Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Ixnay on the rossovercay

Pianist Kun Woo Paik will have his straight with no chaser:

"
Sacrificing the quality of music never makes things better," said Paik, criticizing the crossover approaches of classical musicians, which is prevalent among young, talented classical musicians in the name of popularizing the genre. "I totally disagree with the idea," continued Paik, who is also well-known as the husband of Yoon Jung-hee, a star actress of the 1960s and 1970s. "Classical music is wonderful and complete in itself. Fusing two different genres of music can only ruin the original values of both." More here

The more interesting bit, at least to me, was the news that Paik is recording the complete Beethoven sonatas. I'll be very interested in that set. His recordings of the Prokofiev piano concerti are among my favorites. I very much recommend his Prok. 2 and 5 on the Naxos label.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paik's Prokofiev for Naxos (the two CDs) are the best exemples of reference recordings at "mini-micro-prices".

And the orquestra and director... it's a pleasure Antoni Wit and his orquestra havea contract with a bargain label like Naxos. What about their Lutoslawski's and Penderecki's orquestral works and Messiaen's Turangalila?

The Well Tempered Blog said...

I agree completely. Another example is the complete Beethoven sonatas recorded by Jeno Jando. They hold their own along side other sets, and in some respects surpase others (no names). I frequently recommend it to persons looking to acquire a recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas.

The "Turangalila" is very nice. Worth it. I don't know the other two CD's.

Un saludo!