| Review by JJ September 21, 2007 (12 of 16 found this review helpful)
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C'est en 1855 que le premier Concerto pour piano et orchestre en mi bémol majeur de Franz Liszt fut créé, avec le compositeur au piano et Hector Berlioz à la baguette. "Le titre pressenti, mais rejeté, de Grande Fantaisie symphonique, nous rappelle Jean-Pascal Vachon dans le livret d'accompagnement, donne une idée du projet : une œuvre où piano et orchestre jouent un rôle aussi important l'un que l'autre et non pas l'un de ces concertos tapageurs où seule la virtuosité vaine compte et où le commentaire orchestral se résume à un accompagnement anémique du soliste". Le Concerto pour Piano et orchestre N°2 dont la création remonte en janvier 1857 se décline en six mouvements dans un tout rhapsodique. La Totentanz date quant à elle de 1840 pour sa genèse et ne fut créée que vingt cinq ans plus tard en 1865 par le chef d'orchestre Hans von Bülow. Disons-le sans détours, l'enregistrement qui nous occupe ici fait partie des plus grands. Rarement une telle osmose entre un orchestre surprenant, un chef inspiré et un soliste phénoménal aura été entendue dans ces œuvres remarquables. Tout semble naturel au point que le jeu, à la fois virtuose et poétique, d'Arnaldo Cohen offre aux phrasés l'évidence des respirations. Chaque intonation est alors portée par un orchestre symphonique de São Paulo des grands jours, que dirige John Neschling. Après une telle démonstration où la musique en sort grandit, on se prend à rêver de tous les grands concertos du répertoire par les mêmes artistes, car dans ce Super Audio CD incontournable, il ne s'agit que d'Art avec un grand A, et de rien d'autre.
Jean-Jacques Millo
It was in 1855 that the first Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in E flat major by Franz Liszt was created, with the composer on the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting. “The first title, that was rejected, of Great Symphonic Fantasy, as Jean-Pascal Vachon reminds us in his accompanying liner notes, gives us an idea of the project: a work where the piano and orchestra play equally important roles, and not one of these noisy concerti where vain virtuosity alone counts and the orchestral commentary is limited to the soloist’s anemic accompaniment.” The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra N° 2, created in January 1857, is made up of six movements in rhapsody form. The Totentanz was composed in 1840 but first performed twenty-five years later in 1865 by conductor Hans von Bülow. To be frank, this recording is one of the great ones. Rarely has such osmosis between a surprising orchestra, an inspired conductor and a phenomenal soloist been heard in these remarkable works. Arnaldo Cohen’s playing, both virtuosic and poetic, is so natural it allows his phrasing to breathe where it should. Each inflection is thus conveyed to the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in top form, directed by John Neschling. After such a musical lesson whereby the music emerges even greater, one cannot help but dream about all the great repertory concerti by the same artists. For, this must-have Super Audio CD is a work of art, and nothing less.
Jean-Jacques Millo
Translation: Lawrence Schulman
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| Review by Saturn94 November 23, 2011 (8 of 9 found this review helpful)
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I'm certainly no expert by far on proper interpretations of any composer's works, but I can say I love the performance on this SACD. Recording quality is excellent. The multichannel track conveys a nice sense of space without using any gimmicks. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of orchestral recordings that put you in the middle of the orchestra. The stereo track sounds great, but doesn't quite have the sense of space of the multichannel track. While I guess this is expected, I have heard other stereo recordings in the past that give a great sense of 3 dimensional space as if multichannel.
This SACD is a most welcome addition to my small, but slowly growing SACD/DVD-Audio collection (unfortunately I was pretty late to the hirez/multichannel music scene). I highly recommend it.
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Sonics: 
