Krystian Zimerman / London Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Complete Piano Concertos

 

 COMPLETE PIANO CONCERTOS

Krystian Zimerman / London Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major op. 15

 

PIANO CONCERTO No. 1 IN C MAJOR OP. 15

 

Berliner Philharmoniker / Simon Rattle / Krystian Zimerman LEONARD BERNSTEIN Symphony No, 2 "The Age of Anxiety"

W. H. Auden was a charming moralist, wistful yet pitiless, affectionate yet weighed down by emotional pain. With The Age of Anxiety, he created a historical and psychological diagnosis of the soul and of the time in the guise of a Baroque pastoral poem: “Lies and lethargy police the world / in its periods of peace. What pain taught / is soon forgotten; we celebrate / what ought to happen as if it were done, / Are blinded by our boasts. Then back they come, / The fears that we fear.” The outer frame of the action is provided by the four protagonists who fall into conversation in a New York bar and – as the alcohol breaks down the barriers of internal censorship – discuss the war, their own world view and their faith: a fictional conversation between average people, the chorus of a drama (that fails to materialise) and a hymn and elegy.

The poem, which won Auden the Pulitzer Prize, inspired Leonard Bernstein to compose his eponymous symphony: “The essential line of Auden’s poem,” said the composer, “is the record of our difficult and problematic search for faith. In the end, two of the characters enunciate the recognition of this faith – at the same time revealing an inability to relate to it personally in their daily lives.” In the score, which mixes a kaleidoscopic variety of different musical styles, the concertante solo piano takes on a symbolic function: “The pianist,” as Bernstein wrote, “provides an almost autobiographical protagonist, set against an orchestral mirror in which he sees himself, analytically, in the modern ambience.” In the Berlin Philharmonie, no less than Krystian Zimerman will take on the solo part, interspersed with jazz-style syncopation, to which Bernstein subsequently added an extensive cadenza before the final coda.

Zimerman / Andsnes / Grimaud / Boulez BARTÓK Piano Concertos

This is an interesting idea: to combine performances by different pianists and different orchestras. It calls attention to this being Boulez's Bartók . . . Krystian Zimerman takes a direct, hard-hitting approach to the opening Allegro moderator of the First Concerto, in which he is joined by Boulez and the Chicagoans. Every note is crystal clear, and the concerto benefits from Zimerman's stunning pianism and the exquisite brass-playing of this great orchestra . . . Zimerman and Boulez display extraordinary concentration throughout the Andante, and the Allegro molto finale is sheer brilliance . . . The recorded sound is clean and open, keeping both piano and orchestra to the fore. On balance, this is as fine a recording of the First Concerto as any I have heard . . . Hélène Grimaud . . . produces the warmth and gentleness that so many miss in this elegant, comparatively relaxed concerto, which the dying Bartók wrote so that his widow could make a living playing it. Boulez seems totally in synch with Grimaud . . . They attack the finale strongly . . . Revisiting the raison d'être of this disc -- Boulez's Bartók -- it seems entirely appropriate to have three pianists play these three very different concertos . . . three pianists is an equally admirable solution. (Record Review / James H. North, Fanfare (Tenafly, NJ) / 01. July 2005)

 

As this wonderful new CD shows, the mesmerising clarity is still there . . . and there's a welcome flexibility in the rhythm. But the thing that really strikes you is the sheer beauty of the sound . . . And the three soloists - Zimerman, Andsnes and Grimaud - are all marvellous. (Record Review / Ivan Hewett, Times/Eye / 19. February 2005)

Krystian Zimerman SCHUBERT Piano Sonatas D 959 & D 960

Krystian Zimerman, in his first solo album for Deutsche Grammophon for over twenty-five years, unlocks the drama and intensity of Schubert’s late piano sonatas.
Every new recording by Krystian Zimerman is sure to command worldwide critical acclaim. The legendary Polish pianist’s latest title for Deutsche Grammophon, his first solo album since the early 1990s, is set to take its place among the great Schubert recordings. Scheduled for international release on 8 September 2017, it contains revelatory readings of the Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major D959 and Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major D960, works written just months before the composer’s death at the age of thirty-one. Zimerman’s profound recorded interpretations flowed from his experience of performing the works many times in recent seasons and of becoming fully immersed in Schubert’s late creative world in the process. His approach highlights the experimental, visionary nature of both sonatas, the revolutionary work of a man looking forward to the future rather than dwelling on thoughts of death.
Krystian Zimerman used the approach of his sixtieth birthday – which he celebrated last December – as the motivation to explore Schubert’s final sonatas. “I had such respect for these works and for the late sonatas of Beethoven but with that came tremendous fear,” he recalls. “I realised it was time, as I came to a new stage in my own life, to find the courage to perform these late works. I let go of the old stories about this being music by a man aware that he was about to die. Schubert was ill, yes, but he was still in very good shape and filled with a wonderful sense of humour when he wrote what proved to be his final sonatas. I am sure he was looking ahead. The Sonata in A major, for example, is such a modern work. And it has so much to say about life here, as does the Sonata in B flat major.”
Zimerman found ideal conditions for his Schubert recording at the Kashiwazaki City Performing Arts Centre in Japan. The pianist gave a fundraising recital in the wake of a devastating earthquake that struck the town and its surrounding region in 2007; in return, the mayor offered Zimerman exclusive use of Kashiwazaki’s concert hall as a recording venue. For the sessions in January 2016, the pianist used a keyboard he himself had constructed especially for his Schubert performances, which was fitted to a local Steinway concert instrument. The results combine extraordinary details of articulation and orchestral depth with a singing line and warm tone.
“It is a tremendous privilege to work with an artist of such rare genius and relentless commitment to excellence,” comments Dr Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon. “Krystian Zimerman’s understanding of Schubert’s two late piano sonatas has grown over several decades and can be perceived in every note of his recording, in phrasing of extraordinary subtlety, in his exquisite singing tone, and in his feeling for the poetry as well as the daring structure and compelling clarity of the music. There’s no trace of cloying sentimentality. This new album will surely take its place in company with the greatest in the catalogue.”

Krystian Zimerman / Simon Rattle / Berliner Philharmoniker LUTOSLAWSKI Piano Concerto - Symphony No. 2

. . . [Piano Concerto]: the hall's acoustics respond beautifully to the mellow, floating textures. Lutoslawski often writes quiet music, but with such detail that every nuance needs to be heard. Every nuance is heard here, and the effect is spectacular. The piano is always apparent across the orchestra, even when their respective textures call its dominance into question. Of course, Lutoslawski knows what he is doing, and no doubt he is relying on Zimerman's always clear articulation and touch to project the piano's lines . . . The Berlin Philharmonic sound is ideal here, not only for the sheer elegance the orchestra displays, but also for the details that it is able to project, again aided by the excellent audio . . . this Zimerman/Rattle collaboration comes highly recommended. Whatever this mercurial pianist's motivations for returning to the concerto, we should all be glad he did.

(Record Review / Gavin Dixon, Classical CD Reviews) 

. . . [Zimerman's performances of the Piano Concerto] mix complete authority with fresh, questing spirit, as if he were laying out the notes for the first time . . . Zimerman injects both delicacy and virtuosity into the dialogue with Simon Rattle's orchestra, and also holds the key, as probably only a Pole could do, to the serious yet wistful undercurrents of this work . . . Rattle's own input is distinguished . . . he conducts this with a similar ecstatic beauty . . . [the Symphony no. 2 is] a work of warmth, and who better to summon up that than the luxurious-sounding Berliners?

(Record Review / John Allison, BBC Music Magazine)