Search - Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Brendel :: Balakire

Superb

David Saemann | 04/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a monaural Vox recording from the mid-50's, but the sound on this remastering has come up warm and engaging. This is an excellent recording of Pictures. Brendel plays with staggering virtuosity at times. His tempos are moderate, and the whole effect is very musical without any sense of eccentricity. If you want to hear a reading that is sensible, technically superb, and unfailingly poetic, this should do handsomely. I have not heard Brendel's remake for Philips, although it is worth noting that his earlier Vox recordings are often freer and more poetic. The technical challenges in the Stravinsky and Balakirev pieces are met handily. One of the unanswered questions from this CD and Brendel's early Liszt recordings for Vox is what kind of career he might have had if he had not chosen to focus on the Viennese Classics. We'll never know, but this CD is a tantalizing piece of evidence."