Russian pianist Denis Matsuev's previous studio recordings, thrilling as they were, pale in comparison with this outstanding RCA release of his November 17, 2007, Carnegie Hall recital. Matsuev opens with a subtly phrased and deeply poetic reading of Schumann's Kinderszenen, then launches into an epic account of Liszt's B minor Sonata, where the huge scale of his conception is matched by the depth of his interpretation and the panache of his playing. From the work's tenebrous opening octaves through its chorale's exalted ...
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Russian pianist Denis Matsuev's previous studio recordings, thrilling as they were, pale in comparison with this outstanding RCA release of his November 17, 2007, Carnegie Hall recital. Matsuev opens with a subtly phrased and deeply poetic reading of Schumann's Kinderszenen, then launches into an epic account of Liszt's B minor Sonata, where the huge scale of his conception is matched by the depth of his interpretation and the panache of his playing. From the work's tenebrous opening octaves through its chorale's exalted chords and its central fugue's fortissimo double octaves to its coda's hushed pianissimo sonorities, Matsuev's performance is frankly astounding. One has to reach back to the recordings of Horowitz and Richter to find a performance as riveting. Matsuev's playing of Prokofiev's B flat major Sonata is every bit as astonishing. With its mysterious moods and mercurial textural shifts, his opening Allegro inquieto wholly lives up to its tempo indication, while his concluding Precipitato,...
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