Other Genres, Left Hand Piano Music
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Ravel: Piano Concertos & Falla: Nights in the gardens of Spain
RecommendedSteven Osborne (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ludovic Morlot
Full of colour, both Osborne’s poetry and his exceptional touch are to the fore, the sparkling cascades in the final movement being especially breathtaking…strong performances of a programme... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd June 2017
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
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Record Review, 22nd July 2017, Recording of the Week
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Ravel - Piano Concertos
RecommendedKrystian Zimerman (piano)
Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Zimerman's pianism is self-recommending.
His trills in the first movement of the G major Concerto are to die for, his passagework in the finale crystalclear, never hectic, always stylish. For... —Awards:
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Building a Library, May 2005, First Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 1999, Winner - 20th-Century Concerto
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Building A Library, May 2024, Recommended Recording (Ravel)
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Building A Library, October 2025, Top Choice (Piano Concerto in G)
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Blumenfeld’s Étude pour la main gauche seule takes its influence from Godowsky’s compositions for left hand. Gugnin’s masterful fluidity in the scurrying passages is impressive; so is the judicious... —
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, March 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2020, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet plays Ravel, Debussy & Massenet
RecommendedJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
[Bavouzet] turns in a performance of the Fantaisie that illuminates this uneven yet magical work like no other. As to the Ravel concertos, I have no hesitation in saying these are the greatest... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2011, Winner - Concerto
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2012, Orchestral Award Winner
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Hamelin's original etudes...with their blend of tasteful lyricism and striking textures and harmonies, are as enjoyable as his homages...While brashly flaunting his influences (Gershwin, Poulenc,... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2011, Shortlisted - Instrumental
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2010, Instrumental Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010, Disc of the Month
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2008
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The outer movements are so deliciously light, like the most perfect soufflé, executed with disarming insouciance by pianist and orchestra alike...You could not wish for a more atmospheric account... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2015, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015
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Janáček: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
RecommendedJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
we have a fine interpreter of Janáček and a distinguished orchestra...Orchestral ensemble is good though not always the intonation. still, the remaining movements are more compelling, with vivid... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 29th September 2014
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
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Britten: Complete Works for Piano & Orchestra
RecommendedSteven Osborne (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov
Steven Osborne and Ilan Volkov launch into the Piano Concerto's opening 'Toccata' at a headlong pace… For all the remarkable velocity, the playing has weight and incisiveness too, and Osborne's... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 2009, Winner - Concerto
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Building a Library, March 2018, Recommended Recording
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Ravel: Concertos pour piano & Mélodies
RecommendedCédric Tiberghien (piano), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
By any standards, this is the A Team, and they do not disappoint. Here is Ravel in all his passion and technical wizardry...[Tiberghien] finds any number of colours amid his faultless technical... —
Awards:
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Record Review, 21st May 2022, Record of the Week
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Presto Recording of the Week, 20th May 2022
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BBC Music Magazine, August 2022, Concerto Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Assorted Programs
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Finalist - Concerto
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Mendelssohn, Grieg & Hough: Cello Sonatas
RecommendedSteven Isserlis (cello) & Stephen Hough (piano)
If any reminder were needed that Steven Isserlis is at the top of his game, this is it...Their opening Allegro agitato is a thrilling tour de force, Isserlis sinewy and febrile, Hough's sound... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2015, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015
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