Chopin: Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2

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Customer reviews

review by: austinjr@bigpond.net.au date: 2005-01-20 rating:
Exciting pianism.
This third Kissen Chopin recital to be issued certainly provides some exciting pianism. It is hard to imagine how ten fingers can be coordinated to produce the rippling effects in Prelude 3, the whirlwinds in Prelude 8, the headlong galloping in Prelude 16, and the terrifying swirl of sound in the Sonatas's finale. It is also hard to imagine how much one would need to pay in order to sit in such close proximity to the piano as it is recorded here. Never have I heard the three repeated notes at the bottom end of the keyboard sound as powerful as they do at the close of Prelude 24. pChopin offers much more than opportunities for technical display, however, and few of these additional components are evident here. The tears below the surface of Prelude 4 are disregarded, the cantilena of Prelude 6 is more mechanical than vocal, and the Sonata's Scherzo is rushed rather than refined. Most successful is the Sonata's "Funeral March" - something I thought I never wanted to hear again. Perhaps the enforced slow tempo allows Chopin's voice to come through. pThe engineers have captured the tension and excitement of Kissen's performances, but I am not sure that he has captured the essential refinement and eminently patrician qualities that typify Chopin's music.

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review by: date: 2000-09-25 rating:
An Oasis
As a visitor to the London Hi-Fi Show, I was confronted by the usual blend of 'sensational' music designed to impress but in reality proving brash and tiresome! However, one room offered the near miracle of quality of equipment partnered by superb music - the incredibly intense and engaging style was instantly recognisable as that of Evgeny Kissin who had captivated us all on the first night of the Proms. I'm neither a musician nor a recording engineer, but this one gets full marks for style and substance.

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review by: date: 2000-07-25 rating:
This is moving stuff!
As a semi-professional musician myself I like to think I have a reasonable degree of musical understanding and appreciation and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Kissin is the best pianist by some considerable margin I have ever heard for the Romantic repertoire. pHis power is the fortissimo passages is astounding whilst remaining musical at all times and the slow chorale-like section of the March Funebre from the 2nd sonata on this disc includes a truly beautiful extended section of controlled pianissimo which you simply can't be disappointed with.p11 out of 10!


review by: date: 2000-03-03 rating:
Incredible!
Finally there's a solo piano album in my collection that can match John McArthur's 'HIDDEN' (1999). It's Kissin's 'Chopin'. Haven't heard such a great piano solo album in years. 'Chopin' -released in 2000- was a revelation to me. This guy's playing takes your breath away. His playing is daring and adventurous, and because he has a perfect sense of structure as well, he never gets lost and keeps everything in perfect balance. And on top of this, his playing is deeply moving. I hear a lot of McArthur and Horowitz in Kissin's playing, but, much more important, I hear foremost a pianist with a distinct style of his own. He is distinct.

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