Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s classic recordings of the Ravel G major and Rachmaninov G minor concertos have never been out of the catalog since they first appeared more than 40 years ago. Surface and style are one in this music, and the Italian pianist remains unsurpassed for his icy precision and micro-detailing. He brings pinpointed élan to Rachmaninov’s sizzling cross-rhythms in the Fourth Concerto’s Allegro Vivace movement, as well as laser-like concentration to the tartly lush Largo. Few have matched Michelangeli’s nuance and color in the Ravel concerto, and his seamless dispatch of Ravel’s “singing sword” effect in the opening movement belies the notion that you can’t bend notes on a piano. One could be nitpicky in regard to Michelangeli’s “old-fashioned” breaking of hands in the slow movement, but the music’s rippling aura can easily absorb such quirks. Ettore Gracis puts the Philharmonia Orchestra through its paces, and the players respond with scintillating brilliance. EMI’s new transfer reveals less tape hiss than heard in both the 1988 CD release and Philips’ “Great Pianists” edition of the Ravel, yet boasts more body, definition, and presence. If you missed these performances in EMI’s aforementioned full-price incarnation, don’t delay acquiring these better transfers at midprice. No classical collection should be without them.
