[bracko]

 
But what's his specialty (what he loves to play most)? Every pianist has strengths with certain comps. 

Richter - Beethoven, Schumann, Rachman
Brendel, Kempff - Beeth, Schubert
etc

Sokolov is quite amazing with Chopin and Prokofiev

 

[CanadianMaestro]

He only records in complete live performances, never in studios so his discography is limited. But from what I heard,

Bach rachmaninoff chopin, schubert they are all exceptional

 
 

  Sokolov is quite amazing with Chopin and Prokofiev

 
Thanks! Seems I will try his Schubert.
 
Everyone seems good with Chopin....

 

[Quinto]

He only records in complete live performances, never in studios so his discography is limited. But from what I heard,

Bach rachmaninoff chopin, schubert they are all exceptional

& Ludwig van Beethoven!

 

[CanadianMaestro]

^ Always Ludwig, Quinto!
 
And Wolfie too never forget Him.
 
It must have been an amazing period in Vienna. Wolfie praising Ludwig as a musician of real significance (paraphrasing).
Haydn lauding Wolfie (in a letter to Leopold) as "the greatest composer known to me".
 

 

[uchihaitachi]

  ^ Always Ludwig, Quinto!
 
And Wolfie too never forget Him.
 
It must have been an amazing period in Vienna. Wolfie praising Ludwig as a musician of real significance (paraphrasing).
Haydn lauding Wolfie (in a letter to Leopold) as "the greatest composer known to me".
 

 
He won the tchaikovsky competition aged 16 which is mind blogging and the jury was headed by gilels

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Impressive. Too bad Gilels didn't live longer. He was superb with Beeth sonatas and his 4th Cto with Ludwig/Philharmonia ranks with Curzon/VPO as sublime.

 

[RRod]

I've been looking into this, and planning on blogging on the subject for a while (just need to finally get it finished), but the meaning of musical directions has changed over the years. Now we seem to take them as a straight indication of speed, but originally they were often more about attitude. For example, allegro meant "cheerful" (and still does in Italian) which suggests moving forward with some energy but not necessarily "fast".
There is a lot of confusion about andante, which a lot of people think means "at walking pace" - which of course could mean almost any tempo. In fact, this was originally a reference to the "walking bass" style of continuo, so is a direction to bring out this aspect of the music, implying a certain deliberateness of tempo. Although this meaning faded somewhat, it does seem to be the overt meaning of the direction for the slow mvt of Prokofiev's 2nd violin concerto.
_

 
That's all good and fine but the attitude of many recordings of LvB 7.II is "grave", or at least nowhere near "allegretto". I'm all for interpretive breadth, but at some point this and this are getting so far apart it's hard to call them the same piece. Whatever we want allegretto to mean it can't mean both these things. But that's all I'll say, as it seems people consider such talk "off-topic."
 
On topic, delving into this but already liking it (there seem to be 3 or 4 version of this that were released in various ways):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004I9RV

 

[leomitch]

Today was a particularly bad day for my breathing, so I could do little but sit back in my big recliner leather chair and listen to some fine music. The Beaux Arts Trio Philips recordings of Mozart's Piano Trios. It has been ages since I played these and I am delighted I chose these to listen to along with tippling some fine Canadian sipping whiskey I have been  hoarding. I have to say my breathing didn't bother me so much after a few drams of elixir and these fine recordings. I plan on their recordings of Schubert's and Beethoven's piano trios over the next few days.
If you haven't tried this group and the Philips recordings, I can  highly recommend them to one and all. I can also highly recommend Canada Club 20 yer old whiskey. Pricey at $60 for 750ml bottle, it is however worth the extra dollars. The American dollar is high in comparison to the Canadian dollar so not such a big problem for those buying with American dollars. Give yourself a treat!
 
Cheers 

Leo

 

[CanadianMaestro]

^ @leomitch:  Thumbs up. I have several Beaux Arts Trio sets (Haydn complete Piano Trios, beeth, Mozart, some Schubert) and they are always enjoyable.
 
As for whiskey, I prefer red wine and Port.  Belgian beer too.  My liver's too precious. 

 

[eyeresist]

That's all good and fine but the attitude of many recordings of LvB 7.II is "grave", or at least nowhere near "allegretto". I'm all for interpretive breadth, but at some point this and this are getting so far apart it's hard to call them the same piece. Whatever we want allegretto to mean it can't mean both these things. But that's all I'll say, as it seems people consider such talk "off-topic."

Actually I think even the slowest versions still have the "con moto" quality that qualifies it as allegretto. AFAIK, no-one has actually tried to make it sound like the Symphony 3 funeral march (if they did it would probably be about 20 minutes long!). This IS sort of relevant, as questions of interpretation relate directly to what might be considered "best" in classical recordings,but if not feel free to consider this the Final Word.

BTW, CanadianMaestro sent me a lovely private email and we are all friends again. Cheers!

 

[CanadianMaestro]

BTW, CanadianMaestro sent me a lovely private email and we are all friends again. Cheers!

shhhh!  I do have a public image to maintain! 

 

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Question: Does anyone here place Uchida's Schubert sonatas high up there? Maybe not with the likes of Brendel, Lupu, Kempff, and Perahia. But for pure poetry and emotional impact.  There's a beautifully-recorded set on Philips that may be next on my list. I adore Schubert. 
 
She's best known for her Mozart. But Schubert?

 

[leomitch]

  ^ @leomitch:  Thumbs up. I have several Beaux Arts Trio sets (Haydn complete Piano Trios, beeth, Mozart, some Schubert) and they are always enjoyable.
 
As for whiskey, I prefer red wine and Port.  Belgian beer too.  My liver's too precious. 

 
 
Mine is too and normally I would be  drinking Yellowtail Shiraz from Australia, but I needed something a little stronger today as my COPD is being a beggar more than usual!
 
Warm regards 
 
Leo

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
 
Mine is too and normally I would be  drinking Yellowtail Shiraz from Australia, but I needed something a little stronger today as my COPD is being a beggar more than usual!
 
Warm regards 
 
Leo

Hmmmm....I'm not an MD, but I didn't know that hard liquor could reduce COPD congestion. If anything, alcohol would suppress respiration....
 
Take care.

 

[leomitch]

 
Hmmmm....I'm not an MD, but I didn't know that hard liquor could reduce COPD congestion. If anything, alcohol would suppress respiration....
 
Take care.

 
 
That would be true if one did it to excess and often​. What it does do is make a dreary life shut in for nearly 10 years now with COPD and very painful osteoarthritis a little less dreary. Balance in all things  my friend, balance!
The music is far more important then a couple of drams of alcohol...it just makes it more enjoyable.
 
Leo