Classic CD. Rachmaninov

CLASSIC CD March 2000 CLASSIC CD CHOICE very impressive playing from a born Rachmaninov interpreter Rachmaninov: Morceaux de fantasie op.3, Sonata n.2 in Bflat minor op.36 (revised version), Variations on a theme of Corelli, op.42. Oleg Marshev / DANACORD DACOCD 525 / 67:18 DDD Oleg Marshev: shows a natural kinship with Russia's greatest composer-pianist  Oleg Marshev scored something of a triumph with his Prokofiev sonata cycle on the Danacord label some years ago both in these columns and elsewhere. He has also recorded the Rubinstein Third and Fourth concertos and the Strauss Piano Sonata for the same label. Listening to these Rachmaninov performances, there is no doubt that he is a player in the grand manner, as befits his Moscow...

Read More

Gramophone. Rachmaninov

GRAMOPHONE April 2000 Rachmaninov Morceaux de fantaisie, Op 3. Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 36 (rev. ver), Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op 42. Oleg Marshev (pf) / Danacord DACOCD525 / 67 DDD Following his highly praised Prokofiev cycle for Danacord, Oleg Marshev turns to Rachmaninov, whom Prokofiev outwardly despised but inwardly admired. Born in Russia but based in Italy, Marshev reveals his roots in every brooding and impassioned bar. Scorning an easy virtuoso aplomb, he takes us to the poetic core of the Second Sonata, a turbulent masterpiece best heard in its original 1913 version rather than the 1931 revision played here. Even given the composer's lugubrious dismissal of his first thoughts, his feeling...

Read More

KLASSIK HEUTE. Rachmaninov

KLASSIK HEUTE March 2000 Rachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantasie op. 3, Klaviersonate Nr, 2 h-Moll op. 36, Variationen über ein Thema von Corelli op. 42; Oleg Marshev — Klavier / Danacord DACOCD 525 (1999) / 67' Oleg Marshevs lange und eindrucksvolle Liste von Danacord-Einspielungen hat im deutschsprachigen Musikraum nicht dazu geführt, diesen fähigen Künstler auch auf den Podien heimisch zu machen, Immerhin legte er bisher unter anderem das originale Gesamtwerk Prokofieffs vor (DACOCD 391-395) sowie Solowerke von Rachmaninoff [525). An diese ebenso kundige und überlegte wie brillante Aufnahme knüpft der aus Baku stammende Marshev nun mit einer weiteren Rachmaninoff-Auswahl an. Marshev möchte offenbar die Wichtigkeit einer oft als "Salongefummel" diskreditierten Musik betonen, Den herabstürzenden Beginn der Sonate beschreibt Marshev sehr artikuliert,...

Read More

CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB. Hexameron

CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB October 2001 Hexaméron — Morceau de Concert Franz Liszt (1811-1886) — Aprés un lecture dé Dante — Fantasie quasi Sonata Henri Herz (1803-1888) “Les perles animeés” Grande Valse Op.211 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Barcarolle Op.60 Sigismund Thalberg (1812-1871) Grande fantasie de concert sur l’opéra “La Traviata” de Verdi Op.78 Carl Czerny (1791-1857) Variazioni sopra un tema di Rode “La Ricordanza” Op.33 Franz Liszt et al Hexaméron — Morceau de Concert (contributions from all the above composers) Oleg Marshev (piano) / Danacord DACOCD 530 / 76.51 Recorded in the Concert Hall Sonderborg, Denmark, April 1999 By any stretch of the imagination this is a very special and also quite unusual CD. Not only is it full of...

Read More

GRAMOPHONE. Strauss

GRAMOPHONE October 1997 R. Strauss Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 5. Funf Klavierstucke, Op. 3. Stimmungsbilder, Op. 9. Oleg Marshev (pf) / Danacord DACOCD440 / 74 DDD (more…)

Read More

GRAMOPHONE, Pabst

GRAMOPHONE June 1997 Pabst Fantasie on “Mazeppa” (Tchaikovsky). Paraphrase on “Eugene Onegin” (Tchaikovsky). Reminiscences of “The Demon” (Rubinstein). Paraphrase on “Sleeping Beauty” (Tchaikovsky). Illustrations of “The Queen of Spades” (Tchaikovsky). Tchaikovsky (arr. Pabst) Cradle Song, Op. 16 No. 1. Oleg Marshev (pf) / Danacord DACOCD450 / 68 DDD Pavel Pabst (1854-97, his name is often anglicized to Paul Pabst) did not achieve the fame of his pianistic colleagues mainly because he chose to concentrate on teaching (his pupils included Lyapunov and Goldenweiser) rather than performing. He is known today chiefly through his Paraphrase on “Eugene Onegin”, and his other paraphrases remain largely unfamiliar. In adopting Liszt's model Pabst inherited many of the essential ingredients, but his piano textures are generally...

Read More

BBC Music Magazine. Sauer Vol.6

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE October 2004 SAUER Complete Piano Music, Volume 6 Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor. Galop de concert. Cinq Morceaux de Difficulte moyenne. Petite Scene de ballet. Menuet Vieux style. Polka de Concert Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra / James Loughran Danacord DACOCD 596 Like many pianists of his generation the Liszt pupil Emil von Sauer was a prolific composer, his output focusing almost exclusively on his own instrument. For the most part Sauer wrote virtuoso salon music designed to show off his prowess as an interpreter, but from time to time he also tackled more ambitious genres, completing two sonatas and two concertos. Collectors of Hyperion's indispensable Romantic Piano Concerto series will no doubt be familiar...

Read More

INTERNATIONAL PIANO. Sauer Vol.5

INTERNATIONAL PIANO March/April 2004 Sauer Suite Moderne Aus Lichten Tagen 3 Concert Etudes Oleg Marshev (piano) Danacord DACOCD595 Russian pianist Oleg Marshev is unstinting in his devotion on the works of the German born pianist Emil von Sauer (1862 - 1942). So far, Danacord has issued five volumes in its series (N/D 2001); another volume waits in the wings to introduce us to the composer's Second Piano Concerto. For those unfamiliar with the compositions of this Golden Age musician, suffice it to say that they are highly virtuosic, not unlike the works of Anton Rubinstein (he studied with brother Nicholas) and vary in quality, in depth, and in interest. The Suite Moderne, dedicated to fellow virtuoso Giovanni Sgambati, is one...

Read More

GRAMOPHONE. Sauer Vol.6

GRAMOPHONE September 2004 SAUER Complete Piano Music, Volume 6 Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor. Galop de concert. Cinq Morceaux de Difficulte moyenne. Petite Scene de ballet. Menuet Vieux style. Polka de Concert Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra / James Loughran Danacord DACOCD 596 This pianist's voyage of discovery unearths an ambitious romantic concerto Volume 6 of Oleg Marshev's survey of Emil von Sauer's keyboard music includes a first recording of the Second Piano Concerto, already a far cry from the First Concerto's beguiling if less ambitious world. Getting off to an exotic start (moderato lamentoso), the pianist quickly launches into a magisterial utterance worthy of Brahms. Wildly disparate elements are ingeniously knitted together and the Scherzo (part of...

Read More

Pianist. Sauer Vol.6

PIANIST No. 19 SAUER Complete Piano Music, Volume 6 Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor. Galop de concert. Cinq Morceaux de Difficulte moyenne. Petite Scene de ballet. Menuet Vieux style. Polka de Concert Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra / James Loughran Danacord DACOCD 596 This is the sixth CD and the best yet in Oleg Marshev's ear-opening exploration of the music of the Hamburg-born virtuoso Emil von Sauer (1862 - 1942). Sauer's Second Piano Concerto, here receiving its first recording, turns out to be a major work, a close cousin to the Rachmaninov and Medtner concertos. You know from the start it is going to be something important: a haunting oboe melody creates a gorgeous autumnal atmosphere, into which...

Read More