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Category: CD Reviews

INTERNATIONAL PIANO. Tchaikovsky

February 14, 2015
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INTERNATIONAL PIANO November December 2007 Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos — nos.1 in in B flat minor op.23, 2 in G major op.44 (original version) & 3 in E flat major op.75, Andante and Finale op.79 (orch.Taneyev). Concert Fantasia in G major op.56. Allegro in C minor op.posth. Oleg Marshev pf Aalborg Symphony Orchestra / Owain Arwel Hughes Danacord DACOCD 586-587 Recorded in 2001-2, this Tchaikovsky cycle has been a long time coming. Finely produced and engineered, enjoying committed support from the Aalborg band and strong direction under Hughes, here are performances of style and authority, knocking just about every other into a cocked hat. What's more there's no set currently more complete: the early C minor Allegro for piano and strings...

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Gramophone, Tchaikovsky

February 14, 2015
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GRAMOPHONE Awards Special Issue 2007 A stunning Second Concerto from Marshev, back on outstanding form Tchaikovsky Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra Oleg Marshev pf Aalborg Symphony Orchestra / Owain Arwel Hughes Danacord DACOCD 586-587 Marshev returns to top form, all guns blazing, with the three piano concertos (the last two movements of No 3 orchestrated by Taneyev as the Andante and Finale in B flat/E flat, Op 79), the Concert Fantasia in G and Tchaikovsky's rarely heard early Allegro in C minor for piano and strings. The latter dates from his student days (1863-64) and lasts a mere 2'30". It was only unearthed in 1965 and, while hardly significant music, is an interesting sign of things to come. David...

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CLASSICAL SOURCE. Liszt

February 14, 2015
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CLASSICAL SOURCE Franz Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo [transcribed Tausig] A Faust Symphony – Gretchen [arranged Liszt] Oleg Marshev (piano) Rec. Recorded February 2006 in Aalborg, Denmark DANACORD DACOCD 653 Duration 65 minutes With realistic and immediate piano sound, Oleg Marshev’s rigorous yet emotional account of Liszt’s great B minor Sonata is a compelling journey. It’s a work often recorded and several new versions have appeared recently; Marshev’s is a considered view, a rendition of insight and experience – and trust in the composer. Marshev sees the work whole and he is not afraid to shape with feeling the lyrical episodes or to make turbulent the climactic ones. But these are not incidental ‘happenings’: they...

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MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL. Liszt

February 14, 2015
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WWW.MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL I’m not Liszt’s biggest fan, but Marshev has made me love what I merely admired, admire what I merely respected and, to cap it all, he’s even managed to make the boring bearable. Franz LISZT (1811 - 1886) Piano Sonata in B Minor, S178 (1852-3) [29:20] Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo ­ Symphonic Poem (1849), transcr. (1858) Carl Tausig (1841-1871) [19:21] Gretchen, from A Faust Symphony, S513 (1854), transcr. (1856,1857) Liszt [16:08] Oleg Marshev (piano) Rec. Aalborg, Denmark, February 2006. DDD Danacord DACOCD 653 [65:16] Just lately, Liszt has got me a bit puzzled. Forget the famed and fкted of the Nineteenth Century opera stage ­ they were small beer when compared with Liszt, the man who kick-started the...

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Classicalsource. Liszt concertos

February 14, 2015
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www.classicalsource.com Liszt Piano Concertos Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat, Piano Concerto No.2 in A, Totentanz, Hungarian Fantasy Oleg Marshev (pf) Aalborg Symphony Orchestra/Matthias Aeschbacher Duration 73 minutes Danacord DACOCD 651 I approve of the 'modesty' of this recording. So often, piano concerto recordings of the Romantic era beleaguer the ears in an attempt to underline a soloist's brilliance. Frequently everything is 'up-front' and on some occasions it is only the piano that is 'up-front' while the orchestra provides a mushy accompaniment. This is not the case with this honest release; if sometimes a little shy in the woodwind department, the engineers here match the unfussy style of the playing. Interestingly and in my view, appropriately, the recording gives the...

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MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL. Liszt Concertos

February 14, 2015
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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

February 14, 2015
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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

February 14, 2015
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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

February 14, 2015
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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

February 14, 2015
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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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