COMPOSERS: Chopin
LABELS: Mirare
ALBUM TITLE: Chopin
WORKS: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2
PERFORMER: Boris Berezovsky (piano); Ensemble Orchestral de Paris/John Nelson
CATALOGUE NO: Mirare MIR 047
Boris Berezovsky has an imposing physique and his large hands can dispatch the Etudes of Chopin and Liszt with apparent disregard for their difficulty. Indeed it sometimes seems that the more physically taxing the piece the more involved he is with making music of it; lyrical simplicity is not something that always comes naturally to him.In Chopin’s concertos, Berezovsky’s super-refined and silvery passagework is a joy in itself. His innate phrasing and sense of poetry bring many rewards: the third movement of the E minor Concerto, for example, the intricate passagework from 2:07 fizzes with Berezovsky’s stunning articulation and sense of playful caprice. Unfortunately such spells aren’t sustained, and the result feels rather episodic, less than a sum of its parts. Listen to Martha Argerich and you encounter a different level of dramatic involvement and Romantic volatility. Her flexibility of phrasing and magical feeling for tonal and temporal inflection give a richer poetic immediacy. Berezovsky’s orchestral support is more committed than inspired, while the sound is airy and well balanced.
Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Boris Berezovsky has an imposing physique and his large hands can dispatch the Etudes of Chopin and Liszt with apparent disregard for their difficulty. Indeed it sometimes seems that the more physically taxing the piece the more involved he is with making music of it; lyrical simplicity is not something that always comes naturally to him.In Chopin’s concertos, Berezovsky’s super-refined and silvery passagework is a joy in itself.
Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm