Once in a while, you hear a recording which seems to reduce all other interpretations to homogeneous mush. And once in an even longer while, a pianist comes along whose every recording makes you feel that way, and whose life mission, in general, seems to be to push the very definition of music to its boundaries, without giving a damn what listeners think.
The great pianist Ivo Pogorelich- aka the guy who made THAT Ondine recording- celebrates his 65th birthday today, giving me an excuse to trot out some of my other favourite interpretations by him.
Long may he continue to battle against the alarming homogenisation in modern pianism.
1. Chopin's Raindrop Prelude
To this day the only pianist who has actually terrified me in the middle section of this piece. An extraordinarily (but characteristically) patient, menacing crescendo which actually gives the climax the cavernously hair-raising thunder it deserves. I have actually eaten popcorn listening to this.
2. Rachmaninov: Concerto 2
A live performance in 2003. made with the Czech Philharmonic and Manfred Honeck. It distinguishes itself right from the strikingly moving opening. The orchestra is pleasingly lush. (Speaking of unorthodox Rachmaninov 2 interpretations, Nyiregyházi's recording of the second movement is sans pareil).
3. Beethoven: Tempest Sonata
An anti-virtuosic recording, refreshingly crystal-clear and lush in tone. Pogorelich's articulation, and refusal to drown everything in pedal, is spectacular, as always.
4. Chopin: Ballade 3
Just because it's outrageous enough to have half of Chopin fans howling. I love Pogorelich's recent style of painstakingly deconstructing pieces until we enter a new kind of galaxy altogether. You come away awake, alert, having learnt something.
5. Chopin: Op 25 no 6
I love this recording primarily for its effortlessness and simplicity. You'd never know how hard the etude is by listening to it. Pogorelich's technique at its finest.
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