{"id":45,"date":"2017-09-01T13:49:42","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T03:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/?p=45"},"modified":"2018-06-05T13:55:32","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T03:55:32","slug":"rachmaninov-complete-piano-preludes-1941-1942-recordings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/rachmaninov-complete-piano-preludes-1941-1942-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachmaninov: complete piano preludes: 1941 \u2013 1942 recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Prelude opus 3 no 2; 10 Preludes opus 23; 13 Preludes opus 32<\/h2>\n

Moura Lympany (piano)<\/p>\n

DECCA 482 6266 (2CD)<\/p>\n

TPT: 76\u2019 42\u201d<\/p>\n

reviewed by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>She was christened Mary Johnstone \u2013 but because the name sounded too ordinary for an on-stage career, Miss Johnstone became Moura Lympany, the surname an altered version of her mother\u2019s maiden name. And she was \u2013 and will ever be \u2013 the only musician to have recorded the complete piano preludes of Rachmaninov on, firstly, 78rpm discs, then on LP and, finally, on CD.<\/p>\n

All the 78rpm recordings were made at DECCA\u2019s West Hampstead studios during WWII. It was often a stressful experience. Editing out errors was not possible on 78 rpm discs. It was all-or-nothing.<\/p>\n

If there was a slip of the finger, smudged pedalling, a fluffed note, a loss of momentum \u2013 a lapse of any sort \u2013 the prelude would need to be recorded again from scratch. At one particularly frustrating session, not a single prelude was deemed good enough for preservation. Sometimes, all would go well, at other times, a piece would sound below par and needing to be recorded again and again (and yet again) if considered necessary. It says much, then, for Lympany\u2019s abilities that there\u2019s not a dull moment; every piece sounds fresh and newly minted.<\/p>\n

During the Blitz \u2013 like fellow pianist Dame Myra Hess in Hampstead \u2013 \u00a0young Moura would take shelter beneath her grand piano in the event of a Luftwaffe bombing raid. There were so many terrible happenings during these horror years. One morning in May, 1941, for instance, Moura, on her way to Queen\u2019s Hall to record Cesar Franck\u2019s Variations Symphoniques, found, to her horror, that the hall had taken a direct hit, leaving a pile of rubble.<\/p>\n

True, some of her later recordings of these works have greater depth, others are approached in slightly subtler ways \u2013 but they all bear the stamp of distinction.<\/p>\n

Throughout, Lympany sounds utterly in control, again and again surmounting with ease the sort of technical hurdles that would cause lesser players to throw their hands up in despair. Some more about hands: Rachmaninov\u2019s were enormous and he wrote music to take advantage of this \u2013 to the despair of\u00a0 musicians with smaller hands.<\/p>\n

It is 76 years since Lympany\u2019s Rachmaninov recordings first came on the market. They have weathered well. Brash, lilting, aggressive, sensuous, gentle, melancholy, introspective, suave \u2013 these and a myriad other moods are summoned up by a musician at the peak of her skills.<\/p>\n

Stephen Siek\u2019s liner notes are first rate. They make engrossing reading.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prelude opus 3 no 2; 10 Preludes opus 23; 13 Preludes opus 32 Moura Lympany (piano) DECCA 482 6266 (2CD) TPT: 76\u2019 42\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn   She was christened Mary Johnstone \u2013 but because the name sounded too<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[55],"tags":[63,18,17,58,61,59,19,16,15,7,57,56,62,60],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recordings-cds","tag-63","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-dame-myra-hess","tag-decca","tag-moura-lympany","tag-neville-chon","tag-neville-cohn","tag-perth","tag-piano","tag-rachmaninov","tag-stephen-siek","tag-western-australia","tag-wwii-musics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/eileen-joyce-the-complete-studio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":0},"title":"Eileen Joyce \u2013 The Complete Studio Recordings","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"DECCA 482 6291\u00a0 (10 CDs) reviewed by Neville Cohn I was a junior school boy when Eileen Joyce came to Cape Town and I still recall the thrill of hearing the great Australian pianist playing Beethoven\u2019s Fur Elise as an encore \u2013 and her predilection for wearing a different gown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eileen Joyce","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/T1619_Eileen-Joyce-Australian-pianist-230x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/beethoven-piano-sonatas-andor-foldes-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":1},"title":"Beethoven – Piano Sonatas Andor Foldes (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"May 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Andor Foldes (piano) Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 13 (Pathetique); opus 28 (Pastorale); opus 31 No 2 (Tempest); opus 53 (Waldstein); opus 57 (Appassionata);opus 81a (Les Adieux); opus 101; opus 109 DGG Eloquence 482 5854 (2CDs) TPP: 79\u201926\u201d & 74\u201909\u201d reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Beethoven\u2019s Les Adieux sonata is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recordings - CDs"","block_context":{"text":"Recordings - CDs","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/recordings-cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newozartsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/4825854_BEETHOVEN_Sonatas_Foldes_master-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":101,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/frederic-chopin-poet-of-the-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":2},"title":"Frederic Chopin: Poet of the Piano","author":"reviewer","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Anna Sleptsova (piano)\/Louise McKay (cello) WAAPA classical piano students WAAPA Music Auditorium reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 For many, if not most, concertgoers, Chopin is thought of exclusively in relation to\u00a0 works for piano, whether solo or as concertos. 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