BaL 24.07.21 - Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

[Barbirollians]

The Trifonov is a bit of a cracker. But I don’t know the Wild and will give it a listen soon. (I’ve relied on the stereo Katchen for too long - frankly it does sound its age.)

It ought to sound its age but whenever I listen to it I am just captivated by his playing and the sensitivity of Boult's accompaniment.

[Goon525]

Earl Wild is being given rather short shrift by MF-W, but she is explaining exactly why.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Earl Wild is being given rather short shrift by MF-W, but she is explaining exactly why.

This is a very good bal.So tempting to treat the piece as a virtuoso showpiece with a soupy 18th var. She likes the poets - the Rhapsodists even - and I am with her on that. My word Trifonov is some pianist…

[Dave2002]

I think I wast trying to say that the sophistication of digital editing arouses my suspicion often - it seems to me that the ability to simply drop in one note or bar at the click of a mouse opens up the field for the engineer/editor to artificially create ‘a false perfection’ at the expense of a more spontaneous performance.

It's worse than that - it's possible to repitch almost every note - something which is done quite a lot with some singers.

Of course in the case of some performers one is grateful for that, but sometimes this is just too much tinkering - and the original performers don't always get it wrong!

[Goon525]

MF-W is a welcome new addition to the Gramophone reviewing panel.

[Barbirollians]

How much this would have been had MFW been allowed to just get on with it AMcG particularly inane interruptions today just taking time away.

Trifonov is sensational .

[Dave2002]

Good point about the orchestra generally being recorded too quiet relative to the piano. I think that may even be the case in the Trifonov version. A lot is going to depend on how one listens. With decent kit and a good set of speakers it should be possible to push the orchestra sound up much higher - which would be more like what one might here in a concert hall. However, not everyone wants to have orchestra levels of sound in their rooms - tends to lead to domestic disharmony!

Have the BBC engineers tamed the sound even further - it doesn't actually sound that great - even on the so-called hi-def stream?

Re sound levels - I think many of us don't always think of absolute levels. We went to a cello+piano concert a few days ago - and those instruments in a modest size room were loud.
A full orchestra (wouldn't have fitted into the room) would have been deafening - though I once went to a birthday party where there was a brass band in the dining room - yes really - and that was loud!!!!

[Ein Heldenleben]

Great that Behzod Abduraimov made the final cut if not the final winner . There’s a recent performance by him and the Concertgebouw ( I think ) of this piece on Afternoon Convert where again those hideous two octave skips Marina refers to are played superbly. The pianist Louis Kentner said in his book Piano that Rachmaninov used to drink a crême de menthe before tackling the skips.

[Barbirollians]

MF-W is a welcome new addition to the Gramophone reviewing panel.

Not that new - already she has done Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky Symphony no 6 and Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 in the old format I recall.

[Goon525]

I’m referring to Gramophone magazine, not BaL.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Good point about the orchestra generally being recorded too quiet relative to the piano. I think that may even be the case in the Trifonov version. A lot is going to depend on how one listens. With decent kit and a good set of speakers it should be possible to push the orchestra sound up much higher - which would be more like what one might here in a concert hall. However, not everyone wants to have orchestra levels of sound in their rooms - tends to lead to domestic disharmony!

Have the BBC engineers tamed the sound even further - it doesn't actually sound that great - even on the so-called hi-def stream?

Re sound levels - I think many of us don't always think of absolute levels. We went to a cello+piano concert a few days ago - and those instruments in a modest size room were loud.
A full orchestra (wouldn't have fitted into the room) would have been deafening - though I once went to a birthday party where there was a brass band in the dining room - yes really - and that was loud!!!!

Not sure how even a top range hifi can alter the balance between piano and orchestra at home unless you have access to the original tapes/files . Maybe with high speed broadband record companies might offer that option in the future. On loudness on another strand there was some talk of distortion on electronic music . I noticed that my 50 yr old speakers could produce 85dba (from 25w per channel into 8 ohms) at a distance of 1 metre. I didn’t think 85dba was particularly loud . It’s also the HSE intervention level for Work. So I wound my speakers up to 85dba. They didn’t like it much. I liked it even less. 85dba is VERY loud.

Apologies for the digression and back to the Rach :
Trifonov a worthy winner , a poet of the piano and not too loud….

[mikealdren]

Have the BBC engineers tamed the sound even further - it doesn't actually sound that great - even on the so-called hi-def stream?

Yes, AMcG commented on the excellent sound quality of the recording but it didn't sound good to me, in fact I thought the first clip sounded quite muffled and indistinct even after some of the earlier recordings. Later clips sounded better.

[Stanfordian]

How much this would have been had MFW been allowed to just get on with it AMcG particularly inane interruptions today just taking time away.

Trifonov is sensational .

Hiya Barbirollians,

Here! Here! on both counts.

Trifonov's performance of 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini' is outstanding. All of Trifonov's series of Rachmanoniv recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin on DG are stunning in my view.

In June 2018 I had the pleasure of attending a Daniil Trifonov concert at Kulturpalast, Dresden with the visiting Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Daniele Gatti.

Trifonov played Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto and the Concertgebouw gave the Mahler First Symphony. Two of my favourite works.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

With decent kit and a good set of speakers it should be possible to push the orchestra sound up much higher - which would be more like what one might here in a concert hall.

Er... how? Surely the piano sound wouldn't politely co-operate?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I thought the reviewer was somewhat dogmatic about the rubato issue. You can't make strict rules about this and say one is more "correct". For me, her examples proved the reverse: Pletnev was superb, whereas Trifonov sounded laboured in comparison.