I first read about this concerto CD in the "New York Times" column of best classic CDs of 2020 which included snippets of it. I instantly knew that I had to purchase it. I am one of the few who still buys CDs according to my son and my husband. I play the CD in my 2004 Toyota Prius which has a CD player and a tape player. In fact, when I was in heavy traffic today Chopin definitely calmed me down instead of the rock music I usually favor. Sometimes I bring Chopin into my home where he is inserted into my Bose CD/radio. He adds a nice touch to my home. You will not be sorry if you buy this CD.
5つ星のうち5.0Superb Chopin concertos. These set the standard.
2021年1月24日にカナダでレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
When I started really getting into classical music five decades ago, I was entranced by Chopin's piano concertos. I picked up quite a few LPs of the works (admittedly mostly on budget labels except a few, due to being a student with limited funds), but the concertos were special pieces. For some reason, I have not listened to a Chopin piano concerto for many years now (except in background on the radio), although why I can't explain. With this new recording with Grosvenor, friends told me I had to get the CD and listen, and so I did.
The Decca recording is excellent, and the dynamics do justice to the two concertos. As for the two concertos, the opening first (actually composed second but published first) is excellent, with a depth and delicacy I can't remember hearing on other interpretations. The second concerto (first, really) is probably definitive. Intrigued, I dug out LPs and CDs of the works in my music library and delved back into these lovely pieces, only to confirm that the Grosvenor recordings stand out clearly as the best I listened to. Some of the other recordings (which I won't name) sounded boring and flat in comparison.
I've now listened to this CD four or five times carefully, following along with the score a couple of times, and I now remember why I loved these works all those years ago. An excellent disc, and one that can be highly recommended to Chopin fans, piano lovers, and classical music aficionados without reservation.