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Date: | Tue, 27 Apr 1999 13:51:10 PDT |
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I previously said I would report back on my opinion of Lortie's sixth
volume of Beethoven piano sonatas - this is it.
When first playing the disc, I was not satisfied with the sound quality; it
sounded like "mush" to my ears. So, I got out my equalizer and tinkered
with the sound until I reached a relatively "mushless" stage.
What an equalizer can not do is make a professionally ordinary performance
into something special, and Lortie's performances were fine but ordinary in
that nothing about them really caught my attention. The "Moonlight" sonata
is on this sixth disc; the first movement was good, the second movement too
"affected", and the third lacked some drive. This type of playing was
prevalent throughout the recording.
So, I have to give Lortie a thumbs down judgement. It baffles me why he
even started or continues with this series. The competition is fierce, and
Lortie is not close to the top. Still, I admire his overall pianism; he
needs to pick repertoire better suited to his strengths. Maybe Debussy
would be better.
Don Satz
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