Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Bach, Brahms: Alexis Weissenberg - Classic Archive

Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Bach, Brahms: Alexis Weissenberg - Classic Archive
Weissenberg was at the beginning of his substantial international career in these films, mostly made by French television in the 1960s. The one exception is a 1965 version of Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrouchka renowned in its time for attempting to mirror the music's rhythms and moods. Directed by Åke Falck and filmed in a Stockholm studio, the camera is a creative partner with composer and pianist. So all kinds of odd angles are employed. If you want to see what Weissenberg's chin looks like from the vantage point of the keyboard, here's your chance. Lighting and backgrounds change often, but there's an element of art-house kitsch to the film that today seems dated. In a bonus track, Weissenberg speaks about how the film was made and the difficulties of matching finger movements to the prerecorded sound track while he "played" the work on a specially built silent piano, whose inner plumbing is an important visual element here. As for Weissenberg's playing, this difficult piece is red meat for a virtuoso of his caliber and he's predictably impressive, although the piano tone can get glassy in the treble and the considerable pounding the piano gets can leave you feeling pummeled. A wild ride perhaps, but a worthwhile one. The remainder of the solo part of the program consists of Weissenberg favorites: an example of Age of Iron Prokofiev via his Sonata No.3, a Scriabin Nocturne that shows the pianist's lyric side, a Chopin set offering well-played, interpretively squeaky-clean pianism that needs more tonal bloom than the various engineers could supply at the time. Weissenberg programmed a lot of Bach and some of his best playing comes in the Chromatic Fantasy (here shorn of the Fugue). Bach that looks filmed in a dark celler at midnight, Myra Hess' famed transcription of Jesu, joy of man's desiring gets a steel-fingered rendition. The biggest piece on the disc, Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, with the French Radio Orchestra led by a heavily perspiring George Prêtre, features grainy video and compromised sound that should have been better for its 1969 date. But pianophiles will be interested in this record of a famed virtuoso at his peak. --Dan Davis
Customer Review: One of the Most Extraordinary Piano Films Ever Made
My title applies primarily to the 1965 black & white film of Alexis Weissenberg playing Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka, amazingly creatively filmed in Stockholm by Åke Falck. I remember seeing this film on TV almost forty years ago and the memory of it has stayed with me ever since. I am so pleased finally to have a copy of that marvelous film. Weissenberg was in his early thirties at the time and at the very height of his considerable form. The views provided by Falck are highly unusual but each has a clear intention of adding to our enjoyment of the music by showing us in closeup both the hands of Weissenberg and the movements of the mechanism of the piano; the camera actually almost climbs inside the piano. The whole thing is filmed with high-key contrast. This is one of the great piano films ever made. But that's not all (as they say on late-night TV infomercials): also included on this 150 minute DVD are black & white films of performances of Prokofiev's Third Piano Sonata, Op. 28 and Scriabin's Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9, No. 2; Rachmaninov's Prelude, Op. 23, No. 6 in E Flat (in color); the Largo from Chopin's Third Piano Sonata (B&W), as well as his Nocturne Op. Posth. in C Minor and Étude Op. 25, No. 7 in C Sharp Minor (the latter two in color). Then, rounding out the DVD are the Chromatic Fantasy, BWV 903 (B&W), Bach's Sixth Partita (color), Myra Hess's arrangement of 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' (color), and to top it all off, a performance of Brahms's Second Piano Concerto with the Orchestre National de l'ORTF under George Prêtre (B&W). All of these were recorded for French television in 1966-1969. Each of these performances has something to say about the music, but most especially I responded to the Chopin nocturne, the brilliant Prokofiev sonata and although the sound especially of the orchestra for the Brahms was not quite as good as for the rest, I thought Weissenberg's performance was both thoughtful and moving. (That long and soulful cello solo in the third movement was gorgeously played by the orchestra's unnamed principal; unfortunately the bassoonist bobbled his commentary after the cello theme's first statement.) There is also an eleven minute interview with Weissenberg about Petrushka, apparently filmed recently. Among many other things he says that when he first saw the piano score for the Petrushka 'I couldn't even look at it, it was like poison, some kind of hell on paper'. And he does on to supply fascinating details about how the film was made. If for no other reason, you owe it to yourself to see and hear Weissenberg's sensational performance of the Petrushka movements; it is truly a classic film of a classic performance. Running time: 150mins; Format NTSC 4:3; Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0; Bonus language: French, with English subtitles; Region code 0 (worldwide). Scott Morrison
Customer Review: Must buy
If only for the Stravinsky, but it! Whether you're a fan of super-humanly difficult piano playing, strikingly original filming technique or simply want a great copy of a fabulous composition, this is a must. The other videos are uninspired in terms of the video part, but you still get to see AW providing memorable interpretations or core piano repertoire.