milo''spop  |  UNITED STATES  |  不明  |  18/March/2012

Little needs be said about this release. Except for the 15 or 16 preludes and fugues recorded by the composer himself and about the same number on several different labels performed by Sviatoslav Richter, these are the best performances of ALL of these pieces ever recorded. What makes them better than Nikolyeva’s two other complete recordings -- her first stereo version for Melodiya (1980s) and the second one for Hyperion about ten years later -- are the same qualities that make the pre-World War II recordings of Moiseiwitsch, Schnabel or Cortot superior to their later ones. In her early 40s when she recorded this set, Nikolayeva’s musical maturity had reached its peak and pianistically she was still in the fullness of her prime -- her remarkable technical equipment, energy and strength not yet withered by the predations of time, age and illness that affected her when she re-made these recordings in her 60s and 70s. The recorded sound is not great, but good enough to fully convey the greatness of these performances,

 

横濱の風  |  神奈川県  |  不明  |  09/January/2011

今更書くまでも無く、ショスタコービッチとニコラーエワはこの24の前奏曲とフーガの誕生から深い関わりがあり、この初録音はまさに決定盤と言えるもの。２時間半の中に、ピアノ作家としてのショスタコービッチの宇宙が詰まっている。しかし、ニコラーエワはCDとしては３回の録音があり、表現がより深くなっていく後年の録音のほうが音質もよく聴きやすいかもしれない。

 

davidah1  |  UNITED STATES  |  不明  |  03/March/2010

A wonderful addition to Nikolayeva’s discography. A must have.