Four of the Opus One Preludes open this seventy-minute recital, elusive yet richly romantic music, played with engaging warmth by Krystian Zimerman, who goes on to allure with the Opus 34 Masques, twentieth-century impressionism and volatility, given with sensitivity and explosive address, this musician fully commensurate with the ambitions of his fellow-Pole (1882-1937) – charismatic pianism allied to discriminating interpretation – with recorded sound from May 1994 (first release) that nevertheless allows a seamless listen with the rest of the disc that was captured as recently as June this year, including that most-Polish of genres, the Mazurka, four of the Opus 50 set, music of personal distinction if rooted in a time-honoured form, given with total identification by Zimerman who completes the programme with Variations on a Polish Folk Theme (Opus 10), the impetus itself very expressive, suggesting fireside story-telling, as well as seminal, and which Szymanowski exploits to the full, including a ‘Marcia funebre’ (Chopin-grand) and an extended bravura ‘Finale’, the writing throughout placing many demands on the pianist (sometimes reminding of Brahms’s thickets of notes), manfully executed by Zimerman while remaining musically penetrating at all times. This first-class-in-every-way release is on DG 486 3007.
Krystian Zimerman records Piano Works by Karol Szymanowski for Deutsche Grammophon.
