Composer: PROKOFIEV

Information:
THIS SET WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY BY REQUEST - NO AUTOMATIC MAILINSG. IT ALSO WILL BE MAILED OUT ONE MAILING PERIOD AFTER YOUR REQUEST! THANK YOU.
Here are the three recordings issed in 1989 on the Newport Classics label as #60092,60093,60094. These recordings deserve a place in every radio library and in every private collection of those the love great piano playing and/or Prokofiev. The critical acclaim says it all:
"Barbara Nissman is probably the reigning Prokofiev specialist of the day." The New York Post
"The under-recorded pianist Barbara Nissman plays all nine sonatas (plus the incomplete fragment of the tenth) with a wide tonal range and sharply drawn contrasts that single her out as someone fully in command of the music's intricate detail. The energy and sense of occasion make this the best complete sonata cycle." Classical Music on CD(Penguin)
"Barbara Nissman’s cycle (Pierian:0007/8/9) is positively sensational, and might in many respects have been designed to vindicate Poulenc’s description of Prokofiev as “The Russian Liszt.” This is big, luscious, rhapsodic and often electrifying playing in the great Romantic tradition of Liszt, Rubinstein (both of them), Carreño, Horowitz and Argerich. The instrumentalism alone is quite stunning, and absolutely worthy of comparison with everyone in that list. Within seconds of Nissman’s volcanic opening of the First Sonata you half expect your equipment to go up in smoke. But it’s never instrumentalism alone. This is not only a truly great virtuoso but a deeply intelligent and thinking one. Her ability to unfurl long phrases with a panoramically epic reach is something most pianists would hardly be able to approximate, much less achieve. The lightly sprung rhythms, the propulsive and aerating articulation, the mastery of fluctuating tempos and the fantastic range of dynamic and rhythmic inflections proclaim her a Prokofiev interpreter to the manner born. A truly great recording." PIANO
(Overview: Prokofiev Piano Sonatas) …"recommends Barbara Nissman’s as the most consistently satisfying set: an all-too-rare combination of stunning technique and unmistakable thoughtfulness. Among other rarities she includes both versions of Sonata 5 (they are different enough to deserve the two separate opus numbers assigned to them) and all 43 seconds of the unfinished 10th." American Record Guide
"The virtues of Nissman’s Prokofiev, now available again, becomes more apparent with time. Her intellectually rigorous focus allows few interpretive eccentricities, and the technical command is formidable…the wilder the explosive force the more thankful one is for Nissman’s lucidity. There is one truly great performance, of the Seventh Sonata; not even Pollini has a stronger grip on its unquiet spirit. The shorter pieces on the third disc emphasize a time when the young Prokofiev was merely playing at nastiness and morbidity; again Nissman pulls it all together." BBC Music Magazine
"It once seemed unlikely that anyone would manage this horrifyingly demanding movement (finale of Seventh Sonata) as well as Pollini in his classic performance, but Barbara Nissman is if anything even stronger and more exhilarating. The Seventh as a whole is the finest thing in her complete cycle, now reissued by Pierian (0007-09) as part of its ‘Women in Music’ series. Her intellectual grip on the difficult structures lets us follow her into the labyrinth with confidence… her Eighth Sonata is a fascinating alternative to the somber introspection of Richter."Three Oranges Journal
"These are phenomenal performances, blazing with energy and powered by an extraordinary rhythmic tension— you’ll have to go a long way to hear either set of sonatas done with this exhilarating blend of sweep and pungent detail." International Piano