Which Recording of Medtner Sonatas?

[starlady]

The options at Amazon are basically Tozer or Milne.  Recommendations, anyone?

thanks, s.

[retrouvailles]

The options at Amazon are basically Tozer or Milne.  Recommendations, anyone?

thanks, s.

I would stay away from Milne. His technique has deteriorated in his later years, and it was already quite uneven in his "prime". I would go after the Hamelin and/or Tozer sets. Both are excellent. However, neither is perfect, so a combination of the two is ideal.

[starlady]

The Hamelin recordings are very hard to find so I will try Tozer. Thanks, s.

[john11inc]

Really?

The Hamelin stuff is quite easy to find.  Unless the rules have changed, I can't directly link you to it, but I would suggest getting a rapidshare account and hitting up Avax.  You might also need a better music program, because they do like to use flac/cue or ape/cue.  Try Foobar; it's insanely efficient.

[starlady]

John11inch, thank you for your advice, but I didn't understand a word you wrote after the second line. This is my totally my fault, not yours; I am of the generation that still buys actual physical CDs.  Although if there is so much good music out there in the cloud, maybe I'll ask my kids to set me up. 

Best, s.

[john11inc]

Do you know how to use torrents?  I actually couldn't find the Hamelin set, either; I am really shocked.  I know it used to be very easy to get online.  I think it might be going around on da SDC.  Either way, if you know how to use torrents, you can download it here:

https://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1473235

You will need to sign up for the forum, which is in Russian.  It is fairly straight forward; you can pretty much guess whether you're supposed to be typing your password, your username etc.  If you have trouble, just use this program:

https://www.babelfish.yahoo.com/

And manually input each line.  Using google's translate feature will not allow you to store cookies, so you can not use that.  To register, click where I have drawn a red circle (the red block is to cover up some. . . non-pianostreet-appropriate bookmarks xD):




To download the torrent (you must sign up and sign in first), click the lavender-colored floppy disc in that first link I gave you, after scrolling to the bottom of the first post in that thread.  Basically, click on this:



If you do not know how to use a torrent program, ask your children.  Although it really is quite easy.  Simply search google for a program called "utorrent", download/install it, and that's it.  Once you have that installed, click the icon above, and select "open with" when the download window pops up in your browser.  utorrent should be there already, but if not, just select that as the program you want to open the file with.  When you do, the utorrent program will open up on its own, and a window will pop open showing you all the files you're downloading; just hit "ok" and it will download.  It may take a while.  Once it's done, utorrent will tell you the file has finished, and if you check on it, the status bar will show 100% completed.  Right click it, select "open containing folder", and there you have it.  You might have to close utorrent to move the files to your desktop and/or burn them to CD's.  If the files are in a format you're not familiar with (for instance, you're probably familiar with mp3 and wav, but they might be in .ape or .flac) just let me know and I can guide you through that, as well.  It's also very easy.

[starlady]

I'll check it out.

And if I somehow end up hacking NATO nuclear launch codes,  I'll say it was the fault of Pianostreet. 

--s.

[galltywenallt]

The Hamelin recordings are very hard to find so I will try Tozer. Thanks, s.

There should be no problem in getting the Hamelin.  Amazon.co.uk has it in stock.  You can also order it direct from Hyperion, but it is more expensive:
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67221/4

Tozer's set was my introduction to the sonatas.  There is a wildness about his playing that some people like, but the recordings are full of wrong notes and misreadings.  I prefer Milne (who did not record two of the sonatas - the Brilliant Classics re-release uses Tozer for those), however Hamelin wins hands down in my opinion - this is Medtner playing of the highest quality.

[jpowell]

It's unlikely, of course, that any of the complete sonata recordings would be suited to any single person's taste. Some personal favourites of single sonatas are as follows:
Nikonovich: op.30
V. Bunin: op.22
Medtner: Sonata-Ballade
Ogdon: Sonata-Idylle, Sonata-Skazka
Zilberstein: Sonata tragica
Ginzburg and Gilels: Sonata reminscenza
When I think of some more, I'll let you know.

[djealnla]

Ogdon: Sonata-Idylle, Sonata-Skazka

I didn't know Ogdon recorded any Medtner, I'll try to track it down.

[scottmcc]

There should be no problem in getting the Hamelin.  Amazon.co.uk has it in stock.  You can also order it direct from Hyperion, but it is more expensive:
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67221/4

Tozer's set was my introduction to the sonatas.  There is a wildness about his playing that some people like, but the recordings are full of wrong notes and misreadings.  I prefer Milne (who did not record two of the sonatas - the Brilliant Classics re-release uses Tozer for those), however Hamelin wins hands down in my opinion - this is Medtner playing of the highest quality.

The Hamelin set is available from purchase here in the US from Amazon.com as well.  it's the first result you get if you type in "hamelin medtner" in the search field.  I own it and am quite taken by it.

[leonidli]

It is startling to me that very little has given Richter's Medtner any attention at all - his Sonata Reminiscenza is the most satisfying I've heard. In comparison, Gilels is too "hard" in texture. From the beginning Richter's magical touch and flowing demonstrated his ability to play with incredible communicativeness (at least I think so). The feeling of him speaking is instantly there once he started playing.

[retrouvailles]

It is startling to me that very little has given Richter's Medtner any attention at all - his Sonata Reminiscenza is the most satisfying I've heard. In comparison, Gilels is too "hard" in texture. From the beginning Richter's magical touch and flowing demonstrated his ability to play with incredible communicativeness (at least I think so). The feeling of him speaking is instantly there once he started playing.

We were only talking about complete sets. Richter didn't record that much Medtner. Personally, I don't care for Richter's Medtner, so I wouldn't have mentioned it anyways. Hamelin and Tozer were a bit more sensitive in their interpretations of the Sonata Reminiscenza (let alone, all the other sonatas).