains unsurpassed for his icy precision and micro-detailing. He brings pinpointed élan to Rachmaninov’s sizzling cross-rhythms in the Fourth Concerto’s Allegro Vivace movement, as well as laser-like concentration to the tartly lush Largo. Few have matched Michelangeli’s nuance and color in the Ravel concerto, and his seamless dispatch of Ravel’s “singing sword” effect in the opening movement belies the notion that you can’t bend notes on a piano. One could be nitpicky in regard to Michelangeli’s “old-fashioned” breaking of hands in the slow movement, but the music’s rippling aura can easily absorb such quirks. Ettore Gracis puts the Philharmonia Orchestra through its paces, and the players respond with scintillating brilliance. EMI’s new transfer reveals less tape hiss than heard in both the 1988 CD release and Philips’ “Great Pianists” edition of the Ravel, yet boasts more body, definition, and presence. If you missed these performances in EMI’s aforementioned full-price incarnation, don’t delay acquiring these better transfers at midprice. No classical collection should be without them.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/rachmaninovs-piano-concerto-no-4

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/apr00/ravelrach.htm

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/e/emi67258a.php

http://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Piano-Concerto-Rachmaninov-No/dp/B00004R95P

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Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles. His best known works include Boléro (1928), Gaspard de la nuit (1908), Daphnis et Chloé (1912). Ravel was also an exceptionally skilled orchestrator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (5 January 1920 – 12 June 1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Michelangeli reputedly did not enjoy giving concerts. He was a connoisseur of the mechanics of the piano and insisted that his concert instruments be in perfect condition. Owing to his perfectionism, relatively few recordings were officially released during Michelangeli's lifetime, but these are augmented by numerous unauthorized recordings of live performances. As a teacher, his pupils included world-class artists as Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich and Ivan Moravec.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Benedetti_Michelangeli

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