Philips’ 100-volume Great Pianists of the 20th Century series is one of the most ambitious projects ever put together by a record company. For all the debate that will surely ensue over who was chosen and who was passed over, it’s evident that careful, loving attention has gone into the selection of content for the happy 72 to be admitted to this special pantheon (certain specially substantial pianists are allotted two or even three volumes, such as Vladimir Horowitz). Each of the handsomely designed, sepia-tinted volumes–adorned with a black and white photo–contains two CDs and a thoughtful essay on the artisan in question. Prospective buyers must be conscious that this sampler volume offers only short vignettes (averaging amid two and three minutes), along with a thumbnail sketch, for each pianist. Still, it’s a smorgasbord of morsels that concede you to taste a lot of of the major trends in system of belief and approach to the instrument all around the century (and reaching well back into the 19th), and the overlap of repertory permits a lot of arousing and attention holding quick comparings as style and technique have evolved. Delve into galore of the artists in the series–say Alfred Brendel or Martha Argerich–and trace in more outstanding depth the piano’s identity crisis. Is it, for example, a resonantly string-like instrument idealisti for pastel shadings or a steely, percussive machine meant to express the hardness of the 20th century? There are innumerable discoveries to be made here, both for the connoisseur and for any person taking the primary step into getting acquainted with outstanding keyboard artistry. –Thomas May
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Photo
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Image
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Image
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Picture
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Image
Benno Moisewitsch Great Pianists Of The Photo
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
 Get This CD! A really great deal and intro to this series!
By A
Even if you have many of the releases involved in this mammoth series, this TWO cd sampler set is a great deal for the price! All but two of the pianists are represented in this anthology. Most of these selections are under 3 minutes in length, which means about 75 performances from Paderewski to Kissin. A large booklet is included detailing the development of the piano and its music. Each pianist is then given a biography and their CDs in this series and what repertoire they play on them. Beware, though, I am now going to buy at least one of the series’ issues because of this sampler, which is the mission of this entertaining anthology.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Unparalled Excellence (Mark G. Davis)
By A
If you only purchase one classical piano cd in your entire life, this one should be it. All the masters, at their very best on it.
If you have piano cd’s, this should be part of that collection. I purchased one, almost not believing what I read on the jacket. I’m telling my friends about this one, as I’m aware of no other CD having all those piano masters – - at any price?)…
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Tantalizing preview of good things to come
By Joanna Daneman
This is an introductory 2-CD set to introduce a very grand series of CD’s featuring the 20th Century’s greatest pianists.
As a sampler, there are some incredible jewels here, for example Nikita Magaloff’s sparkling Chopin Tarantelle and Paganini Etude No.3: ‘La Campanella’ played excitingly by John Ogdon. There is even an early recording of Paderewski playing (predictably) Paderewski.
This sampler seems a bit of a Euro-centric, but the editors wisely chose to include Earl Wild doing Gershwin and Roslyn Tureck doing Bach. I ended up purchasing the Andre Watts volume from this series, and wondered what it would be like to own the whole shootin’ match. I saw the entire CD series on display in a top notch music store in Germany–it was overwhelming to see the line of brown covers stretching impressively across an entire wall. The sampler is a good way to have a taste of this ambitious series of the giants of piano in the 20th Century. I listen to it often with great enjoyment.
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