MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL. Liszt Concertos

WWW.MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL.COM August 2006 Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat, S124 (1849, rev. 1853, 1856) [19:06] Piano Concerto No. 2 in A, S125 (1839, numerous revs., pub. 1863) [21:48] Totentanz, Paraphrase on the Dies Irae, S126 (1849) [15:58] Hungarian Fantasia, S123 (1852) [15:14] Oleg Marshev pf Aalborg Symphony Orchestra / Matthias Aeschbacher Danacord DACOCD 651 Comparative recordings: Piano Concerto No. 1 Tamas Vasary/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Felix Prohaska (LP, DGG Heliodor 2548 235) Piano Concertos, Totentanz Joseph Banowetz/CSR Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Dohnбnyi (Naxos 8.550187) Hungarian Fantasia – George Bolet (radio broadcast, other performers and recording details not known) I was sorely tempted to start with a cheery, “Four war-horses on one CD – now that’s what I call value for...

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CLASSIC FM. Brahms

CLASSIC FM January 2006 Brahms The Eraly Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1, Op.1. Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9. Four Ballades, Op. 10 Oleg Marshev (pf) Danacord DACOCD 643 The 20-year-old Brahms nailedhis colours to the mast with his Op.1 Sonata in C, an ambitious piece with an opening unashamedly imitating Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" sonata. He aimed high and doesn't disappoint: it's a virtuosic, multifaceted effort. The Ballades are full of fascinating inward byways. Personal agony underpins the Variations, written in tribute to Schumann, Brahms's mentor, then confined to the mental hospital where he later died. Oleg Marshev's interpretaions are faithful, sensitive and upfront, enhanced by a fine touch and deep feeling, even if some of the tempi are...

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Classicalsource. Brahms

CLASSICALSOURCE.COM October 2005 The Early Brahms Brahms Piano Sonata No.1 in C, Op.1 Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op.9 Ballades, Op.10 Oleg Marshev (piano) Recorded in January 2005 in Symfonien, Aalborg, Denmark Danacord DACOCD643 A glorious record in every way, the latest of many that Danacord has made with Baku-born Oleg Marshev. For anyone unfamiliar with Marshev, this release could be a wake-up call, for he is a Brahmsian worthy of comparison with the very best. (more…)

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INTERNATIONAL PIANO. Brahms

INTERNATIONAL PIANO March/April 2006 Brahms The Early Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1, Op.1. Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9. Four Ballades, Op. 10 Oleg Marshev (pf) Danacord DACOCD 643 Oleg Marshev has tackled a very wide range of Romantic repertoire on disc, including a series of Danish Romantic piano concertos and the piano music of Emil von Sauer. Here he turns to music that is more mainstream, though with the exception of the Ballades these works are not as frequently heard as they might be. Brahms's C major Sonata is in fact his second work in the genre (the first was the F sharp minor op.2). Like Mendelssohn's op.106, the shadow of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" looms large in the...

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GRAMOPHONE. Brahms

THE GRAMOPHONE December 2005 Brahms The Eraly Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1, Op.1. Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9. Four Ballades, Op. 10 Oleg Marshev (pf) Danacord DACOCD 643 Ringing authority in early Brahms from this gifted pianist Having wandered engagingly down the country lanes of Sauer, Pabst and Richard Strauss, the prolific Oleg Marshev, Danacord's gifted star pianist, is firmly on the motorway for his latest venture. The results are impressive. Though at least six works preceded the First Sonata in C major, Brahms's designated op.1 announced the arrival of its 19-year-old composer with unabashed self-confidence. After the expansive first movement, with its barely disguised genuflection to Beethoven and the Hammerklavier, there follows a set of variations...

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AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE. Brahms

AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE November/December 2006 Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1, Op.1. Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 9. Four Ballades, Op. 10 Oleg Marshev (pf) Danacord DACOCD 643 Marshev, born in the USSR and living now in Italy, has been on the international scene for some years; his US debut was in 1991. For Danacord he has made some 30 CDs, mostly of unusual repertory: the complete solo music of Prokofieff, Emil von Sauer’s complete piano music, four discs of Danish piano concertos, and so forth. Marshev shows a strong affinity for Brahms. He has the strength and control to clarify the thick textures of the sonata beautifully. The quicker variations in the Schumann set reveal a great technique,...

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Musicweb-international. Schubert

http://www.musicweb-international.com/ The late Schubert Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat Major, D960 (1828) [38:15] Drei Klavierstьcke, D946 (1828) [32:20] Oleg Marshev (pf) Danacord DACOCD 646 [70.09] For this release Danacord, the Danish-based independent label, have chosen Oleg Marshev as their soloist. He was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, then part of the former Soviet Union and also the birthplace of Rostropovich. Marshev trained with Valentina Aristova at the Gnesin School for highly gifted children and with Mikhail Voskresensky at the Moscow Conservatory where he completed his Doctorate in 1988. He was awarded the Diploma with Honour. Marshev plays these Schubert works on a Steinway Model D piano. Schubert wanted to dedicate his Piano Sonata No. 21 to Hummel but his...

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Classic FM. Schubert

Classic fm The late Schubert Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat Major, D960 Three Piano Pieces, D946 Oleg Marshev (piano) Danacord DACOCD 646 Schubert's last few months were constantly plagued by syphilitic fits of giddiness, almost certainly the result of some ill-advised liaison some years beforehand. Despite this he hits just kept on coming, and included his Ninth Symphony ("Great"), his String Quintet and his final three piano sonatas. The B flat is the last of all Schubert's sonatas, and it is an unfanthomable achievement by a mere 31-year-old, from whom life was literally slipping away. Whereas some virtuosos choose to envelop the sonata in a haze of dreamy nostalgia, Oleg Marshev pays it as a valedictory statement in...

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CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB. Prokofiev Concertos

CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB February 2006 Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) The Five Piano Concertos CD 1 [68’49] Piano Concerto No. 1 (1911-2) [16’44] Piano Concerto No. 4 (1931) [27’29] Piano Concerto No. 5 (1932) [24’36] CD 2 [68’22] Piano Concerto No. 2 (1913, rev. 1923) [37’38] Piano Concerto No. 3 (1916-21) [30’44] Oleg Marshev (pf)/South Jutland SO/Niklas Willèn Danacord DACOCD584/5, Musikhuset, Sшnderborg, Denmark, 30 July – 10 August 2001 [2 CDs, 137’11] A thoroughly refreshing new “take” that is a strong contender for top billing. Marshev and Willèn prove to be a formidable interpretative pairing, superbly supported by the supple and slender South Jutland orchestra This new Danacord set is in fact anything but “new” – it was...

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PIANIST. Prokofiev Concertos

PIANIST October 2005 PIANIST'S CHOICE Sergei Prokofiev The five piano concertos Oleg Marshev (pf); South Jutland Symphony Orchestra/Niklas Willèn(cond) Danacord DACOCD 584-585 It says a lot for a record company like Danacord that it is prepared to stick with its artists enough to entrust them with the repertoire that's as popular as the Prokofiev piano concertos. With a pianist like Oleg Marshev - who has the complete Rachmaninov and Shostakovich concertos, complete Prokofiev solo piano music, von Sauer sonatas and studies, and much more under his belt for the Danish label - there was no doubt that the Marshev Prokofiev concerto cycle was going to be something to look forward to. But is it individual enough to stand out against...

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