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Evgeny Kissin Plays Chopin | 
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| Creators: Frederic Chopin, Evgeny Kissin
Label: Sony Classics
Category: Music
List Price: $18.97
Buy New: $13.10
You Save: $5.87 (31%)
New (13) Used (5) from $7.47
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 156941
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 68668
UPC: 828766866827
EAN: 0828766866827
ASIN: B000KX0I54
Release Date: January 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Polonaise in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 26, No. 1 | | • | Polonaise in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26, No. 2 | | • | Impromptu in A-Flat Major, Op. 29 | | • | Impromptu in F-Sharp Major, Op. 36 | | • | Impromptu in G-Flat Major, Op. 51 | | • | Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66 | | • | Polonaise in C Minor, Op. 40, No. 2 | | • | Polonaise in A-Flat Major, Op. 53 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Recorded live, this Chopin program featuring three Impromptus, four Polonaises, and the Fantasie-Impromptu has all the electricity of a performance. Kissin, who captivated the world two decades ago as a sensational prodigy, is today a spectacular pianist and compelling personality. His virtuosity is by now taken for granted, but perhaps most extraordinary is his uncanny ability to change mood and expression instantaneously and to pace and build up climaxes. This is a matter not only of technique but of emotional concentration and involvement, yet it would be impossible without his mastery of touch, color, and nuance. Kissin's tone is beautiful: he can make the piano sing in long, sustained lines and his runs are brilliant and fleet but perfectly clear. The left-hand octaves in the A-flat major Polonaise are a miracle of speed and feathery lightness. As always, Kissin plays with great expressive and rhythmic freedom, but his liberties are not as spontaneous as they used to be: though poised, they stay the same in all repeats and are often excessive, as if they had become entrenched through too many performances. There is no hint of the improvisatory quality implied in the title "Impromptu." Can it be that Kissin's former sense of freshness and wonder has fallen victim to the pace of his career? --Edith Eisler
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| Customer Reviews:
 Evgeny Kissin Carries Chopin Tradition Into the 21st Century August 23, 2007
Raymond Vacchino (Toronto, ON. Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first heard Kissin when he gave his Canadian Debut at Roy Thompson Hall. The young star we were hearing so much about was dedicating the concert to the memory of his idol, Glen Gould. As he walked across the stage his manner was filled with curiosity and wonder, his eyes glancing all around the great hall! Once his fingers touched the keys, this "youthful" look turned into a command of the keyboard, the command displayed by great artists! The Chopin CD takes off with the two Op.26 Polonaises. We are immediately grasped with virtually unparalleled tension and sonority, coupled to one of the most flawless techniques in instrumental history. The Impromptu in A flat, Op.29, has been played so frequently, but in Kissin's hands it is the little masterpiece Chopin intended it to be. The F sharp Impromptu Op.36 contains some interesting hints of variation form. The arabesques in the final section display Kissin's sensitivity and delicate handling of this florid writing. He conveys the left hand expressively, but not at the expense of the right. The Impromptu in G flat Op.51, is little played;it is one of those treacherous pieces; but again Kissin's fluency and technical freedom, make it sound much easier than it is.The Fantaisie-Impromptu Op.66 is the earliest of the series and can become less interesting played by some, yet Kissin carries Chopin tradition throughout this performance, displaying the elegance and charm of the semiquaver figuration; the middle section in D flat has the needed element of sentiment, without the sentimental salon style, that is so unbecoming to anything composed by Chopin.The Polonaise, Op.40 No.2 in C minor-a work that has lately fallen into undeserved neglect, carries an extraordinary amount of harmonic felicities. Kissin keeps the bridge work particularly stable, and the dark,somber character is successfully conveyed. The far end is a magnificent engineering feat and the result is a most poetical enrichment of texture. The final Polonaise, Op.53 in A flat reveals amazing harmonic asymmetry and then springs into rapid life.Kissin again commands our attention through all the triadic positions in forceful octaves; but again, it is the embattled stateliness that Kissin maintains throughout the polonaise rhythm, that positions this festival recital CD, as one of the most expressive and captivating displays of "true Chopin tradition."
Author: Raymond S. Vacchino M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus. L.R.S.M. Licentiate (honorary)
This Kid's Good! April 25, 2007
Tin Tan (Chicago, IL)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Just saw Kissin at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, in a recital that included works by Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin. The house was packed, and he played eleven encores (lasting nearly as long as the concert!). I haven't heard the Chopin disk (and I'll buy it), but I can't imagine the performance differs that much from the one I attended. Watching Kissin play, the keyboard seemed to "melt" and become something pliable for his hands to mold. Can any other artist play that range of dynamics, achieve a seamless legato and flesh out the harmonies, regardless of the technical difficulties of a passage? I doubt it. The Chopin was the highlight. In my opinion, his playing was overly indulgent in the slow movements of the Schubert, for example, and this wasn't a factor in the Chopin. Of course, it's a matter of taste- but if you don't think Evgeny Kissin is the greatest pianist of his generation, just wait. After all, the images of Horowitz, Rubenstein and Serkin we carry in our heads aren't exactly those of fresh faced kids!
Kissin and Chopin are a perfect match March 26, 2007
Mark S. Schaffer (Las Vegas, NV USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
For sheer technical ability Kissin is still among the very best and when coupled with his sensitivity to this composer's works it is hard to do better.
 Again? March 7, 2007
Mauro Guzzo Decca (Sao Paulo, Brazil.)
10 out of 25 found this review helpful
I know it may sound outrageous, but I think we had enough of these pieces. Why would anyone bother - especially if one happens to be as gifted and distinct a pianist as Kissin - to churn out one more recording of, for instance, Chopin's Polonaise Heroique, if not for easy and big profits? Taking into account that - just to mention a few - such towering figures as Rachmaninov, Argerich, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Pollini, Yundi Li and even Kissin himself in the recent past (1994, 2000) have already been there, some of them several times, I guess his talent would be much better served if he only decided to give less-known composers and/or works a chance. It's actually far more easy than it seems, it's ultimately just a matter of imitatio dei - why not follow the steps of God himself who's out there committing to record works by Sorabji, Kapustin, Villa-Lobos, Alkan and even Godowsky's complete Etudes (which are basically Chopin boosted to higher voltages)? God has broken the path; it's time for the creatures to follow it. Now, if you don't even know who God is, I really feel sorry for you. :)
This recording suffers from the same problems and handicaps as many others which are put out in hundreds by the record companies: it adds nothing, absolutely nothing new to our understanding of these pieces. Kissin is neither original nor daring; he's utterly conventional, and his playing resembles that of many other pianists who tackled the Polonaises before him. And, truth to be told, I guess we already have the whole gamut of possible and plausible interpretations of these pieces; the whole ground has been very well covered. If you like aristocratic readings of the Polonaises, well, you have none other than Rubinstein; if you want to feel all their power and grandeur, Martha Argerich will send chills down your spine; but maybe you're a more introverted person who'd rather listen to an intimate account of these otherwise ''little epic pieces'' - well, here you've got none other than Horowitz! And there are many, many others who are worth listening to. There's no doubt Kissin's talent - i'm not one of those who think he's all hype. He's a serious, gifted and wonderful pianist who's still very young and hopefully will get to blossom to his fullest potential.
How is Kissin doing today? March 1, 2007
Santa Fe listener
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
It's been a great pleasure to follow Kissin from child prodigy to adult superstar, even though along the way there have been stumbles so far as musical growth goes. This live Chopin recital from 2004 earns raves here at Amazon and with the audience, which goes crazy at the end, but The Gramophone hated it, calling Kissin's four Polonaise performances "the most lugubrious on records." (They don't feel that slow, actually, and it must be said that Kisssin takes all repeats.)
The pianism here is phenomenal, it goes without saying. Tone and touch are mesmerizing, control is superhuman, and so on. Since Kissin produced two great live Chopin recordings from Carnegie Hall for RCA, it's great to have new works in this recital from the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, which seems to have become a favorite venue among top-flight musicians.
I admit to being a bit uncomfortable with Kissin's current status; he is so prodigious that there's a risk of overpowering Chopin with dazzle and display. The Polonaises are not among Chopin's intimate works, and each is so individual that interpreting them is dfficult. Pollini's only failure on CD in Chopin, as far as I'm concerned, was his overly aggressive disc of the Polonaises. Kissin is more flexible and yielding, and his forte inerjections aren't harsh. Therefore I like these versions very much, and the 'Heroic' Polonaise is particularly appealing in its rhythmic freedom.
If only the Impromptus sounded more spontaneous--as the Amazon reviewer says, maybe some of the wonder has gone out for Kissin. There's a veneer of impersonal expertise here--compare Kissin's readings to Yundi Li's on DG, who seems more personally involved in the poetry. The Fantasy-Impromptu is arresting, yet I miss the younger Kissin's freshness. We'll jsut have to see where this supreme pianist is headed. In sum, this is one of his best recent outings.
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