These performances will doubtless provoke very extreme and opposite reactions among listeners. Krystian Zimerman built an orchestra from scratch for the sole purpose of recording(and touring with) both Chopin concertos. He obviously loves this music madly and wants to share his passion for it. Rehearsals must have been very strenuous, as these recordings easily prove. Though not an experienced conductor, Zimerman demands and receives the best from each and every player of his own ensemble, with amazing results in terms of sheer commitment and quality of execution. You won’t hear a single note in these recordings that hasn’t been carefully meditated over and lovingly sounded. Never before has Chopin’s thin orchestration appeared so interesting and well crafted. The strings play with an intense vibrato, the woodwinds with rare delicacy.
Thanks to his double role as pianist and conductor, Zimerman can take extreme liberties with the music, establishing a true dialog with the orchestra and giving to almost every phrase a different character and color. And it works. Even the purely ornamental passages sound expressive, like unending melodies instead of empty moments filling up the transitions. Here is Chopin the improviser and lover of bel canto, the piano virtuoso and the passionate young man, the classic and the romantic all at once. The tempos are incredibly flexible, though slower than most other recordings, but the rhythms always move, maintaining the required drive and liveliness. The Allegro maestoso of the First Concerto lasts almost 25 minutes, and the whole concerto 46 minutes! Inside this vast architecture, Zimerman leaves room for every detail, with an abundance of exquisite sonorities, velvety dynamics and wonderful pianistic technique. Rarely has his tone sounded with such beauty and caressing nuance, even if his fortissimo retains (in places) its usual metallic quality. Overall, these performances give new life to works that have been too often routinely played. The sound recording is spacious and well balanced, though sometimes on the verge of harshness. The two concertos come on two CDs for the price of one. Essential!
