<<  -- 2 --  Gordon Rumson    PERFECTLY PACED

Friedman is remembered as one of the greatest of the great pianists. Without doubt his work as a composer had a great impact upon his tremendous pianism (a fact sadly lost upon modern pianists who refuse to consider composing). But he was indeed also a very good composer. That is obvious from this first album which contains a selection of his transcriptions, miniatures and large scale works.

As a transcriber he was one of those masters like Busoni and Liszt who could transform a work from one medium to another and illuminate it for us as a perfect jewel of pianism. The 'Ballet des ombres heureuses' after Gluck is an example of this. Friedman transfigures Gluck's magic and requires magic from the performer. Tryon delivers [listen -- track 1, 1:49-2:11].

In 'Frühlingsstimmen' Friedman takes up Johann Strauss, and without the chromatic toxicity of Godowsky, dishes up a delightful virtuoso romp. Again Tryon exquisitely delivers a perfectly paced and 'gestured' performance. She dances.

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To listen to the aural illustrations in this review, you may need to download RealNetworks' realplayer 8.