Astonishing piano recordings: Rachmaninov’s Paganini Variations, Op. 43 for piano and orchestra is a popular work, but one almost never hears his equally estimable Corelli Variations, Op. 42 for solo piano. These Decca recordings by the young Turkish pianist Idil Biret are a remarkable, sparkling demonstration of talent: her Rachmaninov is brilliant, direct, bright… She is never daunted and avoids kitsch. And the 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16 is no less a discovery…
Joachim Kaiser SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) 1974
Idil Biret’s complete Rachmaninov is unsurpassed for aristocratic, passionate pianism and exacting musicianship.
Richard Dyer BOSTON GLOBE (USA) 2000
“My teacher Nadia Boulanger was absolutely against Rachmaninov’s music, and when I was asked to play the Third Concerto, this was for her the worst catastrophe that could possibly happen… But, I find a great nobility in Rachmaninov’s music, and when I worked with Mlle Boulanger on his ‘Corelli Variations’, she started changing her opinion completely.”
Idil Biret in her memoirs BUCHET/CHASTEL (France) 2006