Sheng Cai - Sheng Cai Plays Rachmaninoff - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Brahms, like most composers, had no scruple about arranging his own music for other forces, whether to disseminate it further or earn useful income or both. Sometimes he undertook the transcription of his orchestral works for the popular domestic market of piano duet; on other occasions he left the work to trusted friends and colleagues. Although the composer did not apparently have any other instrument in mind when he wrote the First Violin Sonata, the piece sits peculiarly well on the cello once transposed to the key of D major by the cellist Paul Klengel; it's pervasive mood of profound melancholy is even enhanced by the cello's voice. Clara Schumann recognized the sonata as one of Brahms's most tender yet regretful tributes to her, and wished that it should be played at her funeral, to which purpose Klengel's transcription is eminently suited. Norbert Salter (1868-1935) was a cellist who played under Mahler in both Budapest and Hamburg; this is his only published transcription, a set of six Lieder by Brahms which may well have been made under the elderly composer's supervision. Like the Brahms/Klengel Sonata, this is a sensitive yet now little-known piece of work which deserves modern appreciation. Francesco Dillon and Emanuele Torquati conclude their fourth album for Brilliant Classics in a lighter vein, with nine of the ever-popular Hungarian Dances, arranged to stylish effect by the Italian virtuoso Alfredo Piatti who did so much to advance the cause of the cello as a solo instrument in the 19th century. Album Tracks 1. I. Vivace Ma Non Troppo 2. II. Adagio 3. III. Allegro Molto Moderato 4. Feldeinsamkeit, Op. 86, No. 2 5. Wie Melodien, Op. 105, No. 1 6. Sapphische Ode, Op. 94, No. 4 7. Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 8. Liebestreu, Op. 3, No. 1 9. Minnelied, Op. 71, No. 5 10. No. 2. Allegro Non Assai 11. No. 4. Poco Sostenuto 12. No. 5. A

Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Bach's original spelling Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach) is a collection of keyboard music compiled by Johann Sebastian Bach for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann with a clear didactic purpose. Most of the pieces included are better known as parts of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Inventions and Sinfonias. The pieces of the collection are arranged by complexity, beginning with the most simple works. The works are for InchKeyboardInch so may be played on any instrument organ, harpsichord, spinet or clavichord. Bach however considered the clavichord as the best instrument for personal use, because it is able to express most adequate the finest thoughts and a cantabile way of playing. Played on the clavichord by Yuan Sheng, InchChina's premier interpreter of BachInch (International Piano Magazine). A pupil of Solomon Mikowsky (Manhattan School of Music) and notably Rosalyn Tureck Yuan Sheng extensively studied the performance practice of Baroque music. Equally at home at the piano as the harpsichord he has an instinctive feeling for the possibilities, sonorities and touch of the instrument at hand, so that Inchthe listener might easily have imagined the composer at the keyboardInch (Boston Intelligencer). Album Tracks 1. Application in C Major, BWV 994 2. Prelude in C Major, BWV 924 3. Wer Nur Den Lieben Gott LÄSST Walten in a Minor, BWV 691 4. Prelude in D minor, BWV 926 5. Jesu, Meine Freude in D minor. BWV 753 6. Allemande in G minor, BVV 836 7. Allemande in G minor, BVV 837 8. Prelude in F Major, BWV 927 9. Prelude in G minor, BWV 930 10. Prelude in F Major, BWV 928 11. Minuet in G Major, BWV 841 12. Minuet in G minor, BWV 842 13. Minuet in G Major, BWV 843 14. Praeludium 15. Pièce Pour Le Clavecin 16. Prelude in C Major, BWV 924A 17. Prelude in D Major, BWV 925 18

This well-filled CD contains the complete transcriptions for piano that Rachmaninoff made of compositions of various composers. Ranging from Bach through Rachmaninoff's own works in transcription, the young Russian pianist Alexander Ghindin plays with the true Rachmaninoff feeling, a mix of melancholy and grandeur, stunning virtuosity and panache. Album Tracks 1. No. 1 in B Flat minor Andantino 2. No. 2 in E Flat minor Allegretto 3. No. 3 in B minor Andante Cantabile 4. No. 4 in E minor Presto 5. No. 5 in D Flat Major Andante Sostenuto 6. No. 6 in C Major Maestoso 7. Prelude 8. Gavotte 9. Gigue 10. Wohin? 11. Menuet 12. Scherzo 13. Lilacs 14. Daisies 15. Lullaby 16. Hopak 17. The Flight of the Bumblebee 18. Liebeslied 19. Liebesfreud 20. Polka de V.R