Anatol Ugorski - The Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon

Anatol Ugorski is a representative of the Old Russian St.Petersburg piano school which is focused on the beauty and a variety of a piano sound. He is one of the kind pianist because he has an extraordinary mind, intellectual approach but, at the same time, he has an ability to move us profoundly and show us the hidden beauty and "truth of the moment" (Ugorski's credo) which follows the internal logic of the pieces he performs. This set of the Complete Recordings of Anatol Ugorski on Deutsche Grammophone is a treasure collection! My favorites are unique approach to the "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgski (the singing chords and imaginative characterization!) The Brahms Sonatas and Variations are recognized as the best in the Deutsche Gramophone Brahms Collection!The Scriabin Sonatas are the brilliant sample of the great understanding and creativity- " The musical text has an opened structure. What is correct on one occasion can be wrong later." (Ugorski.) The Scriabin's Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez and a Chicago Symphony is a heavenly beautifully sounding recording. The main jewel of this collection are (in my opinion) the both Beethoven's discs: Diabelli Variations, Piano Sonata N32 and 6 Bagatelles Op.126.Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, "Short Stories"( romantic miniatures) and Messiaen are the true delight , they are performances of irreproachable elegance and authority. His tempos are sometimes different from the ones that are chosen by a young competitions stars, but how many young artists can sustain a career and exhibit such a broad range of the repertoire! This complete set of recordings of the Art of Anatoli Ugorski is the perfect way to experience and enjoy the true beauty of the Old Russian School of piano playing. My highest recommendation!

Although I had never heard of Anatol Ugorski before reading another review of this set elsewhere, I must say it's been exciting to hear him play these variable works, as he has quite a personality, sometimes infuriating, and at other times, exhilaratingly exciting in the style of say, Raymond Lewenthal or Earl Wild. - For Anatol Ugorski is a real barnstormer, and if you love the great pianists of old, and you're willing to fasten your seat belt for some sensational piano playing, get this set. It's thrilling!

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Although born during the 20th Century, Vladimir Horowitz and Shura Cherkassky were often termed 19th Century Romantics – which was apt in that their training was firmly rooted in an earlier era. With their deaths, the Romantic era of piano performance was declared dead. But a Romantic revival was around the corner, which ranged from the soaring (Arcadi Volodos) to the more earthbound (Lang Lang). Anatol Ugorski was somewhat lost in the shuffle of younger, more sensational colleagues. This could be in part because Ugorski was already 50 when his first recordings were issued, and – despite a freewheeling approach, he doesn’t include transcriptions. I vaguely recall seeing a disc of his at Tower Records in Boston during the early 1990s, but passed on purchasing as my income was rather limited then. My loss, but DG has more than made up for it with the reissue of Ugorski’s oeuvre with that label – 13CDs in all.Ugorski’s approach to Beethoven is indicative of his individualism. He presents Diabelli’s little tune straightforwardly – declining to poke sly fun at it as is common. Each of the Variations is characterized with an individual tempo, from which Ugorski is unafraid to deviate – and he gives full dynamic range to each. My preferred recording of this piece for the past 20 plus years has been Rudolf Serkin’s, but Ugorski makes a convincing case for his own approach.The opening movement of Op. 111 is presented as a titanic struggle – a climb up a treacherous mountain during a storm. The Arietta is played as though in stasis or suspended animation – adding up to a timing of 26:57. Such a tempo, of course, would not have been possible on the pianos of Beethoven’s time – as the quick tonal decay would result in the movement sounding dissociated. But on a modern piano and under Ugorski’s hands, the movement manages to cohere. It isn't the way I'd want to hear this piece every time - I was raised on Kempff's magisterial reading. But in the moment I couldn't stop listening to it - I could barely breathe.As with the Beethoven Diabellis, in the Brahms Handel Variations Ugorski eschews the narrative through-line in favor of individually characterized variations, with plenty of details beautifully rendered. But Ugorski’s “sniff the flowers” approach is far less successful in the F minor Sonata, where the momentum of the central and outer movements is impeded – and the two slower movements are an absolute crawl. I found myself missing Rubinstein’s 1959 recording, which captures Brahms’ youthful impulsiveness. As for the Opp. 1 and 2 piano sonatas, I can’t comment on Ugorski’s renditions because don’t find either work particularly interesting.Nor can I say much for the Polonaises included on the all-Chopin CD – not the usual group but juvenilia. The miniatures however, Bolero, Tarantelle, three Nouvelle Etudes and three Ecossaises, find Ugorski in excellent form.Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze are played with appropriate caprice and whimsy. But micromanaging of parts of Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasie and a lack of forward momentum overall drain the work of its elemental power.There’s no lack of power in Ugorski’s renditions of Scriabin’s Sonatas 2, 3, 5, and 9 – coupled with delicacy and, when called for, a hint of Sulphur. Ugorski’s way with the Third Sonata is particularly successful: he’s able to meld the opening movement into a convincing whole – not an easy task. He resists the temptation to just peck the second movement out – ala Ashkenazy – but invests it with a sense of imagination and poetry. This is a rendition that ranks with Horowitz and Kissin.Ugorski also makes an excellent contributor to Scriabin’s Prometheus and Piano Concerto. The Concerto is a particularly difficult piece technically, yet lacks the sizzle of Rachmaninoff’s or Liszt’s works in the genre – perhaps the reason why it’s seldom played. Boulez provides a fine accompaniment, but his approach to the Poem of Ecstasy drains the work of its, well, ecstatic qualities and renders the affair impotent.Four of Scriabin’s works, the Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand Op. 9, and the two Poems Op. 32, figure in Short Stories – a CD of shorter works. The quicksilver playing of Mendelssohn’s charming Capriccio in E minor is balanced by a brooding Rachmaninoff C-sharp minor Prelude, a rather laid-back Weber Invitation to the Dance, and non-schmaltzy Liszt Liebesträume No. 3. This and the Scriabin Sonatas are my favorite discs of the set.I listened to the three discs devoted to Messiaen, but don’t know the works well enough to comment on the performances.Sound quality is excellent on all the recordings – ideally balancing immediacy with ambience. This is one of those Original Jacket presentations – unlike some, the covers don’t look especially dated since the recordings started in the 1990s. The original liner notes are not included, but there’s an informative essay by Eleonore Büning.

Excellent performances

The last movement of Beethoven opus 111, the famous arietta-movement, is very beautiful and expressive, the tompo being much slowe than I have ever heard before. This gives the music a wonderfully poetic quality

Eine wirklich schöne Kollektion der Aufnahmen von Ugorski bei der Deutschen Grammophon.Viele Aufnahmen konnte man lange Zeit schwer bekommen.Ein toller Pianist, der nie aufdringlich oder egozentrisch spielt, sondern das Werk in den Vordergrund stellt...

A one off eccentric

Ugorski ist ein unglaublichbrillianter Pianist ! DieEnzyklopädie seinerEinspielungen aufDeutsche Grammophonist überwältigend gut !Ein Superlativ ohneWenn und Aber !Aufnahmetechnisch lupenreinspieltechnisch virtuos und brilliantEin Muss für Ugorski Fans !