Publisher: EMI Records (1999)

Artists: Daniel Barenboim, Jacquelin du Pre and Pinchas Zukerman

Even in the digital age, the classical audiophile has a hard life. The acknowledged, tried-and-true virtuosos have retired, or died, and their lasting legacy consists of intangible memories of concert-goers and a scratchy records which can never be perfectly remastered. Of the many who aspire to greatness today, it is difficult to judge from a low-quality YouTube clip, or a thirty-second sound bite, the true quality of their recordings. In the long run, many who have promoted themselves successfully, and seemed to hold much promise, lose their sparkle and charm. So one makes assumptions based on past recordings and reputation as a guide.

We recently purchased a recording of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas and Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, featuring the above three artists. The sound quality is reasonable, although sometimes not as crisp and clear as we might desire. If one listens closely, it sounds as though the violin is placed closer to the left, and the piano is opposite, on the right. The Violin Sonatas have been amply recorded in the past, but each has its own character and flavour. This recording has more of the feel of chamber music, with violin and piano supporting and assisting each other, rather than violin dominating over the piano accompaniment. There is good reason for this, given the long shared history of these musicians, and Barenboim’s piano is clean and articulate, and a pleasure to listen to. While decent, Zukerman’s violin is sometimes faint and less stellar, lacking the engaging energy exhibited in other interpretations (compare with the Perlman/Ashkenazy recordings, 1974). As a result, this is a merely pleasant and somewhat surprising recording, but by no means a definitive interpretation.

The Tchaikosky piano trio is also somewhat disappointing. The audio quality is again quite reasonable. Both the violin and cello suit each other superbly, but in this instance, there is an indistinct quality to the piano, and quite possibly wrong notes. The fault does not lie solely on the performers, however; the composition’s quality and purpose fades markedly in the middle portion of the second movement, to the point where, more than once, your humble reviewers have simply turned off the track and listened to something better developed.

Finally comes the calculation of value. This collection was offered at 256kbps from iTunes, at a price of $25 (or somewhere in that vicinity). While pleasant, we do not listen to these recordings on a daily basis, and it is perhaps best streamed occasionally rather than purchased for closer study and inclusion into a permanent collection.

Over the past number of years I have been in the market for a new piano. During this time I have likely tried over 500 pianos at various outlets in a 400km radius, each unique and in some way unacceptable. Buying a piano is a strange business, in fact it may be one of the most difficult items to purchase period.

The most important thing is to play the instrument, listen to it, spend some quality time with it… Sounds easy right? Unfortunately this may not be possible. I can guarantee with 100% certainty there will be some kid pounding the keys of another piano on display, or some sales person making a massacre of Fur Elise or worse, rocking out to his/her version of Memory from Cats. Next, once it has been established that you can play the instrument, (impossible to avoid since you can’t get to know a piano by playing chopsticks) two divergent paths emerge that will either increase your ability to evaluate the piano or will affect your prompt exit from the store. Path 1 - The sales person realizes that since you can play you are a serious buyer, a person requiring a certain environment in which to test the available pianos before making a decision - he/she quickly proceeds to enforce the one piano at-a-time rule, and answers questions while offering tidbits of sporadically useful information. Path 2 - The sales person realizes that since you can play you are a serious buyer, and proceeds to bombard you with useless information to make any piano in the place out to be the best piano in the place often contradicting previous statements depending on your perceived enjoyment of the current instrument. Of course no salesperson good or bad can make a piano sound better, and no salesperson can tell you one piano sounds better than another.

Regardless of the process I finally found a suitable piano and had the guts to spend the money both at the same time. I now have a Yamaha U1, and am very happy with every aspect of its sound and action. Perhaps I will add a piano buying guide for mid-range pianos to the site.

Rafal Blechacz topped 257 virtuosos to become the first polish native to win the competition in over 30 years. Blechacz impressed judges with his immense talent, especially his interpretation of the Concerto in E minor of which it was said that he “plays Chopin like Chopin”.

[From: 2005 Frederick Chopin International Piano Competition]