# Alexis Weissenberg



## Aramis

I can't recall when last time I saw this name around here. Anyone shares my respect for this pianist?

As for the most popular works, he recorded Rachmaninoff's second, Tchaikovsky's first piano concertos and Pictures of Exhibition. Both concertos were recorded with <fanfares> ...::Karajan::... <fanfares> and are great, especially Rachmaninoff which I consider one of best recordings of this concerto ever.

He also recorded wide set of Debussy's piano stuff (Estampes, Suite Bergamasque and Children's Corner among with few other stand-alone pieces):










He shared a lot of things with Richter. Both had similiar shape of head and got bald in the middle of it in their middle-age.


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## Taneyev

Alexis had IMHO one of the best recordings of Rachmaninov's preludes, and Carnaval op.9.


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## Tintin

Totally share the previous posts. 

Weissenberg has also excellent Chopin and Bach recordings. The chopin piano concertos were Glenn Gould's favorite, he said: "he could live without Chopin's piano concertos until he heard Alexis Weissenberg's recording."

In Bach too, Weissenberg is authoritative interpreter, conveying intensity, different coloring and wonderful lyric phrases. A must in Bach!


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## Volodya

*I love this guy*

Even though I don't always love his interpretations. His Bach is often mischievous (I love it), his Schumann's album fr the Youth is excellent, his Scarlatti for DG is besides the point, his Chopin Nocturnes are among the best whatever the opinion of Distler, his Rachmaninov's first sonata is straight, full of risk taking (I could probably talk about a dozen more recordings) but his Chopin concertos are really way too deconstructively mischievous and in thin ugly sound to boot, and his is why perhaps they appealed to Glenn Gould.


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## mueske

Volodya said:


> Even though I don't always love his interpretations. His Bach is often mischievous (I love it), his Schumann's album fr the Youth is excellent, his Scarlatti for DG is besides the point, his Chopin Nocturnes are among the best whatever the opinion of Distler, his Rachmaninov's first sonata is straight, full of risk taking (I could probably talk about a dozen more recordings) but his Chopin concertos are really way too deconstructively mischievous and in thin ugly sound to boot, and his is why perhaps they appealed to Glenn Gould.


Gotta love his Rach sonata no. 1, very vigorous, the onset of the third movement feels like a volcano erupting.

There's also a video of him and Karajan playing the second piano concerto on Youtube. Very good, that reminds me, I have to buy a recording of him playing that concerto...


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## Volodya

I am listening to his Rach No.1 as I write. This is vigorous, energetic, heroic piano, but seemingly unable to produce a lovely sound, unless it is the engineering. In slower parts, Santiago Rodriguez is much more effective.


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