Classics Direct have launched something truly incredible with the specially curated VIRTUOSO Boxset of 11 CDs, showcasing the best pianistic moments of the Sydney International Piano Competition from 1992 to 2016. This unique retrospective chronicles more than 100 fascinating performances, recorded by 77 pianists during seven events over two decades.
The anthology is organised in seven categories: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Twentieth Century, Transcriptions & Encores, Australian Piano Music and Piano Concertos. Below we have included some insights from Classics Today’s recent review, to give you a sense of what to expect in this 11 CD boxset.
Sincere thanks to Classics Today. We would recommend you read the full review here
Between 1992 and 2016 Cyrus Meher-Homji produced compilations of live, unedited performances recorded during the Sydney International Piano Competition. From this body of work, Meher-Homji has culled 11 CDs’ worth of strong, well-contrasted, and wide ranging programs organized by style…
ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10
SOUND QUALITY: 8
CD 1: “Bach’s C minor Toccata and the D minor Chaconne arranged by Busoni bracket numerous contenders’ brilliant Scarlatti sonata readings….
CD 2: “Gorgeous and stylish”
CD 3 & 4: “Future Lisztian luminaries like Alexei Volodin and Andrey Gugnin already played this composer with the utmost assurance and confidence, while Anna Malikova’s Chopin Op. 42 Waltz shows the impetuous, youthful side of an artist who would go on to significantly ripen and mature.”
CD 5, 6 & 7: “Again, the performances are all on the highest level”
CD 8: “Anyone who thinks that Romantic encores are the private property of dead Romantic pianists, listen to this disc and prove yourself wrong.”
CD 9: “A wonderful, intriguingly varied anthology (of Australian Composers)”
CD 10 & 11: “Olivier Cazal breezes through the solo part (of Prokofiev Concerto No.3), while conductor Edvard Tchivzhel and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra handle the Finale’s intricate tempo changes like a seasoned driver navigating curvy roads in a rainstorm.”