Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott undertakes the task of an album of well-known and loved pieces by the great Frédéric Chopin. McDermott is an undoubtedly confident musician full of energy and solid technique: her runs and fast passages are executed with perfect accuracy, and she is always rhythmically precise. Thus, with an artist of McDermott's stature, one can instead focus on questions of taste and interpretation; the situation here seems to be that certain pieces are a wonderful fit, whereas others may not be the most ideal ...
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Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott undertakes the task of an album of well-known and loved pieces by the great Frédéric Chopin. McDermott is an undoubtedly confident musician full of energy and solid technique: her runs and fast passages are executed with perfect accuracy, and she is always rhythmically precise. Thus, with an artist of McDermott's stature, one can instead focus on questions of taste and interpretation; the situation here seems to be that certain pieces are a wonderful fit, whereas others may not be the most ideal choice of repertoire. The Barcarolle is clean, bright, and elegant. Each note gets careful attention, and one can hear a good deal of bass in McDermott's playing. Chopin's writing here is full and densely textured. The Four Mazurkas each have a different character. No. 1 is dense, complex, full, and powerful. No. 2, however, could be interpreted with more delicacy and sensitivity, as McDermott chooses to do in No. 4. The same could be said about the Ballade No. 1. McDermott performs...
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