Evgeni Kissin - Chopin: The Four Ballades, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Scherzo No. 4
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CD Details
Artist: Evgeni KissinComposer: Frederic Chopin
Performer: Evgeny Kissin
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1999-05-18
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
- Ballade No. 1, Op.23 In G Minor
- Ballade No. 2, Op.38 In F
- Ballade No. 3, Op.47 In A-Flat
- Ballade No. 4, Op.52 In F Minor
- Berceuse, Op.57
- Barcarolle, Op.60
- Scherzo No. 4, Op.54 In E
Music reviews of Chopin: The Four Ballades, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Scherzo No. 4
Music Review: Finest Chopin
Rating: 5 Stars
I cannot agree with one reviewer's comment that Kissin is unpianistically like Gould. Gould is generally very eccentric - his performance of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is the most unnatural and unpianistic I've heard. Definitely not my cup of tea.
I imagine Kissin plays Chopin like Franz Liszt might have, and Chopin was an admirer of Liszt. Even Chopin himself believed that he played too meekly for some of his own compositions. Yet ironically, some people think that Chopin's music should be played like Chopin played it himself.
These performances of the 4 Ballades are some of the finest you'll hear. And Kissin's Ballade No.1 is one of the best performances on record - truly well played, free from the unnaturally extended opening in some other renditions, and subtle yet powerful when the music demands it. However, the real gem of this CD is the Berceuse - it is PERFECT. And I don't use that word lightly. The piano tone, flow and fluidity of the performance really cast a dreamlike effect on the listener; there is no minute breaks or kinks in the tempo at anytime during the music that you actually forget someone is playing. The musical and sound effect of Kissin's performance is as close to the ideal and embodiment of a berceuse - a lullaby composed to aid a child in their sleep - as you will get. You are simply hearing a child's dream. It is truly mesmerizing. You truly understand what was in Chopin's mind when you hear Kissin playing the Berceuse. (It is similar to Alfred Brendel's PERFECT performance of Beethoven's Fur Elise, that after hearing it, you are convinced that every other performance is insignificant). If you have other performances of the Berceuse, simply compare them to this one and you will know what I mean.
This CD is a worthy addition to anyone's music collection.
Description of Chopin: The Four Ballades, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Scherzo No. 4
Ever since the start of his career as a sensational child prodigy, Kissin has displayed a strong affinity for the music of Chopin, in concert and on numerous records. Here he performs a program of substantial pieces: the four ballades, written several years apart and not conceived as a group, which nevertheless complement one another through their contrasts as well as their shared narrative and descriptive atmosphere; the lovely, peaceful berceuse; the swaying, rocking barcarolle; and the brilliant, witty Scherzo No. 4. Throughout, Kissin's effortless virtuosity, his beautiful, singing tone, his command of voicing, dynamics, touch, color, and legato are phenomenal; cascades of notes flow from under his fingers with the speed and glittering lightness of dancing waters; his build-ups achieve orchestral sonorities. Musically, he seems to have lost some of his irresistible earlier spontaneity; the dramatic nature of the ballades encourages exaggeration, and the liberties sound a bit planned. However, the berceuse is a simple, expressive lullaby; the barcarolle surges to a grand climax; the scherzo sparkles with humor--its middle part projects a plaintive, ardent yearning. --Edith EislerGeneral CDs
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