[SACD-R][OF] Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Philharmonia London, Ettore Gracis - Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit, Piano Concerto in G, Valses nobles et sentimentales; Claude Debussy: Children’s Corner - 2012 (Piano, Orchestral)

Praga presents the 1st release in a series of recordings by the legendary pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, specially remastered for SACD. Michelangeli is widely considered to be 1 of the finest pianists of the 20th Century & has also been hailed as the most important Italian pianist since Busoni.
Michelangeli was known for his note-perfect performances in concert, although his repertoire was strikingly small for a concert pianist of such stature. Owing to his obsessive perfectionism relatively few recordings were officially released during Michelangeli’s lifetime, but these are augmented by numerous recordings (both authorized & bootleg) of live performances. This disc collects ‘approved’ recordings of works by Ravel & Debussy recorded live in 1960, carefully remastered to DSD from mono & 2ch tapes.
A tribute to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, a veritable mythic & unpredictable Italian pianist; a perfectionist with a carefully chosen repertoire in which Scarlatti’s works joined those of Debussy & Ravel, while the great German romantics, from Beethoven to Brahms, were magnified & exalted, showing the soundness of their construction. The number of his recordings is limited, with mostly works by Debussy & Ravel & a few by Beethoven. He used to buy pirate live discs of his concerts as presents for his friends instead of his ‘official’ recordings! Here is a French anthology collecting legendary renderings of his inimitable touch easy to recognise by its ductile nature & the purity of his style. A revived masterpiece.
SA-CD .net Review by JJ April 20, 2013:
This 1st volume devoted to the Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli highlights his favourite repertoire, Maurice Ravel & Claude Debussy, who through his hands encountered unequaled interpretative perfection. Michelangeli (1920-1995) began studying the piano & the violin at the age of 4, but a childhood sickness forced him to choose the piano. He entered the Milan conservatory, then won the 1st prize of the Geneva international competition, before winning an auto race. During his youth, Michelangeli was “daring.” He became both a skiing champion & an airplane pilot, then traveled for a dozen years, most notably in USA, before teaching in Brescia, where in 1964 he created a prestigious piano festival. Michelangeli then became “an enigmatic & distant pianist, capable of interrupting a concert if he didn’t feel well. Perfectionist, aware of all modern techniques, he knew how to mount & dismount his piano, which he took everywhere with him. On the program of this SACD in 2ch only are works by Ravel, such as the famous Concerto for Piano in G major, Gaspard de la nuit, & the Valses nobles et sentimentales, as well as the Children’s Corner by Debussy. Recorded in public in 1952 & 1960, these works are rejuvenated thanks to a DSD remastering which reflects nuances never heard on digital disc. A landmark recording to cherish…
~Jean-Jacques Millo
Translation Lawrence Schulman