On Sunday, February 2, 2014 at 10:45:41 AM UTC-10, AB wrote:
> Lets talk positive for now:-))
> recently I took out the Cherkassky Great Pianists of the Century for another listen. Now TD has been excoriated at times for his selection and omission of certain pianists, the selection of recordings, etc. While it would be easy to add my brand of criticisms I see no purpose in that.......
>
> Like Kreisler, C. is also a musical miracle, (in such a crowded field) he still stands out in certain facets of pianism.
>
> The only doubts I have about this particular collection (all Chopin) is the inclusion of the complete etudes. His technique is clearly not strong enuf for some of them. he does not have an easy, facile mechanism in spite of his reputation as a 'virtuoso'. But the more lyrical etudes are done with absolute, rare beauty and here as in almost all the other recordings he is provided with a fine sounding, properly prepared piano.
> among the most spectacular examples of his unique musicality is the Mazurka in D. Nobody, including Rubenstein can play this kind of music with such grace and perfect timing.
> The preludes, again with the exception of the few really virtuosic ones are just gorgeous, also the piano..
> The biggest surprise is the B minor sonata. At first, the leisurely tempo was sort of unsettling, but after a while, the logic of his phrasing enabled me to accept this approach. Never, ever does he destroy the musical line ( in contrast to Argerich, for example, who just massacres the music, not because she plays so fast but because of the lack of 'logic' (as I call it) .
> And the beauty. the sound sends chills up my spine . The glory and beauty of the sound of a piano is truly represented in this particular recording.
> Why is Cherkassky so fascinating (at least for me) in spite of his occasional struggles in the sonata and other pieces..... it is the sheer beauty of his playing, the voicing of the chords, the little shifts in tempo ( a lot like Kempff, BTW), the SUBTLE bringing our of the lesser voices, the incredible ear he must have had and most important for me, the beauty of his tone (when he has the right instrument)
>
> AB

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