State-of-the-Art Recordings of Classical Works (SACDs)

[Yuen A.]

reVISIONS Claude DEBUSSY arr. Sally Beamish Suite pour Violoncelle et Orchestre Maurice RAVEL arr. Richard Tognetti Deux mélodies hébraïques Sergei PROKOFIEV arr. Vladimir Blok Concertino for Violoncello and Orchestra, Op.132 Ernest BLOCH arr. Christopher Palmer From Jewish Life Steven Isserlis (cello) Tapiola Sinfonietta/Gábor Takács-Nagy BIS-SACD-1782 (A Relisten)

These are atmospheric, emotionally charged and passionate music. The Tapiola Sinfonietta and Steven Isserlis play powerfully and emotively.

 

[Yuen A.]

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 23 Edvard GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 Denis Kozhukhin (piano) Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Vassily Sinaisky PENTATONE PTC 5186 566 SACD (A Relisten)

The recordings are a bit dry. Still, the piano sounded lifelike and palpable and the strings shimmer. Kozhukhin is a refined and thoughtful musician. Gramophone says: "Out of repertory that has been celebrated, picked over and just about played to death over the course of almost a century and a half, they create magic … of course, this could only be achieved by deeply cultivated musical instincts and a technique as developed and varied as it is unobtrusive. His inerrant rhythmic sense is pliant yet taut; his sound unalloyed silver. Listening to Kozhukhin, you’re left with one thing: the music – incontestable, complete."

 

[Yuen A.]

Debussy Fantaisie; Ravel Piano Concerto in G; Piano Concerto for Left Hand; Massenet: Deux impromptus; Toccata; Deux pièces pour piano; Valse folle Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano). Tortelier, Yan Pascal/BBC Symphony Orchestra. Chandos 5084 SACD

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet plays with wonderful lightness and sensitivity. It’s really an amazing performance. Gramophone rightly says: "The combination of all three works on a single CD creates a satisfying programme, especially when played with such finesse and limpid colouring as by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, with Yan Pascal Tortelier and the BBC SO matching him in taste and eloquence. ... A group of charming solo piano miniatures by Massenet complements and at times connects with the styles of Debussy and Ravel, and Bavouzet plays them beautifully."

The piano tone is focused, liquid, sparkling and refined. The entire recording is lifelike, crystalline and transparent. Every strand of the delicate orchestration in these pieces is sublimely beautiful. The percussion is startling.

 

[Yuen A.]

Pēteris Vasks Violin Concerto 'Distant Light'; Summer Dances; Piano Quartet Vadim Gluzman (violin); Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu BIS-2352 SACD

These superb recordings take the listener on an emotional roller-coaster ride and what is more, the sound is so lifelike, three dimensional and tangible.