Donald Satz <[log in to unmask]> wrote about Pletnev's new disc:

>I didn't get the disc because of the piano used, but because of Pletnev
>and the repertoire on the disc.  As it turns out, the piano sound is
>superb - rich and clear.

Indeed, as it turns out, either the piano was incredibly well-maintained,
or the piano-tuners did a remarkable job refreshing its sound, or the DG
engineers did wonders with the miking, or all or some of the above.  But
it's not so consistently regulated, I think -- the treble does lose some
colour when it gets a little on the high side.

But of course, it's the performances themselves that are the real
winners here.  After two incredibly dry (and quite disappointing) DG
discs -- Prokofiev Sonatas and the Liszt B minor Sonata -- it's refreshing
to hear him back in form, every personal idiosyncracy coming across as
something highly musical, intelligent and spontaneously inspired rather
than smart-alecky and terribly calculated (problems which, IMO, plagued the
abovementioned Prokofiev and Liszt discs).  And for all the many personal
touches, there's none of that sense of self-importance over the music here;
Rachmaninov, Beethoven and Mendelssohn would have been happy, I should
think.

>The main reason for my post concerns the Corelli Variations.  I never
>listened to it before and am finding it very enjoyable.  My question
>concerns alternative versions.  Have any list members heard the
>Pletnev/Corelli Variations, and how does it compare to other versions?

The only other ones that remain freshest in my memory are the two
Decca/London recordings by Ashkenazy.  Pletnev is the more intriguing of
the three, imbuing a certain misterioso air over the disquieting dramatic
tension.  Ashkenazy is also quite excellent in both recordings, and he
is the more unabashedly romantic between the two pianists.  The earlier
analogue recording is only marginally more riveting in its bolder
telescoping of phrases, while the later one more clean-cut.

Lionel Choi
Singapore
http://www.singnet.com.sg/~lionelc/dummies.html