Search - Johannes Brahms, Ivo Pogorelich :: Brahms: Intermezzi; Rhapsodien; Capriccio

Forget how the others play Brahms. Imagination Speaks

J. Martin | miami,florida | 08/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ivo Pogorelich has gotten his share of bad press ,no matter what he does :his work for the croatians or the slow tempi in his Chopin scherzi and from what I hear his Rachmaninoff second concerto.

I say listen . Enjoy this supremely talented musician first. Then revel in the gorgeous palette of color and spacious sound from DG. I have 7 versions of Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit and on a desert island I'd leave Michelangeli,Argerich,and Gieseking to the sharks and abandon ship with just his. There are many graet Scarlatti players around now,too ,but Pletnev and Horowitz ,Gilelson piano essentailly dont have this type of verve. I dont want to compare pianists :each has to be followed as far as we simple piano lovers can follow. So maybe there are some easy pleasures i am ascribibg to . The piano sound in his Mussorgsky Pictures is fabulous. What made me write this note was hearing hisBrahms. Pieces I have known since I was a kid and my uncle and mom played them and Ive heard everyone from Katchen to Annie Fisher, Kempff and Kovacevich play them. I will always treasure their music making but listen to Pogo reimagine the first number in opus76. I know he is interpreting ,maybe messing with the real music per se but once you hear it you'll think Yes that's it . Like Richter says he knows how to read a score . I sat dumfounded by the sense of exploration and scenepainting in several other late pieces.These are the qualities that made earlier audiences prefer Liszt playing Berlioz to an orchestra and love Paderewski and dePachmann .We are lucky too , for his Mozart. I still love Schiff ,Pires ,deLarrocha and Uchida in Mozart but hear him in Mozart and you'll see what was there before it was written down. I have not been so fired up by a pianist since Hamelin's Bolcolm etudes or Aimard's Ligeti etudes .Volodos has his kind of personality. Kissin and the others have electricity but when does someone have something to say. we can all play Chopin and Liszt etudes and a larger number are playing the godowsky stuff too . Dont we want music that speaks to our generation . This is what the record companies should pay attention to :the experience . I'm not talking about novelty just lived experience. Oh and hear donald Pollack's chopin each note integrated into an idea - Im not sure why Rubinstein's chopin is considered the high mark when cortot is an obvious example that personality wins over simple charm .

Pogorelish relishes sound and contrast and he will be remebered after the tempest of media is through. Hear this man at all costs. I may try to see him in Salzburg or San Francisco . He is as exciting as anything I know of."

Bad rap on Pogorelich may be deserved on this album

GS | Washington State | 07/29/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The overall palette is marvelous on this recording, and the pianism is of very high quality. However, the excessive use of rubato and mannerisms make for a less than pleasurable experience. As a part of your Brahms piano collection, this is probably one to own. However, if this is the only one you'll have of the Rhapsody #2, for example, stay away from it as the rendition here sucks the life right out of the hard driving rhythm."

Strange and wonderfully honest playing

th | west coast of Norway | 06/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pogorelich gives his all to this music. The result is an uncommon Brahms, marked by a naked, icy desolation, and to my ears, very moving. If I hadn't heard Brahms before, I would have thought: this is Brahms, so convincing is his playing. Pogorelich is at the highest possible level of pianism and artistic honesty."