COMPOSERS: Chopin
LABELS: Dux
ALBUM TITLE: Chopin
WORKS: Rafal Blechacz: 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, 2005
PERFORMER: Rafal Blechacz (piano); Warsaw Philharmonic SO/Antoni Wit
CATALOGUE NO: 66
Rafa? Blechacz was the runaway
winner of the 2005 Chopin
International Piano Competition. His
studio recording made six months
earlier – reviewed in January – made
a favourable impression, whetting the
appetite for these performances from
the competition itself (and indeed for
future projects now that he’s signed
to Deutsche Grammophon). The
highlights of the studio recital were
the Schumann and Szymanowski;
how does Blechacz shape up in this
revealing cross-section of Chopin?
While inevitably there are some
ups and downs, the overall standard
of his playing is exceptional. The
qualities familiar from the studio disc
are again evident here: specifically the
innate projection of musical line, the
sense of time and space for the music
to breathe, itself allied to Blechacz’s
refined feeling for texture and
voicing. The selection of Preludes, the
Op. 64 Waltzes and the A flat Etude
Op. 10 No. 10 all illustrate these
qualities with rare aplomb. However,
he’s not so convincing in the A flat
Polonaise, nor does he quite sustain a
sense of compelling narrative in the
B minor Sonata.
The other two (short) discs
contain respectively a raw and
ebullient performance of the E minor
Concerto – where Blechacz’s apparent
impatience with the Larghetto is offset
by an infectious sense of enjoyment
in the finale – and a recital crowning
him as the winner, which mostly
repeats material from the first disc.
Altogether these discs showcase an
extravagent if not yet fully developed
talent. This set gets four stars only
because not everything is of the same
hight standard; make no mistake,
Blechacz is a five-star pianist.
Tim Parry