[ Decca Music Group / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 6 March 2020
This item is only available to us via Special Import.
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor presents a new recording of two concerto favourites: Chopin's Piano Concertos Nos.1 and 2, released on 21st February 2020 on Decca Classics. Recorded with Elim Chan and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), the record marks Benjamin's fifth album on Decca Classics, following the hugely successful Homages in 2016, and is his first orchestral album since 2012.
"Grosvenor takes a slightly old-fashioned approach that works both in his favour and disfavour here. With playing that can be quite big-boned, he occasionally sacrifices the elegance of his music on the altar of the modern concert grand, yet he has already lived with these works for long enough to strike a balance between thoughtfulness and youthful spontaneity…Chan and the RSNO offer solid support." BBC Music
"[Grosvenor's] lines are full of poetry but they unfold with utter naturalness. Chan follows his every gesture unerringly - there's no doubting the musical chemistry at play here…Grosvenor has also been blessed with a very fine instrument and a fabulous recording. It's the kind of disc that makes you rethink these works and appreciate them all over again. And let's hope that this is the start of a wonderful recording partnership with Elim Chan." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Concerto
"Grosvenor's playing is thoughtful and fresh, with flecks of rubato, quizzical pauses and tumbling, fast-fingered runs. They help to bring spontaneity to concertos that, despite their beauties, need assistance to fully come alive. He is especially winning in spinning the lightly melancholic reverie of the first concerto's larghetto." The Times
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21