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5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterful Renditions, May 20 2004
I gotta say, I've heard a lot of people put down Perahia for lack of emotional aesthetics. Coupled with the fact that I cannot STAND classical music when devoid of soul, I had somewhat low expectations for this recording (hence also my introduction to Perahia). It's a good thing I'm open-minded enough to never pre-judge. The Grieg is virtually flawless (there's a few timing issues with the orchestra). The a minor chords come crashing down, one after another, really making you feel in the midst of an epic battle. I've played this concerto, and while I admit that it's hard to play 8 notes (2 big chords) at a time without some kind of purpose, as I said, my expectations were guarded for this specific version. Granted, the music is almost TOO masterfully controlled, but out of that comes devoutly meticulous placement, and since timing is everything, it works to MP's advantage. I do get a biting emotion out of this. Horowitz, Van Cliburn, etc. etc., all play it differently, but don't dismiss this cd as cold calculated rubbish. Go to the second movement of the Grieg (track 5) and become engulfed by the lyrical beauty - and what touch he has! Those deceptive cadences are SO perfectly planned (if not drawn out just a bit), even though you know what's coming, you still react as if surprised. Predictablity only goes as far as the printed score.
The Grieg is a perfect template for a practicing musician to reference from. It doesn't infuse any eccentric personality traits, but it is a great teaching tool. I'm not as familiar with the Schumann, so it's not my place to critique, other than saying I deduce that my reaction, which is the same as my Grieg commentary, is probably correct. My homage goes to this pianist who doesn't necessarily make the music sound highly unique, so much as he makes it sound PERFECT. And that's for better or worse.
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