Track Listing

1. Concerto, Op. 54 In A Minor: Allegro affettuoso
2. Concerto, Op. 54 In A Minor: Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso
3. Concerto, Op. 54 In A Minor: Allegro vivace
4. Concerto No. 2, Op. 23 In D Minor: Larghetto calmato
5. Concerto No. 2, Op. 23 In D Minor: Presto giocoso
6. Concerto No. 2, Op. 23 In D Minor: Largo; Molto allegro
7. No. 1 Of 'Woodland Sketches,' Op. 51: To A Wild Rose

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261603 in Music
• Released on: 1991-05-10
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

A Durable Classic
This famous recording is an essential part of any classical library. Cliburn's style reveals the Schumann concerto as the visionary masterpiece it is, a foreruner of such later romantic composers as Tschaikowsky and Rachmaninoff. The Macdowell works are simply breathtaking, his largely forgotten genius given a fitting resurrection here. This is one of the foundation stones of a classical library.

Cliburn the Concert Pianist
Best known for winning the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russian, Cliburn is a respected and acclaimed Concert pianist. The highlight of this disc is the MacDowell concerto which sounds wonderful, and is probably the reason you are interested. Those looking to buy this disc for the Schumann concerto, I can say that although Cliburn is enjoyable, you will find many better performances of the this very popular concerto. Those who are simply fans of Cliburn will undoubtedly be happy to add it to their collection especially at such a low price.

gorgeous
This is my first Cliburn album. I had no knowledge of his background or anything, so I listened to it without having any biased or preconceived ideas.

It is rich and gorgeous. The octives are especially breathtaking in both concerti (I can tell he's got great huge bear hands!). The Schumann concerto, however, he goes a little too slow to my liking and seems to lose momentums at times. The cadenza is just so beautiful; the piano sings under his command, but again, once in a great while I feel that the momentum is lost and the flow sort of stops because of his tempi, or perhaps from avoiding the abuse of rubato. But the strange thing is that the more I listen to it, the more I like it.
Fritz Reiner does a fine job with the orchestra. Firm, steady, and secure. Except that the oboe is a little stiff, sort of (he could use a little more rubato). But the sound is beautiful.
Probably appeals to a mature audience.

With MacDowell, I have no complaint at this point (of course, I haven't heard any other pianists' performance on this piece, so I can't really tell). The second movement is especially energetic and masculine. The octave descending arpeggio followed by chromatic scale is very impressive; he's got so much power and delivers it effortlessly. It's just awesome. The orchestration is wonderful too.

What follows it, To a Wild Rose, has a contrasting simplicity. I myself can play the piece by ear, but he does such a beautiful work in making the simple piece a masterpiece of music with his rich musicality. He's got warm, full sound, and his fortissimo is not hard like that of Horowitz's. I like it!