CHOPIN: SCHERZO NO. 1; PROKOFIEV: SONATA NO....

CHOPIN: SCHERZO NO. 1; PROKOFIEV: SONATA NO. 7; SCHUMANN; “CARNAVAL.” Jose Feghali, piano. VCS 1186. LISZT: “MEPHISTO” WALTZ NO. 1; RAVEL: “NOCTUELLES”; “UNE BARQUE SUR L’OCEAN”; PROKOFIEV: SONATA NO. 3; SCHUMANN: “DAVIDSBUNDLERTAENZE.” Philippe Bianconi, piano. VCS 1186. LISZT: “APRES UNE LECTURE DE DANTE”; CORIGLIANO: “FANTASIA ON AN OSTINATO”; MUSSORGSKY: “PICTURES FROM AN EXHIBITION.” Barry Douglas, piano. VCS 1186. With these three recordings--by the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalists, respectively, at the Seventh Van Cliburn Competition--you can experience some of the dilemmas of adjudicating major competitions. There is not a tittle of technical difference to be discerned between these players, seasoned recitalists and veteran competitors all. The Gold seems fairly awarded, however, for the mature poetry of Feghali’s Chopin and Schumann--his Prokofiev in contrast seems a matter of cool indifference. The sound is immediate--these discs were recorded live at the competition, so they include discrete coughs and rustlings--and captures a sense of competition tension. Kudos to Douglas for the Corigliano choice: it is an attractive, thoroughly accessible work (the ostinato is derived from the Allegretto of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony), but unusual repertory is always a gamble at competitions.