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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Marcelle Meyer, although one of finest pianists of the last century, is little known in the UK so this comprehensive collection of her studio recordings is very welcome. She recorded a few sessions for EMI before and during the secnd world war of which, probably, 'Scaramouche' with the composer is the most important. She also cut a piano roll of a Haydn sonata for the Pleyel company but how accurately this reflects her playing is diffucult to judge. Apart from the Espla sonata on Hispavox, all her post war recordings were made for 'Les Discophiles Francais' and it is these discs which make up the bulk of this collection.
EMI France have prepared a completely remastered edition and, bearing in mind the quality of the original source material, have done an excellent job.
But what of the music and the playing? It is quite superb. As someone who knew the composers, Mayer's Debussy and Ravel is full of great insight and her Chabrier quite superb. In Baroque repetoire (played, of course, on the piano) she is no less effective. Her Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau and Couperin are never less than excellent and, even if they reflect a period when 'authenticity' was prized less than musicianship, contain so many moments of great interpretive insight as to make these amongst the finest recordings of this music.
Meyer's Mozart, Schubert and Rossini are never less than enjoyable; her Stravinsky is first class and the Espla sontata was a great discovery for me. Of the earlier recordings, apart from 'Scaramouche', the Richard Strauss is pleasant and the other works never less than enjoyable.
As this is a complete collection, there are some duplications of repetoire but, with a pianist of this quality, this is to be welcomed as a comparison between the various versions is both rewarding and instructive.
All in all, this is a splendid issue which should be an essential purchase for all lovers of fine piano playing.
EMI France have prepared a completely remastered edition and, bearing in mind the quality of the original source material, have done an excellent job.
But what of the music and the playing? It is quite superb. As someone who knew the composers, Mayer's Debussy and Ravel is full of great insight and her Chabrier quite superb. In Baroque repetoire (played, of course, on the piano) she is no less effective. Her Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau and Couperin are never less than excellent and, even if they reflect a period when 'authenticity' was prized less than musicianship, contain so many moments of great interpretive insight as to make these amongst the finest recordings of this music.
Meyer's Mozart, Schubert and Rossini are never less than enjoyable; her Stravinsky is first class and the Espla sontata was a great discovery for me. Of the earlier recordings, apart from 'Scaramouche', the Richard Strauss is pleasant and the other works never less than enjoyable.
As this is a complete collection, there are some duplications of repetoire but, with a pianist of this quality, this is to be welcomed as a comparison between the various versions is both rewarding and instructive.
All in all, this is a splendid issue which should be an essential purchase for all lovers of fine piano playing.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
In her day Marcelle Meyer was the doyenne of French piano. Cortot admired her and she performed with the likes of Ravel and Poulenc. She had a vast repertoire that extended from the Baroque to contemporary composers like Stravinsky and she left a considerable recorded legacy. The recordings she made have not always been as readily available as one might wish, so it is a great pleasure to be able to get one's hands on this set of her recordings from 1927 to 1957.
At a total of seventeen discs, this is a fascinating collection as well as a fantastic bargain. The composers represented include Chabrier, Debussy, Ravel, Bach, Couperin, Scarlatti, Mozart, Rossini, Schubert and Stravinsky. There is also a sonata by Oscar Espla, which was a new name to me. Almost all of the recordings are of the solo repertoire (there are no chamber pieces and only two Mozart concerti). There is also some reduplication of music Meyer recorded more than once: this applies to a lesser extent to the Couperin and Rameau, and to a slightly greater extent to the Scarlatti sonatas.
If you have never heard her, Meyer's playing was wonderfully elegant and fluid. Her touch was subtle, her phrasing refined and her pedalling gorgeous - and only occasionally more generous than modern tastes tend to allow. There are times when one would wish for more fire and a greater sense of dynamic contrast, but it is hard not to be won over by her intelligent and musical interpretations.
There are some real treasures to be found in the set. I fell in love with her Rameau and Couperin over ten years ago, and her performance of these composers on the modern piano has not been surpassed even as contemporary players like Angela Hewitt or the excellent Alexandre Tharaud have claimed their compositions back from the harpsichord. The shades she conjures from the piano in the Debussy and Ravel are most seductive, and her Scarlatti has a real sense of sparkle to it. There is not so much Chabrier available on disc, and her performances of some of his works for piano are graceful and sensuous. The sound is generally good, though, as one might expect, the remasters from the late 1940s and the 1950s come up more satisfactorily than those from the 1920s. The set should be self-recommending for anyone interested in the great pianists of the past.
At a total of seventeen discs, this is a fascinating collection as well as a fantastic bargain. The composers represented include Chabrier, Debussy, Ravel, Bach, Couperin, Scarlatti, Mozart, Rossini, Schubert and Stravinsky. There is also a sonata by Oscar Espla, which was a new name to me. Almost all of the recordings are of the solo repertoire (there are no chamber pieces and only two Mozart concerti). There is also some reduplication of music Meyer recorded more than once: this applies to a lesser extent to the Couperin and Rameau, and to a slightly greater extent to the Scarlatti sonatas.
If you have never heard her, Meyer's playing was wonderfully elegant and fluid. Her touch was subtle, her phrasing refined and her pedalling gorgeous - and only occasionally more generous than modern tastes tend to allow. There are times when one would wish for more fire and a greater sense of dynamic contrast, but it is hard not to be won over by her intelligent and musical interpretations.
There are some real treasures to be found in the set. I fell in love with her Rameau and Couperin over ten years ago, and her performance of these composers on the modern piano has not been surpassed even as contemporary players like Angela Hewitt or the excellent Alexandre Tharaud have claimed their compositions back from the harpsichord. The shades she conjures from the piano in the Debussy and Ravel are most seductive, and her Scarlatti has a real sense of sparkle to it. There is not so much Chabrier available on disc, and her performances of some of his works for piano are graceful and sensuous. The sound is generally good, though, as one might expect, the remasters from the late 1940s and the 1950s come up more satisfactorily than those from the 1920s. The set should be self-recommending for anyone interested in the great pianists of the past.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a truly wonderful collection of recordings of a superb and under-appreciated pianist.
Very highly recommended - listen to the Rameau Gavottes et doubles on CD10 track 3......this track alone is worth the £20 or so....but the rest is just as wonderful.
The EMI 50s recorded sound dry but very good. What a find! Highly recommended by Gramophone magazine and with good reason.
Very highly recommended - listen to the Rameau Gavottes et doubles on CD10 track 3......this track alone is worth the £20 or so....but the rest is just as wonderful.
The EMI 50s recorded sound dry but very good. What a find! Highly recommended by Gramophone magazine and with good reason.
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