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Once again featuring the expansive keyboard talents of Sam Yahel, saxophonist Joshua Redman's Momentum features more of the '70s-influenced jazz the former "young lion" experimented with on 2002's Elastic. Bringing to mind works by such iconic artists as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and especially Eddie Harris, Redman digs into sundry groove-oriented tracks such as the driving and punchy "Sweet Nasty," which finds Yahel and Redman soloing hard over drummer Jeff Ballard's James Brown-ready dance beat. Interestingly, Redman conscribes some heavy sidemen to help stir the funk this time around with bassists Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and jazz-pop iconoclast Me'Shell Ndeg?Ocello adding their signature styles to their respective tracks. Similarly, Roots drummer ?uestlove, drummer Brian Blade, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkle contribute much with appearances here. However, it is organist Yahel who sets the musical tone for the whole album, adding in bubbly ambient synth sounds, clavinet, and Rhodes piano throughout. With all these talents at Redman's disposal it is disappointing that Momentum isn't more adventurous. When set next to such classics of '70s funk as Davis' On the Corner or Hancock's Head Hunters, Redman's album is just too polite and controlled to really live up to such comparisons. Also, the album relies a bit too heavily on in-studio gimmickry such as when trumpeter Nicholas Payton - who also released his own paean to '70s fusion with Sonic Trance - solos with himself overdubbed like a trumpet section on "Put It in Your Pocket." The result ultimately comes off as cheesy and gives the impression of a premeditated improvisation rather than a free flow of ideas. It is also unfortunate that some of the best cuts on the disc like the frenetic and angular "Showtime" are merely short interludes that are never fully developed. Momentum may loose some steam as it goes along, but with such talents on board it is still a fun and funky ride. ~ Review by Matt Collar
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Jorge Bolet, in spite of his massive technique and impeccable musicianship, did not, early on, have as big a career as one might have expected. But in 1974 he mounted an unusual recital at Carnegie Hall that brought him to greater attention, and a few years later he recorded a large Liszt series to general acclaim. It was that latter series that put him on my own pianistic radar screen, and he remained a favorite.

This 2-CD set, part of the Philips 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century' collection, contains a live recording of that landmark 1974 recital. The main substance in that recital was a traversal of the Chopin Preludes. There are other complete Preludes in the Philips collection, those of Argerich, Arrau, Cherkassky and Cortot. I wouldn't want to be without any of them (except perhaps those of Argerich; for all her élan, she is too much the speed merchant for my taste). Of all these sets, Bolet's is the least idiosyncratic. Considering they are 'live,' they are amazingly clean. But more important, they are somewhat understated, unfailingly songful, and not showily virtuosic, although they are actually somewhat faster overall than Arrau's or Cherkassky's.

The other pieces in this set are primarily beautifully shaped encores and transcriptions, specialities of Bolet throughout his career; his program-building was often reminiscent of that of the Golden Age masters like Lhevinne, Friedman and the like. I particularly liked the Bach/Busoni Chaconne and Moszkowski's bijou, La jongleuse.

I agree with the previous reviewers. This issue is a must-have. This concert brought about a sudden revival of Bolet's career and listening to this set makes it easy to understand why. While he revisited Chopin's Preludes later in a sonically superior recording, this rendition is among the very best available. Bolet was in great shape that evening, just pull out the Rubinstein score and you will never dare to touch a piano again. Most memorable, however, is Bolet's interpretation of Liszt's Tannhäuser Paraphrase. Whenever I listen to it, I get the feeling that Bolet also paraphrases JFK in stating: Ich bin Tannhäuser. Get this disc, but don't stop there. Move on to his 1980s Liszt cycle on Decca. This is simply the best series of Liszt's music currently in the catalogue.

"Banga-banga-banga"? Nope, not even close! I've played the Chaconne and the Tannhauser myself, so I know what's in them and what Mr. Bolet accomplished with them. THIS is a GREAT recording.

The program recorded here is nothing less than heroic. Beginning with a definitive rendition of the J.S. Bach-Ferruccio Busoni Chaconne in D minor and establishing at that moment that this recital is something truly special, Cuban pianist Jorge Bolet then launches into the complete twenty-four Chopin Preludes, Op. 28. Commanding virtuosity and keen sensitivity to the music distinguish this offering of the Preludes, and the sold-out Carnegie Hall audience erupts with a standing ovation at the end - unusual given that the recital was only half over at that point.

After the intermission, Mr. Bolet returns to the stage to conclude the concert with no less than four different piano transcriptions of other composers' works. This was a courageous program for anyone to book, given the predominant view of the time that transcriptions were quaint at best and a disservice to the composer's music at worst. Jorge Bolet proved that night that the Art of the Transcription was alive and well and worthy of serious attention.

The first two offerings of the second half of the recital were Sergei Rachmaninoff transcriptions of Fritz Kreisler's Liebesleid, and Liebesfreud. To say these were warmly received by the always-critical New York audience is an understatement, and in fact the entire recital was marked with vocal ovations after the conclusion of each offering.

Bolet then began Adolf Schuz-Evler's Concert Arabesques on Johann Strass Jr.'s "On the Beautiful Blue Danube". This work is very rarely heard. There's a reason for that. Only an artist with equipment enabling him to exercise complete and confident mastery of the piano has any business attempting to perform the Concert Arabesques in recital and Mr. Bolet showed himself to be much more than up to the task by released pent-up forces from within that bowled over the audience with scintillating filigree passages and showers of octaves, always rendered with absolute clarity, seemingly with no effort required, all of which worked up everyone in attendance into an absolute frenzy at the Danube's conclusion.

And still Jorge Bolet wasn't done, for he then offered the final work on the formal program: the supremely difficult Richard Wagner-Franz Liszt "Tannhauser" Overture. Many pianists have tried to master this literal transcription of Wagner's music. None of them of which I know has reached the standard set by this performance. Mr. Bolet throws caution to the wind here. The opening chords are quiet and stately and the keen listener who knows the original Wagner Overture finds himself distinctly hearing the horns of this one-instrument orchestra pronouncing the main theme over the strings fill-in. The middle section with its demonically challenging runs and octaves come off with a grand flourish, and the finale is rendered with dazzling virtuosity accompanied by a majestic tone the likes of which is rarely heard, while avoiding the pounding and thumping that so often plagues performances of the "Tannhauser" by other artists. Here, truly, one finds an example of what real pianism is like.

Of course after such a triumphant performance, there was no way the audience was going to let Jorge Bolet get away without encores, and they're here in this recording, too. The first was Moritz Moszkowski's La jongleuse, from the Etudes, Op. 52. The second on this recorded set was the "Staccato" Etude in C, Op. 23 No. 2 by Anton Rubinstein. Neither one fails to please, not by a long shot, and Mr. Bolet eventually has to literally leave them screaming for more.

This 2-cd set is part of Philips "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series. Very simply, if one had the choice of only one live performance to ever own, this is the one to get.

On this cd the Beethoven first piano concerto in C major is done excellent. I liked the way it hhas also Mozart's C major concerto. Wagner's List's piece is also good. This is a 5 star cd.

So central is his position as a major conductor on the global stage today, it is easy to forget that Daniel Barenboim was hailed as one of the leading pianist-musicians of his generation almost forty years ago. Certainly his inclusion in the Philips Classics "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series is justified, but for some reason the producer chose to emphasize Barenboim as a concerto player rather than a solo artist (let alone chamber musician or Lieder pianist). Yet all these categories have equal claims on our attention, because Barenboim is not simply a great concerto soloist, he is a consummate ensemble player -- his recordings of Lieder (with artists of the calibre of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Dame Janet Baker, Jessye Norman) are some of the finest ever produced. Most of his chamber music recordings with the likes of Jacqueline du Pre (his late wife), Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov et al, are equally distinguished.
This two-disc compilation leans heavily on Barenboim's early days as an EMI artist, including one full CD of collaborations with the late Otto Klemperer. Both the Mozart Concerto in C,
K. 503, and Beethoven Concerto No. 1, are very fine performances, but there could have been even better choices. Barenboim's later, more uniformly-integrated recording of
K. 503, in which he conducted the English Chamber Orchestra while playing the solo part, is an improvement on the somewhat elephantine Klemperer performance, while the glories of his Beethoven concerto cycle with Klemperer are a truly galvanic "Emperor" and a magnificent "Choral Fantasy" (arguably the finest ever recorded) -- not the Concerto No. 1.
Meanwhile, what of Barenboim the solo player? Surely a sample from one of his two complete Beethoven Sonata sets would have been appropriate, and I would nominate the Sonata in G, Opus 31, No. 1, whose teasing wit, rhythmic dislocations and harmonic "double-entendres" are realized to perfection by Barenboim, with utter naturalness and understanding. It was a good idea to enshrine some of Barenboim's solo Liszt from the early 1980s, but why not more of the Wagner/Liszt transcriptions? Today Barenboim is acclaimed as perhaps the most important living Wagner conductor, so it would have been salutary to include more of his renditions of Liszt's transcriptions of selections from Wagner in addition to "Isoldes Liebestod" -- particularly since his Deutsche Grammophon release of Wagner/Liszt has long been out of the catalogue. It is good to have the Brahms D-minor Concerto with Barbirolli restored to circulation, but as mentioned, the musical balance in this set tips too far in favor of concerto material.
Those cavils aside, this collection remains a rewarding and engrossing window into the richest musical performing talent of our time, an artist whose abundant gifts have been called "a miracle".

So commanding is Daniel Barenboim's fame as a conductor these days, it is easy to forget that he was acclaimed as one of the leading pianist-musicians of his generation almost forty years ago! Certainly his inclusion in the Philips Classics "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series is justified, but for some reason the producer chose to emphasize Barenboim as a concerto player rather than a solo artist (or chamber musician or Lieder pianist). Yet all these categories have equal claims on our attention, because Barenboim is not simply a superb concerto soloist, he is a consummate ensemble player -- his recordings of Lieder (with artists of the calibre of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Dame Janet Baker, Jessye Norman) are some of the finest ever produced. Most of his chamber music recordings with the likes of Jacqueline du Pre (his late wife), Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov, Myron Bloom, Dale Clevenger, et al, are equally distinguished.
This two-disc collection leans heavily on Barenboim's early days as an EMI artist, including one full CD of collaborations with the late Otto Klemperer. Both the Mozart Concerto in C, K. 503, and Beethoven Concerto No. 1, are very fine performances, but there could have been even better choices. Barenboim's later, better-integrated recording of K. 503, in which he conducted the English Chamber Orchestra while playing the solo part, is an improvement on the somewhat elephantine Klemperer performance, while the glories of his Beethoven concerto cycle with Klemperer are a truly galvanic "Emperor" and a magnificent "Choral Fantasy" (arguably the best ever recorded) -- not the Concerto No. 1.
Meanwhile, what of Barenboim the solo player? Surely a sample from one of his two complete Beethoven Sonata sets would have been appropriate, and I would nominate the Sonata in G, Opus 31, No. 1, whose teasing wit, rhythmic dislocations and harmonic "double-entendres" are realized to perfection by Barenboim, with breathtaking naturalness and understanding. It was a good idea to enshrine some of Barenboim's solo Liszt from the early-1980s, but why not more of the Wagner/Liszt transcriptions? Today Barenboim is acclaimed as perhaps the most important living Wagner conductor, so it would have been salutary to include more of his renditions of Liszt's transcriptions of selections from Wagner in addition to "Isoldes Liebestod" -- particularly since his Deutsche Grammophon release of Wagner/Liszt has long been out of the catalogue. It is good to have the Brahms D-minor Concerto with Barbirolli restored to circulation, but as mentioned, the musical balance in this set tips too far in favor of concerto material.
Given that predilection, for something really enterprising Philips might have tried to track down a pirate recording made in Los Angeles in 1971. I was at that performance of Wilhelm Furtwaengler's massive Piano Concerto, in which Barenboim played the titanic solo part with Zubin Mehta conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was an extraordinary experience -- hopefully, Barenboim will re-record it with the Berlin Philharmonic. And speaking of pirates, there is a live recording (on an Italian label) of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, played in the composer's own four-hand transcription by Barenboim with Alfred Brendel. That too, would have been a gem for inclusion here (if rights issues could have been resolved).
All cavils aside, this set remains a rewarding and engrossing window into the deepest and most phenomenal musical talent of our time -- an artist whom Radu Lupu has called "a miracle".