Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit - 1. Ondine - Ken Sasaki

[snapperv]

this was played way too fast to my liking...very masculine and i think it lost its magical fantasy and no room for the listeners to allow some imaginations/fantasy to happen...Anyway, different people, different tastes and thus, different preferences :)

[Fraggabomba]

Tell me that this is suggestion, but this version has something like "misterious far east tension" that perfectly merges with the piece. Wow.

[starlodear]

I can't get enough of his version. Don't you agree that Sasaki plays it even faster and smoother than Pogorelich? I'm no piano player so maybe some of you can elaborate on Sasaki's technique-

[miguelercolino]

@starlodear So if you "play it faster" than you have better technique?! What a nonsense!

[phreaquetalk]

yeah, i've been trying to look for more information about Ken Sasaki online but it's almost non-existent. what a pity he didn't have any major recordings done before his death.

[starlodear]

It's hard to find any info on Ken Sasaki who died in 1991 at 48. I'm surprised because he was a genius.

[starlodear]

The best interpretation I've ever heard. unbelievably fast yet smooth. it just flows effortlessly. genius.

[rqbuchanan]

This is definitely one of the best in my collection.

Argerich's 1974 recording is really terrific, a benchmark of the time, but for my money, nothing tops Pogorelich's interpretation.