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Product Description

In 1950, as victor of the 1949 Marguerite Long Competition,

the 25-year-old Ciccolini recorded his first 78; it was

devoted to Scarlatti, a composer to whom he later returned.

Following soon afterwards was Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto

No.1, conducted by Andre Cluytens- the pianist asked for

the tapes of the second concerto to be destroyed, since he

did not like the piece - and then produced an anthology of

Mozart sonatas which has a finesse, balance and sonic

splendor still typical of Ciccolini's concert performances

today.

The 56 CD collection contains numerous items which have become available for the first time (such as Mozart sonatas and Bach Inventions previously only released in Japan, or his first Debussy disc, dating from 1969), or which have never been released, such as the magnificent Pictures at an Exhibition recorded in 1976. With particular care taken over the transfers, including remastering of all the late recordings, this box will convince any remaining skeptics that Aldo Ciccolini, though born in Naples, holds a place at the very summit of French pianism.

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Date : 2010-01-22
Summary : wonderful representation of a long career
My first exposure to Aldo Ciccolini's playing came many years ago while listening to classical radio station KMFA. I turned on the radio and heard the delightful sounds of Satie's gymnopedies. After learning that the pianist was Ciccolini, I rushed out to procure one of his sets of Satie's works. This current EMI compilation contains a generous assortment of Satie including recordings of the gymnopeies and 3 gnossienes from 1956 and 1963 (both exquisite)and the set of Satie recordings from the 1980s. All performances are outstanding, infused with humor and biting wit.

I must confess that I have not yet listened to many of the 56 CDs in this set. But I have already found enough delightful recordings to make me glad that I obtained the set. One Saint-Saens disk contains an outstanding version of piano concerto no. 5 performed with the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Serge Baudo recorded in 1970. The disk also contains a lively Carnival of the Animals with Ciccolini and Alexis Weissenberg joining Georges Pretre and the Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire (recorded in 1966).

Jean Martinon leads the Orchestre de Paris in 1974 recordings of the two Ravel concertos. Martinon is one of my favorite Ravel conductors, and the orchestra and pianist really nail these performances.

Debussy's piano works are scattered throughout the set, recorded at various times and uniformly excellent. I am particularly fond of the 1991 recordings of Children's Corner and Suite Bergamasque.

Unexpected but welcome surprises so far have been a stylish 1976 rendition of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, a very atmospheric 1953 recording of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Orchestra National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise conducted by Ernesto Halftter, and assorted sonatas by Dominico Scarlatti.

I'm looking forward to delving into a couple of disks of Mozart sonatas next, followed by Liszt's Les Annees de Pelerinage, Granados Goyescas, and Albeniz's Iberia. I anticipate many hours of delightful listening ahead!

Date : 2010-01-12
Summary : Great Gift Idea
My grandfather taught me how to play the piano when I was young and would constantly play me Ciccolini recordings. He would say how Ciccolini spoke to him in ways no other pianists could ... something about his inate musicanship. My grandfather turns 90 in a few days and I'm so glad I've found this box set. I'm almost 100% sure my grandfather will looove this.