2 CDs

2012

Deventer Holland, Schiedam, Holland

Jared Sacks, Paolo Giacometti

Jared Sacks

Erard - 67.55
Steinway - 66.21

Microphones: Bruel & Kjaer 4006, Schoeps
Digital Converters: DSD Super Audio/Grimm AD DSD converter
Speakers: Audiolab, Holland
Software: Pyramix Editing, Merging Technologies
Mixing Board: Rens Heijnis, custom design
Mastering Room: B+W 803d series speakers, Classe 5200 Amplifier
Cables: Van den Hul

Paolo Giacometti

Gaspard de la Nuit
Menuet antique
Le Tombeau de Couperin

This recording raised the same question as all
previous ones: should I use an authentic or a
modern piano? At home I have a Steinway, on
which I learnt to play, and it is a wonderful
instrument. When I was about twenty I was
fortunate enough to get to know authentic
instruments: romantic grand pianos by Érard
and Pleyel and older ones by Graf, Streicher etc.
This was a new world of timbres and expressive
potential. Naturally, I took the inspiration and
revelations provided by these instruments to the
modern grand piano. A stimulating crossfertilisation
of expressive and interpretative
possibilities was the result. In this way it became
increasingly natural for me to play the same
repertoire on both old and new instruments.
In my desire to share this fascinating crossfertilisation
with others, I found the answer to
the above question: a double CD with the same
works on authentic and new instruments. This is
particularly interesting in the case of Ravel, since
the two types of instrument not only existed in
his lifetime, but were actually used by him. The
‘new’ instrument used for the recording is a
Steinway. ‘New’ is in inverted commas because
the Steinway grand has hardly changed since
the late nineteenth century. The authentic
instrument on this CD is an Érard – one of the
most celebrated makers of the nineteenth
century, and immortalised by Liszt. Ravel
frequently gave his recitals on a Steinway, while
at home he used an Érard when composing.
The different tonal worlds of the two
instruments result primarily from the parallel
stringing and largely wooden frame of the Érard,
and the cross-stringing and steel frame (to
accommodate the higher tension of the strings
and case) of the Steinway. The sound of the
Érard is thus more stringy and dies away
differently, while the various registers are more
individual. The Steinway glories in the resonance
of the strings and case, and the mélange of the
notes. Since relationships between the immense
richness of colour and timbre in Ravel’s music
are therefore different, this is naturally of
influence on the interpretative choices made by
the performer. The pedalling, dynamic
transitions, balance between the parts, harmonic
colours, build-up of tension, tempos – all these
must be approached differently depending on
the instrument used. This is clearest of all in
relation to tempos: none of the recorded pieces
have the same length on the two CDs. For a
musician and pianist this is an inevitable,
inspiring, instructive, and in particular a
delightful experience in the process of
developing one’s interpretation. I sincerely hope
that you will enjoy precisely this aspect of the
project as much as I do.
Paolo Giacometti

Giacometti’s fingerwork and articulation are very precise (...) ‘Toccata’ of Ravel’s Le Tombeau is by far the most difficult and virtuosic of the three, and Giacometti meets its pianistic demands with secure exuberance. (...) an interesting and valuable release.
International Record Review

(...) The recording quality is superb, bringing out the sounds of these different pianos to their best advantage (...) An engaging project.
American Record Guide

(...) The new cd is unusual and interesting, the first one of its kind. (...)
Rhythm Planet

Dat de Érard en de Steinway meer verschillen dan overeenkomsten vertonen krijgt in deze vertolkingen nog een extra dimensie dankzij het geciseleerde, fijnzinnige (sonatine!) maar menigmaal ook overdonderende (Gaspard!) spel van Giacometti. (...) Wie, zoals Giacometti, ook nog stilistisch verbeeldingsvol en met een feilloze techniek deze stukken interpreteert, creëert uitsluitend klankjuwelen die de toehoorder meeslepen in hun ongekende pracht. Dit zijn verkenningen van de hoogste muzikale orde die bovendien prachtig zijn vastgelegd.
Opusklassiek

(...) The Steinway’s sound is crisper and burlier, the Érard’s more singing and lyrical. (...) Fascinating.
The Absolute Sound

(...) For my ideal Giacometti performance of La Tombeau de Couperin, I choose for the Érard for the Prélude’s more pronounced contrasts between the hands and the Toccata’s more forceful repeated notes. On the other hand, the Steinway Forlane movement seems more fluid and less sectionalized next to its Érard counterpart. In all, an absorbing and often inspired release.
Classics Today

(...) elk instrument vraagt om een andere benadering (...) het gaat hier om twee magistrale uitvoeringen door Paolo Giacometti (...)
Akkoord

(...) Beide opnames  zijn mooi, alleen al vanwege het heldere, bevlogen, haast eerbiedige en uitgebalanceerde spel van Paolo Giacometti.
Luister

Welke van de twee? Dat is het centrale vraagstuk van het fraaie Ravelalbum van pianist Paolo Giacomett. (...) Op beide instrumenten speelt Giacometti Ravel elegant, vloeiend en transparant. (...)
Klassiek Zaken

Giacometti’s doppelter Recital offenbart erstaunliche Einsichten (...) Eine Aufschlussreiche Doppel-CD, die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede verschiedener Flügel aufzeigt – und gleichseitig belegt, dass es vor allem der Interpret ist, der das Stück adäquat authemtisch umzusetzen hat.
Blog.codaex.de

(...) een interessante dubbel-cd. (...) Welke interpretatie is het mooist? Dat is moeilijk kiezen, want Giacometti laat van deze muziek overtuigende interpretaties horen.
Nederlands Dagblad

Fascinerend hoe Giacometti Ravels Sonatine, Gaspard de la Nuit, Menuet antique en Le tombeau de Couperin aan een vergelijking onderwerpt.
Volkskrant.nl

The  program is an interesting one (...) This comparison effort made me want to hear the same piano music recorded in hi-res on several modern concert grands, including Bodendorfer and Fazoli. (...) I am looking forward to the second volume by Giacometti.
Audiophile Audition