Boris Berezovsky - Russian Piano Music (2006)

This recording by Berezovsky is arguably his very best, which is saying something. As the First Prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition of 1990, his talent is a given, but sometimes he seems to breeze through pieces without the kind of fire that is a trademark of Russian pianists--in particular his recording of the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, while technically solid, lacks the kind of oomph and pizazz that befits the composer and the music.
The music in this program, however, seems to ignite Berezovsky's passions, perhaps since the composers are all fellow Russians. The Night on Bare Mountain has the kind of epic scope, if not the length, of the Liszt B Minor Sonata, and Berezovsky does full justice to the little tinkering trills as well as the quadruple forte chord passages, both tender and merciless at a whim. In his playing on some other discs it sometimes seems as if Berezovsky has a "soft" left hand, that is, that he cannot generate the kind of bass that, say Richter or Gilels managed regularly. Here we find that it is within his grasp to conjure some real thunder--although it is still fairly clear that his right hand is much stronger than his left.
What makes this a particularly attractive buy is the inclusion of the relatively rare Liadov and Medtner pieces, lively and evocative shorts which are played with such conviction that one wonders why these composers aren't more popular. Apparently, Berezovsky has a particular interest in Medtner--according to liner notes, he organized a festival of Medtner's piano music in Moscow, 1995.
The final encore piece, Balakirev's Islamey, is notoriously difficult, and I have heard no one play it better, or for that matter as well as Berezovsky (this includes Pogorelich and Bronfman). It has been a specialty of his since he was at least sixteen, and having completely mastered the technical aspects he is free to concentrate on expression. In fact, when I hear him play this piece I am never aware of technique or get any sense of effort,which would distract from my appreciation of the music. All in all, a disc with no weak spots. Highly recommended. It's a pity that some of this pianist's best recordings are out-of-print or scarce. If you can find them, I also recommend his recording of Ravel's piano music as well as his disc of the Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto and selected preludes--there is a budget re-issue of the concerto, but it is coupled with a recording of the 2nd with a different pianist and doesn't include the preludes...oh, and FYI, in his Rach 3 he plays the version with the heavy chordal solo section in the first movement.