Dejan Lazić - Liaisons Vol. 2: Schumann & Brahms (2009) [Hi-Res]

Young Croatian pianist Dejan Lazic continues to go from strength to strength and composer to composer. After excellent recordings of Mozart, Liszt, Ravel, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff, he turns to Schumann and Brahms in this 2009 Channel Classics release. As before, Lazic's playing is at a supremely high level with every piece presented in performances that are for all intents and purposes technically perfect. And as before, technical perfection is the least of Lazic's achievements, because the real greatness of his performances is their exemplary musicianship and their consummate lyricism. Lazic captures the tender whimsy of Schumann's Papillions, the pastoral poetry of the same composer's Waldszenen, and the controlled passion of Brahms Piano Pieces, Op. 118. He does so with sensitive phrasing, vivid colors, molded sonorities, and a judicious use of tempo rubato that makes every line sound fresh and new but also utterly inevitable. Try such familiar works as the uncanny "Vogel als Prophet" from Waldszenen or the Andante teneramente from Opus 118, and if Lazic's haunted account of the former and restless reading of the latter don't move you, perhaps you should stay away. But if they do, you should try not only this disc, but also Lazic's other recordings for Channel Classics. ~ James Leonard