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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Brahms: Piano Quintet
“As with so much in Brahmsʼ life, the genesis of his Piano Quintet, Op.34, was fraught with indecision and introspection...” Brahms first wrote this work scored for string quintet, and after taking to heart criticism from Joachim, he not only re-scored the work for two pianos, but destroyed the original string quintet manuscript. Published in 1874, this new du version was not without problems, and it was Clara Schumann who pointed these out, causing Brahms to set about re-arranging the music once more, this time for piano quintet. This was no simple re-scoring, for the piano quintet medium has unique demands, but, at last, “Brahms had found the medium through which his material could speak most eloquently.” It is the quintet in this final guise that we know it best, and that the Schubert Ensemble deliver here on this recording in an assured and expressive performance, allowing the sophisticated detail of Brahmsʼ writing to throw us into the depths of emotion he conjures up. Brahms was a master of delivering emotional impact, even in short works, and the Quintet is accompanied on this disc by four short, solo piano works which amply demonstrate this capability. Performed by the Schubert Ensembleʼs founder and pianist, William Howard, the rhythmic and textural complexity of these pieces is remarkable. “[The Piano Quintet] is a signature work for the Schubert Ensemble, whose direct sound sings vividly here. Pianist William Howard's thoughtful, sepia-tinted reading of the Opus 117 Intermezzi and the second Opus 118 Intermezzo complete the disc, the last as gentle as a kiss.” The Independent, 22nd August 2010 | 
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| Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) Robin Lough (director) This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro’s debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke’s, London, with Britain’s eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro’s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum, Madrid. “Achúcarro’s approach is unorthodox in today’s stick-to-theletter-of-the-score, mechanically perfect musical world. His rubati seem excessive to some; to others, like a throwback to a Golden Age. For all of his reverence for the great composers whose music he plays, he maintains a healthy sense of their humanity as well. “Our duty is first of all to understand what composer does and wants, and then to try to deliver it the best we can, but also to serve the music,” he says. “And maybe sometimes the composer is wrong.” He adds, “People say you must follow the text. But if you follow the text, perhaps the music is not totally served.” … And he views what he does as a performer as an act of creation in its own right.” The Washington Post Extra features: Joaquín Achúcarro: 50 years on Documentary including interviews with Plácido Domingo, Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. Running time 131 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 PCM & 5.1 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “all three sections of both versions benefit from the masterly hand of director Robin Lough who, unlike many of his peers, knows how to let the music speak for itself without the need for frantic cuts and cross-fades...The short recital filmed in the Prado captures Achúcarro at his intimate best” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Brahms: Late Piano Works
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| |  | Brahms - Piano Works
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| |  | Brahms - Klavierstücke, Opp. 116 - 119
Nicholas Angelich (piano) “Steering a balanced course between imaginative vitality and warmth on one side and resigned melancholy on the other can be difficult, but Nicholas Angelich manages it with a kind of panache. He takes you to the brink of inconsolable sadness one moment, only to put a refreshingly spring in the step of a dance movement the next.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2007 ***** “Trenchant, focused Brahms from a formidable player . . . . Nicholas Angelich is an American pianist, trained in Paris, whose performances on this disc are of a wholly exceptional drama, sweep and impeccable craftsmanship. Few young pianists have so little truck with flighty, salon-ish alternatives to seriousness, and his Brahms is sufficiently authoritative to make one long to hear him in the piano concertos. . . . . Angelich’s is nonetheless among the finest recordings of Brahms’s formidable masterpiece.” Gramophone Magazine  CD Review
Critics Disc of the Year - December 2007 |
 BBC Music Magazine
Instrumental Choice - March 2007 |
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| |  | Brahms - Piano Music
“Here are 71 minutes of the finest Brahms piano music, played by one of the outstanding Brahms exponents of our day. What's most treasurable about it is the quiet rapture of some of the most quintessentially Brahmsian moments; for example, the way Lupu sleepwalks into the last section of Op 117 No 3 and the revelation in Op 118 No 2 that the inversion of the theme is even more beautiful than its original statement. The Op 79 Rhapsodies are perhaps a fraction less memorable.
Decca's recording sounds a little bottom-heavy, in the manner of certain Ashkenazy records of this vintage, and in the heavier textures of the Rhapsodies Lupu compounds the problem by reinforcing the bass with octaves and even fifths.
Still, this remains as fine a selection of Brahms's piano works as you're likely to find on one disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Archive Edition Volume 6 - Schumann & Brahms
“No doubt remained as soon as the piano began to reverberate: on the stage was a first class musician and a maestro. A complete freedom went hand in hand with Idil Biret’s interpretations. One has the feeling that she plays as easily as she breathes. With an extraordinary plasticity, she moulds each musical phrase like wax with her fingers. But, the freedom in Miss Biret’s interpretation is not accidental. Her attitude towards the works she is playing is the result of meditation. The art of Idil Biret gives joy and emotion.” D. Blagoy SOVIETSKAIA KULTURA – USSR 1960 “The most exciting young pianist to come to Montreal in years. She has a personal magnetism that belongs only to a certain type of virtuoso performer, one who succeeds in hypnotizing you no matter how what he or she is playing. Horowitz was one of these people, Samson François and now Idil Biret… Miss Biret is one of the finest natural Schumann players I have ever come across. In fact I cannot recall ever hearing a better all round performance of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke in any concert hall in this city.” Jacob Siskind THE MONTREAL STAR – CANADA 1960 “We are in the presence of one of the greatest virtuosos of our time. I do not see in her generation any other pianist who possesses an equal mastery of the keyboard, in the service of such a mature mind so rich in imagination.” Marc Pincherle NOUVELLES LITTERAIRES – FRANCE 1959 |
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| |  | Vassily Primakov plays Brahms, Chopin & ScriabinFilmed in Denmark, 2009
This new DVD marks the film debut of piano virtuoso, Vassily Primakov, performing the three Intermezzos, Op. 117 by Johannes Brahms, the four Ballades by Fryderyk Chopin, and the Sonata No. 4 by Alexandr Scriabin. Vassily Primakov has been hailed as a pianist of world class significance, the New York Times trumpeting his “fiery intensity” and his “bold, expressive phrasing and dramatic commitment that brought the audience to its feet.” The DVD includes the following special features: Vassily Primakov photo gallery, biographical information, Primakov discography and a digital Mp4 file, for easy copying to iPod or personal video devices. Sound Format: 5.1 surround sound DTS / Dolby Digital Running Time: 68 minutes Available worldwide “This video...certainly reveals Primarov as a serious artist with fabulous pianistic skills. His tone quality is velvety, his phrasing unfailingly sensitive...when Primakov loses himself in the music and lets rip, the effect is marvellous: the Chopin Ballades are full of tenderness and elation” BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 **** BBC Music Magazine DVD Choice - October 2010 |
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| Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro’s debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke’s, London, with Britain’s eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro’s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum, Madrid. “Achúcarro’s approach is unorthodox in today’s stick-to-theletter-of-the-score, mechanically perfect musical world. His rubati seem excessive to some; to others, like a throwback to a Golden Age. For all of his reverence for the great composers whose music he plays, he maintains a healthy sense of their humanity as well. “Our duty is first of all to understand what composer does and wants, and then to try to deliver it the best we can, but also to serve the music,” he says. “And maybe sometimes the composer is wrong.” He adds, “People say you must follow the text. But if you follow the text, perhaps the music is not totally served.” … And he views what he does as a performer as an act of creation in its own right.” The Washington Post Extra features: Joaquín Achúcarro: 50 years on Documentary including interviews with Plácido Domingo, Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. Running time 131 mins Region code All regions Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size: BD50 Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0 & 5.1 PCM Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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