& A flat Major; Valse in A flat Major & E flat Major;
Fantasie-Impromptu in C sharp Minor; Nocturnes in B Major, C sharp
Minor, D flat Major & E flat Major; Polonaise in A flat Major
“Heroique;” Mazurkas in A flat Major, F Major, B flat Minor & B
flat Major; Scherzo No. 2 in B flat Minor — Artur Pizarro, piano –
Linn Multichannel SACD CKD 248, 79:02 *****:
The extra star for exceptional marks this as one of the most enjoyable
Chopin collections on a disc I have heard. Pizarro made many
recordings for the former Collins Classics label and has made two
previous Beethoven SACDs for Linn Records. He has a forceful and
energetic style which commands attention and brings out the poetry in
these familiar and unfamiliar Chopin works. I don’t believe I have ever
heard a more thrilling Heroique Polonaise. Part of the rich and
silky sound must be that Pizzaro records on the Blüthner concert grand,
which is free of the treble brittleness heard even with most European
Steinways on recordings. Linn’s micing might also help in that regard,
although the perspective is again extremely close to the piano, making
the instrument wider on the soundstage than normal.
– John Sunier
