COMPOSERS: Chopin
LABELS: Philips Solo
WORKS: Scherzo No. 1; Scherzo No. 2; Scherzo No. 3; Scherzo No. 4; Ballade No. 1; Ballade No. 2; Ballade No. 3; Ballade No. 4
PERFORMER: Rafael Orozco (piano). Bella Davidovich (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 454 135-2 ADD/DDD (1975/82)
All these performances can be recommended. Between winning the Leeds Competition in 1966 and his premature death, Orozco had a very uneven career. As this reissue makes plain, however, he was a pianist of outstanding excellence, combining a wide-ranging tonal palette with impressive technique, intelligence and imagination. Davidovich, an impressive Chopin player from an earlier generation, is marginally less persuasive here, employing a narrower dynamic range and a less supple rhythmic profile, but here too there is much to admire.
Chopin: Scherzo No. 1; Scherzo No. 2; Scherzo No. 3; Scherzo No. 4; Ballade No. 1; Ballade No. 2; Ballade No. 3; Ballade No. 4
All these performances can be recommended. Between winning the Leeds Competition in 1966 and his premature death, Orozco had a very uneven career. As this reissue makes plain, however, he was a pianist of outstanding excellence, combining a wide-ranging tonal palette with impressive technique, intelligence and imagination. Davidovich, an impressive Chopin player from an earlier generation, is marginally less persuasive here, employing a narrower dynamic range and a less supple rhythmic profile, but here too there is much to admire.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm