Chopin Argerich

Drawing on the Chopin model of alternating major and minor keys, as well as on Russian folk melodies, Kabalevsky’s 24 Preludes (1943–4) find the composer’s writing at its most distinctive. They are coupled with the early 4 Preludes (1927), in which the influence of Prokofiev is seldom far away, and the Preludes and Fugues (1958–9), six widely contrasting and expressive preludes yoked to their traditional fugal partners. This is the second recording of Kabalevsky’s piano music by Alexandre Dossin, First Prize and Special Prize winner at the 2003 Martha Argerich International Piano Competition. The three Piano Sonatas can be heard on Naxos.

One has always known that a piano in the right pair of hands could all but supplant a symphonic orchestra. Pianists down the ages from Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff to Rubinstein, Richter, Van Cliburn, Glenn Gould and Martha Argerich have proved that. More to the point of this album Pétrole, though, the prodigious Labèque sisters, Katia and Marielle have often proved that each section of the orchestra can often pale into insignificance when pianists such as them take over the landscape of the instrument together.

A versatile musician and music producer. Alessandro's preference for board instruments was clear when as a child he began to play as a self-taught pianist. He also started composing at a very early age. At 14 y.o. he wrote a cycle of Mazurkas inspired by Chopin. He deepened aspects of jazz composition and silent-film music, and became a close friend with Eric James, the associate composer of Sir Charles Chaplin, until his death. In 2000, a few minutes before his performance, James put a paper on the grand piano, and in front of the audience wrote: nist of immense talent and will surely make his mark on the musical profession.

Krystian Zimerman is getting better as he gets older. He used to be one of a half-dozen great young pianists, a brilliant virtuoso with tremendous expressivity, enormous soul, and a habit of making even fewer recordings than Argerich or Pollini. Over the years of ever-fewer recordings, he's grown into an astounding virtuoso and the emotional power of his interpretations have grown with his technique.