COMPOSERS: Bach/Busoni,Bartok,Brahms/Busoni,Busoni,Messiaen,Stravinsky
LABELS: Arbiter
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: The Legendary Busoni Recordings
WORKS: Six Polyphonic Études; Sonatina No. 1; Sonatina No. 2; Sonatina No. 3; Sonatina No. 4; Sonatina No. 5; Sonatina No. 6; Chorale Preludes; Études,Op. 7; Études, Op. 18; Quatre études de rythme
PERFORMER: Paul Jacobs (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 124 ADD Reissue (1976-9)
Paul Jacobs died from AIDS in 1983, when the disease was still a mystery. In 1961 Bernstein had appointed him pianist of the New York Philharmonic, but Jacobs was best known as a brilliant performer of contemporary music, and his recordings of Debussy are unsurpassed. He had a fabulous ear married to an immaculate technique, as the bravura studies by Stravinsky (still in the Romantic tradition) and Bartók testify. Not to mention Messiaen’s fearsome, obsessive Études de rythme, to which Jacobs gives a diamond-like sharpness. He particularly admired Busoni’s dark, elusive music, and offers a revealing selection of the later works. Adrian Jack
Busoni, Bach/Busoni, Brahms/Busoni, Stravinsky, Bart—k, Messiaen
Paul Jacobs died from AIDS in 1983, when the disease was still a mystery. In 1961 Bernstein had appointed him pianist of the New York Philharmonic, but Jacobs was best known as a brilliant performer of contemporary music, and his recordings of Debussy are unsurpassed. He had a fabulous ear married to an immaculate technique, as the bravura studies by Stravinsky (still in the Romantic tradition) and Bartók testify. Not to mention Messiaen’s fearsome, obsessive Études de rythme, to which Jacobs gives a diamond-like sharpness.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:19 pm