Wonderful representation of a long career
Daniel W. Fowler | Austin TX | 01/22/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My first exposure to Aldo Ciccolini's playing came many years ago while listening to classical radio station KMFA. I turned on the radio and heard the delightful sounds of Satie's gymnopedies. After learning that the pianist was Ciccolini, I rushed out to procure one of his sets of Satie's works. This current EMI compilation contains a generous assortment of Satie including recordings of the gymnopeies and 3 gnossienes from 1956 and 1963 (both exquisite)and the set of Satie recordings from the 1980s. All performances are outstanding, infused with humor and biting wit.
I must confess that I have not yet listened to many of the 56 CDs in this set. But I have already found enough delightful recordings to make me glad that I obtained the set. One Saint-Saens disk contains an outstanding version of piano concerto no. 5 performed with the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Serge Baudo recorded in 1970. The disk also contains a lively Carnival of the Animals with Ciccolini and Alexis Weissenberg joining Georges Pretre and the Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire (recorded in 1966).
Jean Martinon leads the Orchestre de Paris in 1974 recordings of the two Ravel concertos. Martinon is one of my favorite Ravel conductors, and the orchestra and pianist really nail these performances.
Debussy's piano works are scattered throughout the set, recorded at various times and uniformly excellent. I am particularly fond of the 1991 recordings of Children's Corner and Suite Bergamasque.
Unexpected but welcome surprises so far have been a stylish 1976 rendition of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, a very atmospheric 1953 recording of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Orchestra National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise conducted by Ernesto Halftter, and assorted sonatas by Dominico Scarlatti.
I'm looking forward to delving into a couple of disks of Mozart sonatas next, followed by Liszt's Les Annees de Pelerinage, Granados Goyescas, and Albeniz's Iberia. I anticipate many hours of delightful listening ahead!"
Great Gift Idea
Classics Lover | 01/12/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My grandfather taught me how to play the piano when I was young and would constantly play me Ciccolini recordings. He would say how Ciccolini spoke to him in ways no other pianists could ... something about his inate musicanship. My grandfather turns 90 in a few days and I'm so glad I've found this box set. I'm almost 100% sure my grandfather will looove this."
Four decades of Ciccolini
busotti | 05/08/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pianist, Aldo Ciccolini, is most remembered for his interpretations of Satie and Debussy. Many consider his 1960's recordings of the complete output of Satie to be the definitive recordings, striking a nuanced balance between the quirkiness and romanticism than various pianists lean in favor of. You get those plus two other versions, but what impressed me most in digesting this set was how versatile Ciccolini could be, including eminently respectable versions of Bach and Scarlatti keyboard works. His talents extend far beyond the French impressionism he is most renowned for. This 56 CD set is quite a bargain and is chock full of enjoyable and less frequently heard piano works by Borodin, Albeniz, and Granados."
