Word: ignaz
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...performance is fanatical and wild--in sharp contrast to Van Cliburn's rendition, recorded after his famed competition win in Moscow in 1958, which is tender, lyrical and full of the charm that captivated the Russians. Similarly, Great Pianists traces the varying interpretations of Chopin through the century--from Ignaz Friedman (tempestuous, uncontrolled) to Artur Rubinstein (cool, modern and free of excess) to Claudio Arrau (full, rich, warm). Given enough time, this collection proves, styles have a way of coming full circle...
Hamelin is a throwback to golden age piano virtuosos--wizards like Ignaz Friedman, Josef Hofmann and Leopold Godowsky--whose keyboard pyrotechnics lit up concert halls during the first 40 years of this century. He is fascinated by the piano's expressive range, its ability to produce almost orchestral varieties of sounds and colors, seemingly bound only by the performer's own limitations. These varied works--by Rachmaninoff, Alkan, Busoni, Godowsky and others--are wickedly difficult, yet Hamelin plays them, often at dazzling speeds, with color, power, a long line and unfailing elan. He also performs three of his own witty...
...Chorale, the piece suffers from an identity crisis, although the crisis involves the composer and not any aspect of the music itself, which remains a brilliant showcase of the woodwinds and horns. Musicologists have yet to determine whether the theme was actually written by Haydn or by his student Ignaz Pleyel. Regardless of the nature of his piece's thematic roots, Brahms effectively unearthed a simple, hymn-like melody and molded it into an intricately layered set of variations. Even if the talents of the oboe, clarinet, flute and bassoon players did receive the spotlight in most of the theme...