Evgeny Kissin

Evgeny Kissin has made brave choices in selecting this program. Schumann's Sonata No. 1 is a huge, sprawling piece, difficult to play and to hold together and therefore not very popular. Carnaval is one of Schumann's acknowledged masterpieces and has been recorded by a wide variety of pianists, providing plenty of competition. In the Sonata, Kissin's performance is a complete success. He has the largeness of spirit, powers of organization, and huge technique to make the music convincing and hold the listener's interest for more than half an hour. Carnaval is not quite so successful, as the pianist's fingers occasionally run away with him in rapid sections, and they become technical rather than musical events. Repeated listenings, though, reveal how well Kissin characterizes most of the music and how well his attention to detail ensures that we hear Schumann's ideas and countermelodies clearly. If the whole disc doesn't quite score A+, it's still very much worth hearing, especially for those Schumann lovers who don't know the Sonata well.

On this record, the playing's the thing. A lesser pianist could hardly hold the listener's interest in these sonatas by Scriabin (who had messianic delusions) and Medtner (who never found much recognition outside Russia), or meet the Herculean demands of the Stravinsky pieces. Scriabin's Preludes are charming, poetic, dreamy miniatures of contrasting tempo and character; the Sonata's corner movements are dramatic and fiery, the second surges, the third is lyrical and atmospheric…

The centerpiece of this CD is Brahms' Sonata, Opus 5, which he composed when he was 20 years old. At 38 minutes, it is a grand, expansive, five-movement work, practically symphonic in its complexity and format. Kissin's virtuosity is astounding–he can thunder or whisper–and his sense of line, melody, and mood are impeccable. His joy at playing the piano and just plain music-making is something to behold. Two pieces from Op. 76 (composed 22 years after the sonata) express a folksy flavor and sentimental yearning, respectively, and the five brief Hungarian Dances (transcribed for piano by the composer from his orchestral works) are perfect encores–energetic and easy to grasp. This is a glorious disc, a must for lovers of great pianism, and another feather in Kissin's already impressive cap.

Piano superstar Evgeny Kissin's new Prokofiev album - with his first-ever recording of Piano Concerto No. 2! For his third EMI Classics release, piano legend Evgeny Kissin has turned to repertoire from his native Russia, Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concertos Nos.2 & 3. The performances were recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in January 2008 with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. This is Kissin's first recording of Prokofiev's Concerto No.2, and the collaboration here with Vladimir Ashkenazy is an inspired choice - in addition to his renown as a conductor, fellow-Russian-born Ashkenazy is one of the finest pianists of his generation and a champion of the Russian piano repertoire. These two great artists inspire each other to the heights of artistry, and these recordings prove it!

This is the second of Brilliant's box sets devoted to Russian recordings from Evgeny Kissin. Labeled as early, these live concert performances from 1984 to 1990 carry us from the day after Kissin turned 13 (Mozart Cto. #12 K. 414) to age 18 (Mozart Cto. #20, K. 466), with most readings clustering in the range of 1985-89. Russians were well aware of the marvel in their midst; the pianist's American breakthrough occurred in 1990 when he debuted at Carnegie Hall's centennial season.

This is authentic Kissin, if not authentic Mozart as we have come to know him via fleet-footed, period-instrument performances. In his first recording as pianist-conductor, the Russian virtuoso, renowned for his Liszt, Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, reminds us that Mozart can withstand bold, meaty playing, with tempi slower, textures heavier and climaxes more expansive than most pianists now dare. The choice of the rich, dark D minor concerto K466, with cadenzas by Beethoven, and the final B flat K595, suits Kissin's boldness and individuality. It's not to all tastes, you can bet, but these accounts, with passionate support from the Kremerata Baltica, remind you of a performance tradition that has all but disappeared.

Evgeny Kissin - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 (1993)
(Boston Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Kissin & Seiji Ozawa)
EAC Rip | FLAC+CUE+LOG | 160 MB | no scans
MP3 CBR 320kbps | 125 MB
Classic Piano | Sony | 54:14

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (colloquially known as The Rach 3) is famous for its technical and musical demands on the performer. It is one of the most difficult works for piano ever written; it has the reputation of being the most difficult concerto in the entire piano repertoire.

Evgeny Kissin, in case you missed the New Year's Eve international telecast from Berlin, is an 18-year-old Russian who is already the veteran of many a 'sensational' debut. As he proved in his accompaniment to Karajan's Tchaikovsky, he is already a considerable artist, with all the traditional Russian strengths of deep tone production, strong rhythm, clarity and expressiveness even under extreme virtuoso pressure. His Rachmaninov gives further evidence of an outstanding talent which one hopes his advisers, RCA included, will nurture patiently.

It has been clear for some time that Evgeny Kissin is a Beethoven player of rare pedigree and distinction, the finest Russian-born Beethovenian since Emil Gilels. Twelve years ago he recorded the Second and Fifth concertos in performances of flair and élan with the Philharmonia under James Levine (Sony, 9/97 – nla). His own playing was vital and fluent, the technique awesome, not least his ability to refine tone and taper dynamics in those high-lying passages where Beethoven’s expressive powers are at their most rarefied.

Since his international debut as an astonishing child prodigy in the early 1980s, Evgeny Kissin has matured into one of the finest piano virtuosos of the age. His phenomenal keyboard technique and impeccable artistry continue to astound and amaze audiences and critics alike, leading The Washington Post to call Kissin "one of the world's greatest artists".
Kissin continues his fruitful relationship with EMI Classics with this new recording of two of Mozart's most famous piano concerti: Nos.20 in D minor and 27 in B-flat Major.