Chopin, F.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 Sa Chen & Gulbenkian Orchestra

• 1 I. Allegro maestoso 20:38
• 2 II. Romanza: Larghetto 09:56
• 3 III. Rondo: Vivace 10:08
• 4 I. Maestoso 14:51
• 5 II. Larghetto 09:36
• 6 III. Allegretto vivace 08:52
• Total Runtime 01:14:01

Info for Chopin, F.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

Recorded in Lisbon in July 2008, the Chopin Piano Concerti were accompanied by the Gulbenkian Orchestra under the directorship of Lawrence Foster. This release revisited a close relationship between Chen Sa and the Polish composer; together, the musicians expressed themselves in one unified language, a language easily mistaken to be their mother tongue. The Chopin Concerti were signatures in the musical canon that highlighted Ms. Chen at the peak of her artistic excellence: from her fluent exchange of alternating dialogues with the orchestra in the first movement of the E Minor Concerto, to her splendid sense of the folk mazurka in the exuberant finale movement of the F Minor Concerto, sandwiched between two sugar-sweet Larghetto movements where our pianist released the emotional high points with nascent unrequited love, full-bodied with endless poetry. How stunning also was the orchestral tremolandi in the Larghetto of the F Minor Concerto, as an anxious storm of emotion swirled by the poet's songlike recitative. Throughout the two compositions, the music danced and ebbed as required; here was a level of musicianship from Ms. Chen as “playing like an angel from heaven.” Surely, these examples would have justified why this recording easily rivalled in excellence the recent release of the pianist’s compatriot Lang Lang.

“Possessed of exceptional talent and a grasp of Chopin’s melancholic lyricism both instinctive and thoughtful, Sa Chen is a natural in this repertoire……Chopin’s gently logical harmonies hang in the air just long enough to catch the falling arabesques, cushioning them gently before launching them off again to explore the wistful inner reaches of delight.” (International Piano)

Sa Chen, Piano
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Lawrence Foster

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