CD of the Day : Ivo Pogorelich plays Ravel’s Gaspard De La Nuit & Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata Klaviersonate No. 6

CD of the Day Ivo Pogorelich plays Ravel’s Gaspard De La Nuit & Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata Klaviersonate No. 6 a Deutsche Grammophon Pressing!

“In addition to [Ivo Pogorelich’s] Schumann, I have also enjoyed his Scarlatti, Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven, and only wish that he would record more Scriabin, for which he has a special affinity. Yet, of all his recordings, it is to this recording of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit that I have returned most over the years, and even after repeated listening, I am still utterly transfixed by it. Simply put, it contains some of the most riveting and imaginative piano playing that I have ever heard–and my piano listening goes as far back as De Pachmann in the early 1900s.” –MR Simpson @ Amazon.com

“Out of the over 100 available recordings of Ravel’s Gaspard de le nuit this must be one of the finest. If this was Ravel’s idea of a bad dream I’ll take it. It easily ranks with the most beautiful music I know… I love this recording. Very highly recommended. –David Thierry @ Amazon.com

“This original release has now been re-issued under DG’s ‘Original’ series, with the Chopin No. 2 Concerto added. I for one would want to stick to this ‘original’ version, since both works contained in this CD represent Ivo Pogorelich’s finest performances.” Abert @ Amazon.com

“If I could take only one Pogorelich CD to a desert island, it would be this one. Sound quality is excellent.” — Hank Drake @ Amazon.com

Get your copy here:

Chopin: Piano Sonata / Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit / Prokofiev: Piano Sonata

Album of the Day: TASSILI by the band TINARIWEN.

In an age of bits and bytes I still like having the CD (still bits & bytes, but more of them :)). The physical item, the liner notes, the process, Plus MP3 is not the music, it is an approximation of the music. A compression of the music. A whole generation raised on the lie of music, rather than its truth.

Something the NO APOLOGIES podcast said about kids raised on their mp3 downloads and American Idol, realizing when they go to a real concert, that till then… they had never actually heard music before.

Today’s recommended CD is TASSILI by the band TINARIWEN.

Tassili:Price the CD Here

“Just as it took a bitter, misguided war to kick-start the Summer of Love, Tinariwen was born out of refugee camps in North Africa in the early 1980s during a prolonged period of unrest.

This band of genuine nomads turned rebel fighters might never have made it out of the desert and onto the world stage if French band Lo’Jo hadn’t caught Tinariwen performing at a festival in Mali in 1998 (eight years after it had returned to its homeland from exile) and invited the musicians on tour. Since then, championed by the likes of Robert Plant and Carlos Santana, the band has received numerous awards and accolades, and stands at the forefront of desert blues.

Not bad for a band that didn’t acquire its first acoustic guitar until 1979, and for years after would perform for free for anyone who had a blank cassette and was willing to record the performance to share with others — basically YouTube without the Internet.

Tinariwen — which means “empty spaces” or “deserts” in its Tuareg tongue — has grown into an ever-evolving collective with a handful of core members, which helps its sound stay fresh. On its fifth studio release, “Tassili,” the band expands its horizons further with guest artists Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio), Nels Cline (Wilco) and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. All are musicians at the top of their creative game.”
—-By K. D. Kelly Amazon Reviewer