SEONG-JIN
CHO
Winner
of the 17th International
Fryderyk
Chopin Piano Competition
Deutsche
Grammophon 479 5332 / *****
Almost immediately after his triumph at
the 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, young Korean pianist
Cho Seong-Jin's debut recording was issued, comprising wholly of live
performances from the concours.
His
mastery of broad sweeping canvasses is immediately felt in the 24 Preludes (Op.28),
made up of variegated miniatures which exhibit every facet of Chopin's
technical armamentarium, and emotional breadth and depth. His impeccably
polished technique is matched by a whole-hearted involvement which made this
music very much his own.
One would also be hard put to find a
reading of the Second Sonata in B flat minor (Op.35, or Funeral March
Sonata) with as much passionate ardour, and that ceaseless probing of the
human psyche's darker side. Here the names of Pollini, Argerich or Ohlsson may
be cited, all of whom are enshrined in a pantheon of great Chopinists which Cho
now joins.
The disc is completed by the Nocturne in C minor (Op.48 No.1)
and that most overplayed of Polonaises, the “Heroic” in A flat
major (Op.53), both sounding as fresh as newly minted. All this accomplished at
the age of 21, a promising musical career awaits this phenomenal new talent.
BLACKBIRD
/ THE BEATLES ALBUM
MILOS
KARADAGLIC, Guitar
Mercury
Classics 481 2310 / *****
That the music of the Beatles, like the
works of J.S.Bach, could be translated into genres far removed from the
original form is a testament of its universality and immortality. This album of
Beatles standards by Montenegrin guitarist Milos Karadaglic is a winner not
just because of his irrepressible personality, but also the idiomatic and seamless
arrangements by Brazilian guitarist Sergio Assad.
The insouciant spirit of Lennon and
McCartney's Blackbird, Come Together, The Fool On The Hill,
And I Love Her, Eleanor Rigby and All My Loving, or George
Harrison's Something and Here Comes The Sun are not lost despite
the absence of words.
There is also a solo arrangement of Yesterday,
by no less than Japanese modernist icon Toru Takemitsu (who despite his
Zen-like austerity was a massive fan of the Fab Four), one which resonates
deeply in its simplicity.
There are cameo appearances by Gregory Porter (in Let
It Be), Tori Amos (She's Leaving Home), cellist Steven Isserlis (Michelle)
and sitar virtuosa Anoushka Shankar (Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds)
which add to the glitter factor of this already desirable disc.
