Great Pianists of the 20th Century
Great Pianists of the 20th Century , German title The great pianists of the 20th century , is a multi-label pianist edition from Philips Records , which was released from summer 1998 to autumn 1999 in 100 albums with double CDs and works from the Baroque includes up to modern times.
Edition
The 100 albums of the edition are assigned to 72 pianists named on the covers. Each album consists of a double CD with a length of 150 minutes. 16 pianists are represented with 2 albums, Claudio Arrau , Alfred Brendel , Emil Gilels , Vladimir Horowitz , Wilhelm Kempff , Swjatoslaw Richter and Arthur Rubinstein each with 3 double CDs. In addition to the piano duo Ljubow Bruk and Mark Taimanow , the compilation includes other piano works for four hands - Dinu Lipatti plays with Nadia Boulanger , Josef Lhévinne with his wife Rosina and Robert Casadesus with Gaby Casadesus.
The pianists were selected by the edition producer Tom Deacon based on the criteria of an international career and fame. Alfred Brendel participated in the selection of recordings for the pianists Alfred Cortot , Edwin Fischer and Wilhelm Kempff, who were otherwise responsible for the Polygram . Compositions by Chopin , Liszt , Beethoven , Schumann , Bach , Mozart , Haydn , Schubert , Brahms , Tchaikovsky , Rachmaninov , Prokofiev , Stravinsky , Debussy , Ravel and Poulenc can be heard most frequently . Works by Webern , Bartók , Berg , Gershwin , Copland , Rorem and others complete the repertoire.
A quarter of the 250-hour edition has not previously appeared on CD, 90 minutes contain recordings by Alfred Brendel, Byron Janis and Clifford Curzon that were unpublished until 1998 . The oldest recording is from 1911 by Ignacy Paderewski , the most recent by Mitsuko Uchida from December 1998. Yevgeni Kissin , born in 1971, is the youngest, Ignacy Paderewski, born in 1860, the oldest pianist in the edition. Michail Pletnjow is the only interpreter with a transcription - Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker for piano.
The compilation took place across all labels and includes recordings from Polygram - Deutsche Grammophon , Decca and Philips , releases from Sony , EMI , BMG , Teldec , Vanguard and a total of 25 other labels. The review of the sound quality, remastering and digitization of analog sound carriers was carried out under the supervision of engineers from Deutsche Grammophon. Steinway & Sons supported the publication of the edition through promotional events.
The publication took place in non-chronological order of ten albums each month from summer 1998 to autumn 1999. The edition was preceded by a special edition in the form of a double CD, which contains contributions from 68 of the 72 pianists. This sampler was accompanied by a promotional sound carrier with piano sonatas by Scarlatti , played by Clara Haskil, published in 1951 by Westminster Records.
The great pianists of the 20th century continued the Philips tradition of publishing editions from producer Deacon. In 1995 the compilation Best of Mozart appeared with 180 records, before that the box set Goldenes Barock , an Alfred Brendel and a Swjatoslaw Richter edition.
review
The American writer, pianist and columnist Michael Kimmelman called the edition “a huge, valuable fund of piano recordings”. The extensive documentation of the piano interpretations of the 20th century could provide answers to the questions: whether "the quality of piano playing - the level of elaboration , spontaneity, rhythmic design and so on - has declined over the course of the century, as critics sometimes say?" technical perfection has become an end in itself and replaced national styles? "Is there such a thing as a national school at all?"
Raymond Tuttle from Classical Net called the edition a "great project" - unprecedented in history. Pianophiles would have a lot to hear and discuss over the next few years. Roland de Beer agreed with the Philips slogan "a unique collection with the best piano playing of this century" in the sense that the edition is "certainly unique" as a "prime example of diplomatic work" of the 25 participating labels. Charles Michener from the Observer felt himself put into a pubescent state in view of the publication, which only true "piano junkies" know and emphasized the possibility of comparative listening to different interpretations of overlapping compositions. Ned Rorem said that the sampler for the edition already shows how performance practice has changed several times over the course of the century, "from very free to very precise" renditions of the score and "back again and back again".
Another strength of the edition was considered to be the fact that, in addition to the well-known greats, it was reminiscent of pianists from the middle of the century - Clara Haskil, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli , Wilhelm Kempff, William Kapell , Clifford Curzon and Friedrich Gulda , “who did not appeal to a general audience more well-known ”and worthy of“ some less well-known and forgotten ”pianists: Ivan Moravec , Vladimir Sofronizki , Nelson Freire , Nikita Magaloff and Maria Yudina .
The lack of formative pianists who were perceived as essential for the 20th century was criticized: Ferruccio Busoni , Simon Barere , Moriz Rosenthal , Heinrich Neuhaus , Alexander Goldenweiser , Jacques Février , Carl Friedberg , Samuil Feinberg , Mark Hambourg , Percy Grainger , Emil von Sauer , Egon Petri , Guiomar Novaes , Alexander Brailowsky , Vlado Perlemuter , Mieczysław Horszowski , Richard Goode , Wladimir von Pachmann , Paul Badura-Skoda , Garrick Ohlsson , Jewgeni Mogilewski , Ivo Pogorelich , Emanuel Ax and Grigori Sokolow . Recordings by the pianists Wanda Landowska , Annie Fischer , Maria Tipo , Magda Tagliaferro and Tatjana Nikolajewa are not included, nor are those by the composing pianists Edvard Grieg , Camille Saint-Saëns and Béla Bartók. Furthermore, the number of albums per pianist and the selection of recordings were criticized, in particular that the edition does not contain any Bach recordings by Glenn Gould . The music criticism also addressed the fact that the edition lacks recordings of important compositions from the 20th century, for example Messiaen recorded by Yvonne Loriod , Michel Béroff or Håkon Austbø , works by Stockhausen interpreted by the brothers Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky and Nonos by Maurizio Pollini . Roland de Beer concluded and commented on the criticism, "the larger a collection, the more strangely it becomes clear that even four hundred CDs would not be enough to accommodate" the best of the century "."
The booklets accompanying the albums by Alfred Cortot and Ignacy Paderewski were judged to be faulty. Corto's recording of Schumann's Kreisleriana is dated 1935, although it dates from the 1950s. His recording of Ravel's Jeux d'Eau , dated 1923, was also made in 1931. The recording of the Liszt Etude La Leggierezza assigned to Paderewski, arranged by Benno Moiseiwitsch , was made by Moiseiwitsch himself and was arranged by Theodor Leschetizky .
Overview
Individual evidence
- ^ A b David Stevens: A Century of Great Pianists in 15,000 Minutes. The New York Times , April 27, 1999, accessed December 1, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d Charles Michener: Philips' 'Great Pianists' Series Is a Piano Junkie's Dream. The Observer , March 22, 1999, accessed December 3, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Bradley Bambarger: Philips survays Great Pianists of the Century with 200-CD set. Billboard , October 24, 1998, accessed December 1, 2018. ( Limited preview in Google Book Search)
- ↑ a b Roland de Beer: Toetsentimmeraars en wilde beesten. de Volkskrant , October 8, 1998, accessed December 3, 2018 (Dutch).
- ^ Raymond Tuttle: Great Pianists of the 20th Century Philips Classics Great Pianists of the 20th Century Sampler. Selections from the Definitive Collection. Classical Net, 1999, accessed December 1, 2018 .
- ↑ The Great Pianists of the 20th Century Special Edition. Discogs , accessed December 1, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Jed Distler: Haskil's Genius Scarlatti / Westminster. Classics Today, accessed December 1, 2018 .
- ^ Michael Kimmelman: Music; A Century of Piano That Can Last for Weeks. The New York Times , May 16, 1999, accessed December 3, 2018 (English): “[…] valuable trove of piano recordings […]. Has the quality of piano performance - the level of invention, spontaneity, rhythmic suppleness and so on - declined during the century, as critics sometimes say? Has technique become an end in itself, and homogeneity replaced once distinct national styles? Is there even such a thing as a national school? "
- ↑ Roland de Beer: Toetsentimmeraars en wilde beesten. de Volkskrant , October 8, 1998, accessed on December 3, 2018 (Dutch): "Als staaltje van diplomatarbeid is de verzameling zeker uniek: ze komt uit de archieven van zo'n 25 verschillende maatschappijen."
- ↑ Bradley Bambarger: Philips surveys Great Pianists of the Century with 200-CD set. Billboard , October 24, 1998, accessed December 1, 2018. Quotation: Just with the sampler you can hear how styles change, from very free to very careful and back again and back again. (English)
- ^ Michael Kimmelman: Music; A Century of Piano That Can Last for Weeks. The New York Times , May 16, 1999, accessed December 3, 2018 (English): "[...] who are no longer familiar enough to a general audience."
- ^ Charles Michener: Philips' 'Great Pianists' Series Is a Piano Junkie's Dream. The Observer , March 22, 1999, accessed on December 3, 2018 (English): "[…] handful of lesser-known and forgotten pianists."
- ^ A b Michael Kimmelman: Music; A Century of Piano That Can Last for Weeks. The New York Times , May 16, 1999, accessed December 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Roland de Beer: Toetsentimmeraars en wilde beesten. de Volkskrant , October 8, 1998, accessed December 3, 2018 (Dutch).
- ↑ Roland de Beer: Toetsentimmeraars en wilde beesten. de Volkskrant , October 8, 1998, accessed on December 3, 2018 (Dutch): “Het vreemde is, hoe groter de collectie, hoe duidelijker ze maakt dat ook een ruimte van vierhonderd cd's niet genoeg zou zijn om 'het beste van de eeuw 'te host. "