Word: busoni
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...Scarlatti sonatas and Schubert impromptus that sometimes verge on eccentricity, and of Beethoven sonatas and Schumann fantasies that often threaten to collapse beneath their own structural weight. The highlight of the set is his 1965 Carnegie Hall concert, with a nervous Horowitz skirting disaster in the opening Bach-Busoni Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major before righting himself and going on to give one of the most thrilling live performances in the history of recorded sound. Another impressive recital is the 1968 television concert, which features Horowitz's best, most graceful reading of Schumann's gentle Arabeske as well...
Despite the brilliance of Kissin’s playing later in the evening, the recital got off to a somewhat shaky start with Bach’s Toccata in C Major, BWV 564, originally for organ but transcribed for solo piano by Ferrucio Busoni. This is perhaps the closest we will ever get to hearing Kissin play Bach, and one could hear why he has not made unadulterated Bach a part of his performing repertoire. He is clearly most at home with the romantics, and even this romanticized version of Bach felt awkward and rigid. The opening prelude is marked...
Ferruccio Busoni's Second Sonata was the only really dull part of an otherwise excellent concert. The work opens and ends with a harmonically adventurous succession of chords, but everything in between, even when played beautifully (as it was), lacks in substance and fails to create a strong impression. I admire Schulte for his programming of obscure works, but perhaps he can concentrate his efforts on more deserving pieces...
...encore, we were treated to the "Serenata" from Stravinsky's Suite Italienne (an arrangement of several movements from the ballet Pulcinella). Perhaps not quite recovered from the meandering romantic excess of the Busoni, Schulte played the simple sicilienne with too much expressiveness, and was at times out of tune. However, his brilliant musicianship still made this a memorable end to a long and demanding concert...
America's poet of the piano plays 15 of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte (literally, Songs Without Words), plus eight Bach-Busoni and Schubert-Liszt transcriptions. The hand injury that threatened to sideline Perahia only a few short years ago is now nothing but a fast-fading memory: the poise and lyricism of the exquisite playing heard on this meltingly beautiful CD are worthy of comparison with any of the century's greatest pianists. His tone is warm and inviting, his interpretations quietly romantic. Vladimir Horowitz--who once gave Perahia a few pointers--would have reveled in the results...