0:00 - Prelude 3:13 - Interlude 8:58 - Fugue An exciting perpetuum mobile, a gorgeous nocturne, and a fugue brimming with sardonic wit. Pf: Michael Habermann
I like this. It's an overall pretty good performance, despite still missing many things. Though, finally some actual good Sorabji promotion besides that garbage "VII. Cadenza I" recording by Ogdon. The ending of the fugue really pedestals the subject in its full glory when it first sounds cryptic because of its chromaticism. I looked into this before, but found the prelude questionable to whether it's actually worth learning. Interlude is ok I suppose. Fugue could use much more contrapuntal clarity and shaping. Right now, most of the time, it just sounds like a continuous mash of notes with periodic accents and emphasized bits that sound arbitrary and spontaneous. The subject could be highlighted much better and the interactions between the voices more apparent, though these additional requirements ramp up the difficulty by quite a lot more than it already is.
John Ogdon had gone through a devastating mental illness when he recorded OC. His playing at that time had only flashes of brilliance. I still prefer his rip-roaring Cadenza I to yours, as I care more about the "big picture", than to a clean cut performance. His has much more power (obviously) and flair. Before his illness he was five times the pianist you are, so it's insulting to describe anything of his as "garbage." Regarding Habermann, he is one of the most respected Sorabji specialists around today. He is largely responsible for putting Sorabji on the map, by recording and performing the smaller, more accessible works. So again, I wouldn't criticize any of his benchmark Sorabji recordings. Don't look down at pianists who have had major careers, until you have at least one commercial recording under your belt, or performed in at least one major hall.
@@franksmith541 Ahh yes, another person believing that it's impossible to criticize music without being a top-tier virtuoso themselves (even though the OP is literally a piano virtuoso). I love most of the Ogdon recordings I own, but this ridiculous cadenza recording that you're defending absolutely is garbage. Mental illness is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is the recording itself; and the reality is that it is a bad recording of a poor performance. Just because someone's personal life is in shambles, does not make their professional output immune from criticism. It's entirely irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the end product, and the end product is poor. Also to the channel owner, it's incredibly annoying to read through comments and see that you're "liking" literally every comment posted, even when one is fundamentally arguing against points made in an earlier comment you've liked. When I see a channel mindlessly liking 100% of the comments, I will never subscribe to that channel out of principle; just FYI.
@@franksmith541 Man the ignorance and arrogance of people like you... The argument is always "Can you play this piece? No? Then STFU..." (which is a stupid argument, obviously). When there is an OP criticizing something who DOES have the ability to play the piece being discussed, now that's not good enough- now you need to have at least 1 commercial recording and 1 major concert hall performance before your points are considered valid. I promise you if the OP had accomplished this already, you would be whining that he doesn't have as many commercial recordings as Ogdon, and his argument shouldn't be valid because of that. In short, what I'm trying to say; is blow it out your ass. You are clearly unwilling to consider the criticism of others because you respond with what amounted to an emotional argument about mental illness affecting the performance; which is entirely irrelevant of course. It doesn't matter what factored into a recording. The ONLY thing that matters is the recording itself- the end product. The end product is trash, and it doesn't matter why.
He was the definitive Sorabji pianist before Jonathan Powell. Since Powell's recordings, I'm unable to go back and listen to my old Habermann albums. The difference in the quality of pianism is SHOCKING. Jonathan Powell is one of the finest piano virtuosi alive today, and criminally; he only gets recognition as such in Sorabji circles. Absolute titan of the piano, and the greatest champion of Sorabji's music the world has ever seen.
