Ulvi Yurtsever wrote: >As hard as it is to believe, I seem to have this CD before Don Satz (well, >it was on sale:) My first impressions are very good: Ashkenazy's version >seems to have cured all the things I don't like in Nikolaeva's Hyperion >recording. First of all, the sound is much better; it is in fact close to >perfect as solo piano recordings go (Decca has a good track record for >excellent piano sound, at least in recordings made in the last few years). Yes, I don't have the Ashkenazy yet; it's on back order from the web sales site. Although I am looking forward to getting it, I am not expecting great sound. I have found Decca piano sound to be relatively "tubby" on solo piano recordings. Decca's track record gets no congratulations from me. Fortunately, I have an equalizer to mitigate Decca's mode of engineering. As for interpretation, I'm glad that Ulvi has a high opinion of the Ashkenazy; I hope I like it as much. Ulvi does not like the sound or interpretation of the Nikolayeva. We differ here. I think the interpretation and sound are superb. As I've mentioned before, there is a bleakness to both the sound and interpretation that I find irresistable in these works. Jarrett on ECM didn't have it; we'll see what Ashkenazy and Decca deliver. Don Satz [log in to unmask]