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Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 17 & 20 - Ashkenazy          (3 of 4 found this review helpful)
  September 24, 2006

Very musical, old-fashioned Mozart performances. Ashkenazy's characteristic sonority is well captured as are the subtle shadings and accents the pianist brings to the score. The D minor Concerto´s cadenza sounds less Beethovian than it should and does not really come off the ground, but everything ... more
Ravel: Orchestral Works - NHK/Ashkenazy          (2 of 3 found this review helpful)
  September 24, 2006

This is a nice compilation combining familiar as well as unfamiliar items. Performances are reliable, but lack warmth and mystery and thus turn out slightly superficial. The sound image adds to the unengaged impression, but it is difficult to say if the recording would have come out better had the ... more
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, Francesca da Rimini - Ashkenazy          (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
  June 27, 2003

After a momentous Fifth (on Exton OVGY-00008) I had expected just a bit more from this disc. OK, this is a fine performance but one without any special magic about it. The string playing at start of the first movement sounds a bit uninvolved even. Things do get better later on, and there is ... more
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, Romeo & Juliet - Ashkenazy          (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
  June 27, 2003

This is all you could hope for in Tchaikovsky – a passionate, gripping performance from start to finish, caught in exemplary sound. Ashkenazy’s pacing is exactly right – always supporting the melodic line and his ritenutos are affectionate, but never affected. He has a very definite idea of where ... more
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Brass Works - Ashkenazy        (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
  June 27, 2003

The experience of hearing Ashkenazy perform ‘Ein Heldenleben’ with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in the 1980’s has forever spoiled me, I am afraid. Neither does it help that Ashkenazy recorded the same work with the superb Cleveland Orchestra for Decca. Make no mistake, this is a fine performance – ... more

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