Search - Frederic Chopin, Krystian Zimerman, Kyrill Kondraschin :: Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Ballade Op. 38 / Scherzo Op. 54

Brilliant performance by a Great Chopin Exponent

spydr | 10/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this performance on tape some 20 years ago at a Zimerman concert in Berlin and it still rates as the best recording of the Chopin 1 I've ever heard. It's a live recording, reminiscent of the famous Argerich Rach 3 recording and Zimerman's plays with outstanding clarity, a unique brilliance in his sound and virtually flawless technique. The fact that it is a live recording adds a vitality to this performance that you rarely hear in studio recordings and Zimerman's interpretation of Chopin is wonderful. The Concertgebouw Orchestra is at its best and, to my mind, has the greatest Russian conductor at the podium in Kondrashin (look out for his Dvorak symphony recordings as well). Truly the best Zimerman performance out there and certainly amongst the greatest recordings of the Chopin 1!"