The live and seemingly unedited performances on this disc took place during the 12th Van Cliburn International Competition. Two selections showcase Gold Medal Winner Alexander Kobrin’s strong and stylish affinity for Rachmaninov. He commands the big technique, ironclad rhythmic control, sense of color, and innate timing needed to make the utmost narrative and dramatic sense of the composer’s quasi-orchestral textures in the Etudes-Tableaux Op. 33. This applies both to the softest cantilenas and loudest chordal stampedes, as Kobrin goes directly from one piece into the next, creating a distinct mood and sound-world for each. While Horowitz and Weissenberg keep the pulse of the Second Sonata’s outer movements on a tight leash, Kobrin’s concentration and tonal diversity justify his considerably looser, more improvisational approach.
He makes less characterful an impression in the Chopin Nocturne compared to more intense, firmly etched versions from Arrau, Moravec, Rubinstein, and the extraordinary live Arthur Loesser performance reissued on Marston. However, it’s refreshing to hear a young pianist play Brahms’ Paganini Variations as music rather than as an athletic event, and Kobrin’s boundlessly imaginative and impeccably proportioned account gives immense satisfaction. No doubt about it, this Gold Medalist is an artistic winner.
