Jan Lisiecki - Chopin: Études (2013) [Hi-Res]

Jan Lisiecki's 2013 Deutsche Grammophon album of Frédéric Chopin's two sets of Études, Opp. 10 and 25, is certainly a bold demonstration of youthful vitality and dynamic virtuosity, but it is also a highly personal interpretation that is surprisingly Romantic in character, if not idiosyncratically so. There's never a worry that he'll miss a note or execute a passage ineptly, for Lisiecki is a fine player who can handle any difficulty these intricate study pieces hold in store. Yet there is always a slight feeling of impending recklessness, as if Lisiecki could turn the music on its head at any moment. Nothing is staid, everything is in motion. After several decades of pianists playing Chopin close to the vest, with a rhythmic regularity and evenness of phrasing that emphasize the Classical impulse, along comes Lisiecki with his flexible dynamics, playful rhythmic teasing, and impulsive expressions, characteristics that are perhaps more suggestive of Liszt's extroverted style than Chopin's introversion. Lisiecki knows that his audience wants bravado and a degree of flamboyance, and these qualities come across fully in his playing here. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is exemplary, with superb clarity and depth.