Yevgeny Sudbin - Liszt, Saint-Saëns, Ravel (2012) Hi-Res

Here is a program of unapologetically exhibitionist works for solo piano, performed by an artist who has absolutely no reason to be apologetic for his virtuosic showmanship. In reviewing repertoire Yevgeny Sudbin has previously recorded, I’ve not been overwhelmed by this not-so-young-anymore (he’s 33 now) Russian keyboard dynamo. Technically, he’s brilliant, but then so is just about every other young pianist fresh from the conservatory or the competition circuit. What bothered me about Sudbin’s Chopin recital, reviewed in 35:5, was a certain coldness or aloofness in his playing.
As exemplary showpieces, all of the works on this disc strike me as being ideally suited to Sudbin’s technical prowess and emotional temperament. Liszt’s Funérailles is the seventh and probably most famous number in the composer’s cycle of 10 pieces, titled Harmonies poétiques et religieuses . Liszt denied the claim that he’d written the piece as a tribute to Chopin, insisting that it was intended to commemorate friends who had died in the 1848 Hungarian uprising against Habsburg rule. Whatever the circumstances of its composition, the work begins in a sepulchral mood and somewhat sulfurous atmosphere, gradually giving way to more peaceful strains, before launching into a headlong defiant charge. Power is required, and Sudbin delivers it.