Word: rachmaninoff
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...more gusto from Ohlsson, whose suavity in these three miniatures was at times offputting. The Minute Waltz (at 1:53, mind you) sounded tossed-off, although with a hilarious ending, and the third of the set had nothing to recommend it. Only the ravishing C-sharp minor, trademark of Rachmaninoff and Rubinstein, demanded close listening. Ohlsson privileged the left hand at times when other pianists wouldn't, and sculpted a middle voice between the melodies...
...Godowsky--whose keyboard pyrotechnics lit up concert halls during the first 40 years of this century. He is fascinated by the piano's expressive range, its ability to produce almost orchestral varieties of sounds and colors, seemingly bound only by the performer's own limitations. These varied works--by Rachmaninoff, Alkan, Busoni, Godowsky and others--are wickedly difficult, yet Hamelin plays them, often at dazzling speeds, with color, power, a long line and unfailing elan. He also performs three of his own witty, equally difficult etudes inspired by Chopin and Rossini...
...becoming the greatest American pianist of the century when time ran out on William Kapell. Before he died in a 1953 plane crash at 31, he had everything: looks, charisma, unrivaled musicality, technique to burn. Now his complete recordings--concertos by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, solos by Chopin, Debussy and Liszt, duet performances with Jascha Heifetz and William Primrose--have been reissued as a nine-disk boxed set, allowing a new generation to be dazzled by his recreative genius. Best of all is a live broadcast of the Copland piano sonata that seethes with passion and force. Hear...
Next on the program is "Four Hands," principal dancer Lazlo Berdo's choreographic masterpiece, set to sprightly Rachmaninoff works being performed live onstage by Freda Locker and Maya Isyanova. Amy Persky's costumes, again mostly consisting of stretch velvet (though black in this ballet) and artfully displaying the dancers' hands and feet, become the perfect accent for the breathtakingly intense piano music--at moments, the dancers seem to be the piano keys themselves. A fantastic lighting design by Linda O'Brien expresses the varying moods of the performance perfectly, from deliciously jazzy to achingly romantic...
...flew to the Anastasia sound track, whipping through her triple flip, exploding into a grin that dwarfed her 80-lb. frame and skating circles around everyone but Kwan. Then the 17-year-old veteran showed that having soul as well as legs counts. Kwan drew out the chords of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor into a smooth legato line as she flowed, left leg extended, straight toward the panel of judges. When she emerged from that, the audience and judges had swooned, and Kwan had gold in her sights. Eight of nine judges placed her first...