Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Franz [Vienna] Schubert :: Tureck: Live At The Teatro Colón

Tureck not so at home in things other than Bach

eskimo941 | Chapin, SC United States | 04/30/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Well, my main motivation for buying this CD was the fact that Tureck was playing something OTHER than Bach. So, unfortunately I bought the recording. The Bach-Busoni Chaconne is barely tolerable for several reasons, but the most aggravating is her ultra slow tempi and the fact that her hands aren't large enough for the stretches in the piece make it worse. However, Brahms' Handel Variations receive a most unfavorable reading by Ms. Tureck. Her tempo is incomprehensibly slow and I'm fairly certain she pushes the half-hour mark, and the fugue is unbearable. Her tone is harsh and I was disappointed to hear such a great artist play so sloppily and unmusically.Emmanuel Ax offers a favorable (yet slightly sterile-sounding) version, but I have 2 personal favorites for this monumental work: Egon Petri on Pearl (though the sound is bad, the interpretation and pianism are breathtaking), and Van Cliburn has the PERFECT Brahms sound (I also HIGHLY recommend his recording of the concerti).However, their are some wonderful Bach encores that show Tureck at her absolute best, and I would even go as far to say they make the CD worthy buying, but that would be a lie. True, her Bach is lovely, but it in no way compensates for her incoherent readings of the Bach-Busoni and Brahms."

Tureck: the supreme priest of Bach

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 05/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rosalyn Tureck belongs to a reduced kind of artists beyond the standard. She belongs to the elite of Casals, Carreno, Furtwangler, Busoni, Kempff, Neveu, Schnabel, Fricsay and Nykolayeva,Sandor Vegh, among others.
His playing on Bach is so natural and fresh that lets you amazed. And that is a syntom of her deep commitment with the score. Her Bach bretahes, the sonority is filled with dyonisiac rapture, and sounds human even erotic. And I'm not kidding with this last statement.
In this live recording, Tureck shows us her high pianism level. One of the fundamentals aspects of the genius is the overwhelming singleness of its playing. The notes are not forced, flow, simply.
Buy this issue. It is a gem for collectors."