recording reviews

Nicholas Phillips

Autumn 2020: Recordings

Frederic Chopin's music is among the most performed and oft-recorded of its genre. This presents an interesting challenge for modern pianists: how might one approach the music of a composer whose performance traditions are so well-established? Here, Viv McLean invites us to explore the complex and sometimes competing facets of Chopin's musical...
Continue reading
  1 Comment
Tags:
recording reviews review
Tweet
Recent comment in this post
superioressays
What’s great about this colour scheme is that you can get creative with patterns and prints whilst still looking classy. Plus, it ... Read More
Monday, 09 November 2020 04:56
1 Comment
Nicholas Phillips

Winter 2020: Recordings

ROMANCE:THE PIANO MUSIC OF CLARA SCHUMANNIsata Kanneh-Mason, pianoDecca[Total Time 76:00]www.deccaclassics.com Contributing to this year's bicentennial celebration of Clara Schumann's birth is the debut album of the twenty-three-year-old British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. In 2015, while a student at the Royal Academy of Music, Kanneh-Mason, a...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews reviews Clara Wieck Schumann Isata Kanneh-Mason Theodore Antoniou Konstantinos Destounis Geoffrey Burleson Reed Tezloff Kristín Jónína Taylor Cahill Smith Nikolai Medtner Thomas Swenson Choong-ha Nam review
Tweet
0 Comments
Nicholas Phillips

Autumn 2019: Recordings

FARRENC: VARIATIONS FOR PIANOBiliana Tzinlikova, pianoPaladino Music PMR 0088[Total Time: 53:02]www.paladino.at This is a significant new recording of Louise Farrenc's piano works. The program consists of four sets of variations, all written in the 1830s, including Air russe varié (on the composer's own theme), one on the cavatina "Nel veder l...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
reviews recording reviews Biliana Tzinlikova Louise Farrenc Nadia Shpachenko Cécile Chaminade Mark Viner Charisse Baldoria Kristín Jónína Taylor Geoffrey Burleson Sara Feigin Benjamin Goodwin Thomas Swenson Tatiana Chernichka Stephen Pierce Lara Downes Nicholas Phillips review
Tweet
0 Comments
Nicholas Phillips

Summer 2019: Recordings

D'Albert was a prized student of Liszt and his piano transcriptions of Bach's organ works bear the influence of his master. Unlike some transcribers, who sought to glorify Bach by embellishing his works in grandeur, both Liszt and d'Albert stayed largely reverent to the original works. One exception here is d'Albert's version of the Passacaglia and...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
reviews recording reviews Eugen d'Albert Stephen Pierce Emanuele Delucchi George Antheil Judy Pang Geoffrey Burleson Michael Korstick Dmitri Kabalevsky Thomas Swenson Benjamin Engeli Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin Joyce Yang piano quartets chamber music Choong-ha Nam review
Tweet
0 Comments
Nicholas Phillips

Spring 2019: Recordings

The two leading piano manufacturers in Paris during Chopin's lifetime were Érard and Pleyel. Chopin preferred Pleyel's instruments, praising what he heard as a more compelling cantabile, and subtler tonal palette. The 1847 Pleyel here possesses remarkable clarity, due in part to its quick decay time. Rutkowski's prowess with convincing agogic expr...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews Hubert Rutkowski Geoffrey Burleson historical instruments Jan Ladislav Dussek Bart van Oort Thomas Swenson piano trios David Hyun-su Kim fortepiano harpsichord Wolfgang Rübsam Tami Morse Tom Beghin Andrew Willis Sezi Seskir David Breitman Maggie Cole historical performance review
Tweet
0 Comments
Nicholas Phillips

November/December 2018: Recordings

Leif Ove Andsnes: SibeliusLeif Ove Andsnes, piano|Sony Classical88985408502[Total Time 67:00]sonyclassical.com In this recording of Jean Sibelius's little-known piano works, Andsnes, the tremendous pianist from Norway, pays tribute to his fellow Nordic musician. Andsnes has handpicked twenty-four pieces, representing all pa...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
Choong-ha Nam Laura Melton Pierre-Laurent Aimard Liza Stepanova Lief Ove Andsnes Nicolas Phillips Jean Sibelius Olivier Messiaen Nicholas Phillips chamber music Stephen Pierce Barry Douglas Thomas Swenson Franz Schubert Yevgeny Sudbin reviews recording reviews
Tweet
0 Comments
Nicholas Phillips

September/October 2018: First Looks, Recordings

Haydn-cover Haydn Piano Sonatas, Volume 2 Anne-Marie McDermott, piano BCD9497 [Total Time 68:36] bridgerecords.com
In her second recording of Haydn sonatas, American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott presents a dazzling display of scintillating articulation. The clarity of her tone is aptly suited for Haydn's humorous style, which dances to life in the finale movements of both the Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:39, and the Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46. Equally i...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
First Looks reviews recording reviews Nicholas Phillips Laura Melton Anne-Marie McDermott Thomas Swenson Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin Zhu Xiao-Mei Stephen Pierce Stewart Goodyear Sang Woo Kang Glenn Gould Sergei Rachmaninoff duets Charles Own Katya Apekisheva Inna Faliks
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

May/June 2018: Recordings

microphone
Debussy  Steven Osborne, piano  Hyperion CDA68161  [Total Time 73:21]  hyperion-records. co.uk Debussy Steven Osborne, piano Hyperion CDA68161 [Total Time 73:21] hyperion-records. co.uk Eleven years after the release of his recording of Debussy's complete set of preludes, British pianist Steven Osborne offers a captivating rendi...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
Claude Debussy Alexander Borovsky Franz Schubert reviews recording reviews Steven Osborne Krystian Zimerman Lara Downes Steven Hall Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin Stephen Pierce Nicholas Phillips J.S. Bach
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

Jan/Feb 2018: First Looks: Recordings

First-Looks
 Nyman: Complete Piano Music Jeroen van Veen, piano Brilliant Classics 95112 [Total Time 1:50:45] brilliantclassics.com Prolific Dutch pianist-composer Jeroen van Veen presents all of Michael Nyman's existing solo piano music. Many will recognize Nyman (b. 1944) as composer of the soundtrack for the 1993 award-winning film The Piano, and—of th...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
reviews recording reviews Jeroen van Veen Michael Nyman Thomas Swenson Andrew Cooperstock Choong-ha Nam Yekwon Sunwoo Leonne Lewis Jeffrey LaDeur Nicholas Phillips Anna Shelest Laura Melton Leonard Bernstein Jean-Philippe Rameau Claude Debussy Sergei Prokofiev concertos Van Cliburn Competition
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

CD & DVD Reviews: November/December 2017

CurrentsMichael Mizrahi, pianoNew Amsterdam Records NWAM075[Total Time 60:01]www.discogs.com Whether you are an avid fan of contemporary music, a casual listener looking for something off the beaten path, or a pianist looking for new music to program, there is much to admire here. Simply put, this terrific album features solo piano music by a handf...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
reviews recording reviews Michael Mizrahi Nicholas Phillips Frederic Chiu Thomas Swenson Pal Eide Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin Nadia Reisenberg chamber music John Field Leonne Lewis Laura Melton Elizabeth Joy Roe Boris Bergmann Sang Woo Kang Thomas de Hartmann Tuning non-Western tuning
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

CD Reviews: September/October 2017

Outhere Music Ravel, Scriabin: Miroirs Andrew Tyson, piano Alpha-Classica ALPHA 277 [Total Time 58:39] www.outhere-music.com/en/albums/miroirs-alpha-277 Twenty-year-old Andrew Tyson is a native of Durham, North Carolina, and the rising star's second CD features piano works of Ravel and Scriabin. This highly-recommended release was recorded on a Bec...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews Andrew Tyson Laura Melton Marc Ponthus Choong-ha Nam Boris Giltburg Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin Enrique Bagaría Thomas Swenson Kirill Gerstein Stephen Pierce Nicholas Phillips Lincoln Trio reviews
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

CD Reviews: July/August 2017

Raskowski-Etude_20170625-210744_1
David Rakowski Etudes, Vol 4 Amy Briggs, piano, toy piano and celestaBridge 9477Total Time [87:20]www.bridgerecrords.com This is the fourth volume of Briggs's survey of the staggering 100 piano études of David Rakowski, composed between 1998 and 2010. The studies are characteristically short, stylistically eclectic, and often cleverly titled. Accor...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews reviews Stephen Pierce Amy Briggs Kevin Rober Orr Laura Melton Charles Owen Leonne Lewis David Rakowski Samuel Barber J.S. Bach celesta toy piano
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

CD/DVD Reviews: May/June 2017

Les mains nuesMompou • Boulanger • ChaillouMoisès Fernández Via, pianistUrtext Digital Classics JBCC 231[Total Time 60:04]www.urtextonline.com "My hands and I live alone in a small apartment in the rue du Jardinet…" is an arresting phrase from Via's short story "Bare Hands," written for this CD. The story is published in the liner notes, and, toget...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews Moisès Fernández Via Denise Parr-Scanlin Friedrich Gulda Stephen Pierce Lacas Debargue Laura Melton reviews Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Frederic Mompou Lili Boulanger David Chaillou
Tweet
0 Comments
Steven Hall

CD Reviews: March/April 2017

Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias Zhu Xiao-Mei, piano Accentus Music ACC 30350 [Total Time 45:47] www.accentus.com These inventions and sinfonias serve as a marvelous performance resource for teachers and students. Zhu's approach is forthright, and, within each of these tightly constructed miniatures, the dialogue between the voices is distinct and cl...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
recording reviews Zhu Xiao-Mei Steven Hall Xiayin Wang Stephen Pierce Nadia Shpachenko Laura Melton Valentina Lisitsa Leonne Lewis Horacio Gutiérrez Denise Parr-Scanlin Aram Khachaturian James Matheson Adam Schoenberg Peter Yates Tom Flaherty movie music reviews
Tweet
0 Comments
Susan Geffen

CD and DVD Reviews January/February 2017

Maurice Ravel Carlo Grante, piano Music & Arts CD-1289 [Total Time 58:05] www.musicandarts.com This album offers unique interpretations of several of Ravel's masterworks on a Bösendorfer Model 290 Imperial. Performed with crisp pedaling and attentive respect for articulation and attack, both Pavane pour une infante défunte and Miroirs stand out...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
Tags:
reviews recording reviews Carlo Grante Alexandre Dossin Yevgeny Sudbin Philip Glass Bruce Levingston Sin-Hsing Tsai Denise Parr-Scanlin Laura Melton Vanessa Cornett Shai Wosner Leonne Lewis Louie Lortie Hélène Mercier Stephen Pierce György Ligeti Francis Poulenc Leonard Bernstein concertos
Tweet
0 Comments

About Piano Magazine

Piano Magazine is the leading resource for pianists, piano teachers, and piano enthusiasts. We bring you informative, interesting, and inspiring ideas on all aspects of piano teaching, learning, and performing. The official name of Clavier Companion magazine was changed to Piano Magazine in 2019.

Follow us on

Terms of use

Have Questions?

We are happy to help.

Editorial questions? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Advertising questions? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subscription questions? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Technical questions? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cron Job Starts