Gyorgy Cziffra Piano Virtuosos Benno Moiseiwitsch Jorge Bolet Medici Dvd from TU
Merchant: Oxfam
Brand: TU
Merchant's Category: Media> Music & Sound Recordings
Hungarian dynamo Gyorgy Cziffra gets top billing in this DVD of BBC concert broadcasts from the early 1960s, which easily could have been titled "Great Romantic Pianists," since almost half of the disc's 107 minutes include videos of recitals by Benno Moiseiwitsch and Jorge Bolet. All three, to a greater or lesser degree, represent surviving traditions of Golden Age pianism. Cziffra was a real throwback, playing with virtuoso panache and idiosyncratic flair, the latter heard in mannerisms like arbitrary tempos and dynamic changes, exaggerated climaxes, and showy accents. The disc opens with a jacketless Cziffra escorted across a bare studio stage to launch into an improvisation with hints of Chopin and Liszt, a reminder that 19th Century virtuosos often improvised preludes to pieces on their programs. His version of Liszt's Grand Galop chromatique is a breathtaking romp, and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 and Schumann's Toccata are done with tremendous power. For all his keyboard flashiness, Cziffra's stage demeanor is relatively cool: he lets his fingers do the work and they produce amazingly precise articulation, trills, and arpeggios that cast a hypnotic spell. The Moiseiwitsch selections give us a great artist playing two of his favorite composers: Schumann and Rachmaninov. Moiseiwitsch's brand of Romanticism was characterized by a beautiful, singing tone, relaxed elegant phrasing, and subtle dynamic gradations, all of which are on display in his performance of Schumann's Fantasiestucke, Op. 12 and Kinderszenen and Variations 17 to 24 of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the latter with a rather dim-sounding orchestra but featuring poised, exciting pianism in the grand manner. Cuban virtuoso Jorge Bolet contributes a superb interpretation of Albeniz's Triana, notable for his seamless legato, also present in his poetic Chopin Berceuse. Bolet also includes the Liszt Grand Galop chromatique, a performance that breathes effortlessly, leaving a less frantic impression than Cziffra's. The video on the Cziffra set is sharper than the grainy remainder of the DVD, but there should be no complaints about the discreet camera work that utilizes few camera angles, exposing facial expressions and fingers-on-the-keyboard clarity that add to the experience. --Dan Davis
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