Music : Saint-Saëns: Complete Works for Piano
from: Vox (Classical)
Amazon.com's Price: $16.98 Prices subject to change.
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0047163360725
Label: Vox (Classical)
Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
Number Of Discs: 5
Publisher: Vox (Classical)
Release Date: May 27, 2003
Sales Rank: 151010
Studio: Vox (Classical)
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
This series of Saint-Saëns' piano music, recorded in 1974, will be of interest to the composer's admirers, but it's not likely to win any awards. Most of the music consists of glittering generalities, with few memorable moments and a lot of padding. Saint-Saëns had inspirations, but he didn't waste many of them on his solo piano music. In the few cases when a piece has become familiar, we can tell that Dosse's performances are mostly just adequate, seldom exciting or insightful. She gets around the keys well enough, and the last of the Six Etudes (based on the composer's own Fifth Piano Concerto) is pretty dazzling, but elsewhere she seems to be just going through the motions. The solo piano music, recorded by the wonderful Elite team of Nickrenz & Aubort, has splendid sound quality. But the duets, recorded in Stuttgart, sound boxy and flat--except for "Carnival of the Animals," with the sparkling chamber orchestra. This certainly isn't a bad set, but it's only a compelling purchase for lovers of this composer who can't get enough of his piano music. Well, now they can. --Leslie Gerber
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This is a very nice collection of pieces that are rarely heard, rightfully so in some cases. But others, such as the Beethoven Variations for 2 pianos, are wonderful - but the piano sound! Ouch! The pianos are not even in tune! Still, it is a collection worth having, especially at this price.
Rating:  -
This is delightful stuff! Nothing "profound" here (what a dreadful sin, Mr. Gerber!) but plenty of this composer's mix of the playful and the intellectual. True, there are a few pieces (the fugues) that are academic note-spinning, but there's lots more that aren't. It's perfectly OK to like and enjoy this kind of elegant fluff--does EVERYTHING have to be a heaven-storming masterpiece? People who think that miss an awful lot. If you like Bizet (but don't expect Carmen!) and Chabrier, this will appeal to you.
Saint-Saens was one of the greatest pianists of his time, and certainly knew his way around a keyboard. Marylene Dosse has the technique and temperament to do this music justice. The remastered analog sound is NOT terrible--perhaps a bit shallow and not state of the art digital, but quite easily listenable. I certainly don't hear the "bumps and pops" alluded to by another reviewer--can't imagine what's going on there.
At this price, this set is a steal, and, as Mr. Crawford said, a nice companion for the piano concertos (I'm particularly fond of Collard--Hough is a bit too much of a speed demon on the autobahn, looking neither to the right nor left to see the beauties just within sight.)
Rating:  -
I'm glad to bring the stars down on this product. Let me first say that I think that Saint-Saen's Piano Concertos are some of the very, VERY best music in the history of the human race. But his solo piano works, are worse than garbage. Imagine a young bratty virtuoso with no sense of melody, practicing offensive scales for 6 hours straight. I think composing is like any other profession, and sometimes you just gotta sell-out and write a certain amount right-quick to "meet the quota" so to speak. But for those who can appreciate fine art, don't get this set, get his complete piano concertos instead, please.
Rating: -
This is a collection rare to come across: the complete piano works by Saint-Saens. As a native of France, Ms. Dosse accomplishes the nearly impossible task of recording the entirety of this difficult french repertoire. Her masterful understand of the music is apparently throughout every piece and her musicality extends far past that of many of the great pianists. In addition to the extraordinary playing, the set is marvelously priced. This is a set to add to your collection.
Rating:  -
The performances on this collection were decent, although it is somewhat hard to judge them, not being familiar with most of the items. However, the sound quality is way below expectations for something that was originally recorded in ca. 1974 (more like what one would expect from the 1920s or 1930s). There are inexplicable bumps and pops (no pits or scratches obvious on the CDs), and the general acoustics are very subdued (as if the transfer were done using a tape recorder on a monophonic turntable). One cannot claim that it this way because of the budget price - other labels have managed to do much better in their offerings at this price point (such as the D. Scarlatti sonata selection by Pletnev on Virgin Classics which I had purchased in the same order as this CD set).
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