COMPOSERS: Prokofiev,Scriabin,Stravinsky,Tchaikovsky
LABELS: EMI Debut
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Simon Trpceski
WORKS: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite (transcr. Pletnev); Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 5; Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrushka; Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 6
PERFORMER: Simon Trpceski (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: CDZ 5 75202 2
Simon Trpceski was most people’s favourite finalist at the London Piano Competition in 2000 and he’s now a BBC New Generation Artist. This disc amply justifies the enthusiasm his playing has so far engendered – it’s a magnificent recording debut. The spacious acoustic enhances Trpceski’s radiant sound while preserving the sharp clarity of his articulation. He never forces his tone nor strains after effect, so that Tchaikovsky’s gracefulness is always preserved, no matter what pressure Pletnev’s arrangement puts on the pianist. The Scriabin Sonata opens like a strong gust of wind, the main Allegro buoyant and strongly propelled and its orchestral effects sumptuously evoked.
In Petrushka, the first movement is not too hard-driven and its internal mechanisms clearly exposed, while the second is characterised with light balletic delicacy. The first of Prokofiev’s ‘War’ sonatas calls for sterner treatment and gets it, though the playing is still beautifully finished and a delight to listen to for its own sake. The whole disc creates a picture of an exceptional young talent in all its freshness and sense of enjoyment.