GRAMOPHONE. MUSSORGSKY

GRAMOPHONE—MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition—piano version, orchestral version (orch Ravel) Oleg Marshev pf Odense Symphony Orchestra / Jan Wagner Danacord DACOCD656 (70'.DDD) A fascinating opportunity to compare the piano and orchestral Pictures Coupling Mussorgsky's original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition with Ravel's celebrated orchestral transcription makes for fascinating listening. This is largely because the ferocity of much of Mussorgsky’s piano-writing is tempered by Ravel with a dazzling but typically Gallic elegance. And this makes it no exaggeration to claim that a single instrument comes to exceed the impact of full orchestra. Such ironic grandeur is made abundantly clear by Oleg arshev, whose all-Russian mastery takes nothing for granted providing, even in a crowded marketplace, one of the finest...

Read More

Gramophone. OM in recital

Oleg Marshev displays a super-size virtuosity Oleg Marshev in recital An astonishing release from a pianist perfectly attuned to this repertoire. Chopin Three Waltzes, Op 34. Ballade No 4,Op 52 Liszt Funerailles, S173 No 7. Rhapsodie espagnole, S254. Etudes d'execution transcendante, S139-No 10 Scriabin Mazurkas–Op 25No 3; Op 40 Nos 1 & 2. Poemes, Op 32. Preludes, Op 15. Vers la flamme, Op 72 Oleg Marshev pf Danacord DACOCD677 (79' • DDD) This recital shows Oleg Marshev's formidable powers in a dazzling, ultra-Romantic light. Yet his super-size virtuosity - a place where muscles bulge and ripple - is backed by a no less enthralling musicianship. Marshev's earlier record of the Liszt-Tausig Tasso will have alerted even the most blase virtuoso-fancier to exceptional powers and here in the Rhapsodie espagnole he...

Read More

Gramophone, Tchaikovsky

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...

Read More

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...

Read More

GRAMOPHONE. Prokofiev Vol. 1/2

GRAMOPHONE January 1994 Prokofiev piano works Volumes 1 and 2. Oleg Marshev (pf). Danacord (Full price) (CD) DACOCD391/2 (two discs: 74 and 64 minutes: DDD). DACOCD391: Sonatas-No. 6 in A, Op. 82; No. 7 in B flat, Op. 83. Dumka. Visions fugitives, Op. 22. DACOCD392: Sonatas-No. 1 in F minor, Op. 1; No. 8 in B flat, Op. 84. Four Pieces, Op. 3. Three Pieces, Op. 59. The tales of an old grandmother, Op. 31. Oleg Marshev's Prokofiev is the complete antithesis of Chiu's. Marshev prefers the dynamic, full-throated volcanic approach (though he is certainly not afraid to allow lyricism into the music when called upon to do so) and he is also more of a charismatic performer, allowing greater...

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

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