Review By Gonzalo Pérez Chamorro ,Ritmo,September 2011
CHOPIN, F.: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Fantasy on Polish Airs / Rondo a la krakowiak (Nebolsin, Warsaw Philharmonic, Wit) 8.572335
CHOPIN, F.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Variations on La ci darem / Andante spianato and Grande polonaise brillante (Nebolsin, Warsaw Philharmonic, Wit) 8.572336
DOHNANYI, E.: Variations on a Nursery Song / Symphonic Minutes / Suite (Nebolsin, Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta) 8.572303
LISZT, F.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Totentanz (Nebolsin, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Petrenko) 8.570517
RACHMANINOV: Preludes for Piano (Complete) 8.570327
SCHUBERT, F.: Piano Sonatas Nos. 4 and 13 / Wanderer Fantasy (Nebolsin) 8.572459
Eldar Nebolsin comenzo grabando para Naxos en 2007 con los Preludios de Rachmaninov. Desde entonces ha recorrido Conciertos y obras para piano y orquesta de Chopin, Liszt y Dohnanyi, hasta llegar a su ultimo disco con el piano de Schubert, en el que ha vuelto a encerrarse solo sin mas compania que el mismo, como hiciera con aquel Rachmaninov, unos Preludios (Op. 3/2 y Opp. 23 y 32) de un colorido deslumbrante, ritmicamente intensos y con una capacidad expresiva emocionante. Para cualquier pianista proveniente de la antigua Union Sovietica estas obras son como una ducha diaria, practicamente estan en la “rutina” habitual de cada pianista. Nebolsin los escucharia por los pasillos de los conservatorios, pero esta familiaridad no ha convertido su interpretacion en una mas, pues la capacidad para extraer finas sensaciones de cada preludio es un acierto que no cae en la exhibicion sonora sin tener por que, como les ocurre a muchos pianistas con estas obras, que apabullan pero cayendo en el vacio robando su alma. Desde el Op. 23/6, un Preludio que Gilels adoraba y que en Nebolsin suena con una exquisitez creativa admirable, al Op. 23/10, cantado con una ternura maravillosa, todo el ciclo de la Op. 23 es de una belleza magistral, a la altura de las mas grandes recreaciones. La densa sonoridad de Rachmaninov, creada por una continuidad incesante de notas y una asfixiante armonia, es para el pianista uzbeko un reto que se convierte en claridad (Op. 32/1) y verdadera poesia (Op. 32/5).
La obra completa para piano y orquesta de Chopin conto con Wit y la elegante Filarmonica de Varsovia, en interpretaciones que rebosan placidez y elegancia, pura belleza sonora, con un punto de vista mas lirico que dramatico. Puede ser que la direccion sea menos “arriesgada” que otras recientes (Mehta, Nelsons, Fisch), con cierta correccion, pero el
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Review By Classic FM,March 2011
The best new recordings of all six of Chopin’s works for piano and orchestra come at a bargain price (Naxos has also issued the First Piano Concerto, Fantasia on Polish Airs and Krakowiak). The acoustic is a shade boomy and Antoni Wit’s Warsaw Phil players veer towards the workmanlike, but Nebolsin carries all before him with sparkling, life-enhancing playing. Particularly fine are the earliest and last works that Chopin wrote for this medium: the rarely heard Variations (1827) and Grande polonaise brillante (1835) both staking a claim as the new benchmark.
Review By Scott Noriega ,Fanfare,March 2011
CHOPIN, F.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Variations on La ci darem / Andante spianato and Grande polonaise brillante (Nebolsin, Warsaw Philharmonic, Wit) 8.572336
Pupils of Chopin - MIKULI, K. / TELLEFSEN, T.D.A. / FILTSCH, C. / GUTMANN, A. (Rutkowski) 8.572344
Naxos here gives us two rather interesting releases, the former showing off the new Polish National Chopin Edition of some of Chopin’s works for piano and orchestra, the latter presenting some of the many students of Chopin, mostly in smaller character pieces, and in genres closely associated with the Polish pianist-composer.
Eldar Nebolsin was born in Uzbekistan in 1974. He eventually went on to study with Dmitri Bashkirov, before garnering international attention after winning the Santander International Piano Competition back in 1992. In addition, he was awarded the Sviatoslav Richter Prize in the International Piano Competition, Moscow, in 2005. He is a name that is new to me, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to hear a bit of what he’s doing right now. He has the kind of virtuosity that is less apparent than other pianists’, because he always seems to be completely in touch, musically, with what he’s doing—and not for the sake of showing off what he can do. He has a fluid sound, and a good lyrical sense—sometimes losing the rhythmic bite, the quirkiness of the rhythms, but always maintaining a beautiful sound. The concerto’s first movement is perfectly paced to bring out the Maestoso character that is asked for in its tempo marking. But again, sometimes the music loses that aforementioned bite and consequently its momentum. The way Nebolsin handles the delicate filigrees of the concerto’s Larghetto, though, is just one example of his good taste in never over-sentimentalizing this music. The Allegretto vivace that follows is equally well done, having an almost eerie, misterioso quality to it from the very beginning of the movement. The pianist shines especially in these latter two. The Mozart Variations—the piece that Schumann was so impressed with that he called Chopin a genius—has never been hugely popular in this century. Nebolsin does a good job of letting the music flow naturally, while keeping the textures of the piano figuration light and airy—not so easy, considering the difficulty of these etude-like variations. Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic provide excellent accompaniment, surging when necessary, supporting at other times, and getting out of the way when the soloist comes to the fore.
The second recording is a fascinating study of some of the numerous personalities who studied with Chopin in his short life. While all of these pieces owe some of their characteristics to Chopin, none quite sound exactly like him, though all of them have their own formidable technical hurdles. The pianist, Hubert Rutkowski, a pr
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Review By Juan Carlos Moreno,Scherzo,February 2011
8.572336_SCHERZO_022011_sp.pdf
Review By Jed Distler,ClassicsToday.com,January 2011
While not the most impassioned and poetic reading of Chopin’s F minor concerto to be had, there’s much to be said for Eldar Nebolsin’s forthright delivery of the solo part. I’m particularly struck by how he tends to take decorative passages more-or-less in tempo, making expressive points mainly through dynamic gradations and shifts in articulation (the Allegretto vivace’s main theme and the Maestoso’s second subject, for example). However, the pianist’s finest work occurs in the incisively characterized Là ci darem la mano variations and the languid yet beautifully spun out Andante spianato. Unfortunately, a harsh, blurry recording quality lessens whatever impact Antoni Wit and his splendid Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra may have made aside from the microphones, while by contrast, Nebolsin’s closely miked piano seems to inhabit a different acoustic. Incidentally, this recording of the F minor concerto purports to be the first to use the new Polish National Chopin Edition, yet the annotations discuss nothing about what the text entails, nor what distinguishes it from its predecessors.
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Review By John Allison,BBC Music Magazine,January 2011
Both the veteran Wit and the 36-year-old pianist Eldar Nebolsin approach it with a mixture of seriousness and poise, showing a complete identification with Chopin’s language
Review By Malcolm Hayes,Classic FM,January 2011
The Music All of Chopin’s music with orchestra was written when he was a young composer trying to make his name, before his solo piano music then made him one of Romanticism’s all-time greats. Even so, there’s no mistaking that here is a young genius at work.
The Performance The Warsaw Philharmonic and their conductor Antoni Wit must have accompanied the Second Piano Concerto many dozens of times, but you wouldn’t think so from their fresh, anti-routine way with the concerto’s orchestral introduction. The octane-level drops when Nebolsin joins in. Although a fluent, stylish, technically impressive pianist, he doesn’t make much happen: the second movement’s beautiful, intricately-decorated lyricism just doesn’t take wing. Fortunately Nebolsin is in much more live-wire form in the sparklingly inventive Mozart variations, and in the Andante spianato (‘spun’ Andante) and Grande Polonaise.
The Verdict While Nebolsin’s contribution in the Second Concerto doesn’t measure up to the fearsome competition in other recordings, his and the orchestra’s excellent way with the other two works is well worth a listen.
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Review By Jordi Caturla González,Ritmo,January 2011
Dos nuevos discos vienen a sumarse a la ingente cantidad de colecciones y nuevas grabaciones que estamos viendo este año con motivo del aniversario Chopin. Para celebrar los 200 años del nacimiento del polaco, Naxos ha encargado los conciertos para piano a Antoni Wit, habitual del sello, y a Eldar Nebolsin, pianista uzbeco afincado en España que ha cosechado también éxitos con sus registros de Rachmaninov o Dohnányi en la misma casa. En la dirección, Wit no toma riesgos y opta por una lectura mesurada que enfatiza la belleza frente a la pasión. La Filarmónica de Warsovia está dirigida con gusto y criterio y suena bien, pero creo que a ambos conciertos les falta unas vueltas de tuerca en este sentido. En lo pianístico, Nebolsin acierta con su Chopin también centrado y nunca desaforado, pese a que en los pasajes rápidos el virtuosismo tape al resto de factores. En cualquier caso, su piano es siempre de hondo calado y de factura impecable. Los cedés se completan con otras obras infrecuentes, como la Fantasía sobre aires polacos o Krakowiak, muy bien tocadas por todas las partes. Quizás sea este un aliciente para escoger estas versiones entre la enorme cantidad existente en el mercado.
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Review By David Mellor,Mail on Sunday,December 2010
And my best bargain choice has to be the two separately available Naxos CDs devoted to Chopin’s music for piano and orchestra, splendidly played by Eldar Nebolsin and idiomatically accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic under the doyen of Polish conductors, Antoni Wit
Review By John Sheppard,MusicWeb International,December 2010
Bargain of the Month
All too often when playing Chopin pianists seem to concentrate more on producing their own individual performances rather than on playing what is in the score. Conductors and orchestras do not bother too much, relying on the received wisdom that Chopin could not write for orchestras. As is clear from this disc, he could, but he did it in a very individual way, albeit one which is essentially to support and encourage the soloist. The tuttis are rightly firm and unmannered here, whilst the various solo voices rising from the orchestra - in effect secondary soloists – emerge as distinct characters. The bassoon in particular has this role in the Concerto, and here he (or she) is made sufficiently audible to achieve this without being artificially spotlit. Even better, the section near the start of the third movement where the upper strings play a rhythmic pattern col legno - with the stick of the bow - whilst the lower strings play arco is balanced just right. The effect is neither inaudible nor just bizarre but rather evokes some kind of folk-dance. Similar care over balance and phrasing appears throughout the disc, and adds enormously to the listener’s pleasure and understanding.
It may seem odd to start this review by talking about the orchestra rather than the soloist, but Eldar Nebolsin is such a superbly musicianly player that I am sure that he would not complain. Although he plainly has the technique to tear through simply showing off his virtuosity, and he is certainly not afraid to do so when that is required, he is more interested in the changing character of the music, and of its line. Rather, of its lines, as over and over again I was delighted to be able to hear details of inner voices and details that are usually submerged in the texture. The slow movement is taken at a flowing speed that allows the phrases to breathe naturally. There is rubato in all three movements, but not to such an extent that the basic pulse is hidden. Naxos refer to these performances on the sleeve as being “fresh” and that is exactly the right word although I would add “musicianly and enjoyable”. I do not want to suggest a slavish devotion to the letter of the text. There is freedom, but allied to real rhythmic control, and with a delightful variety of tone colour and lightness of touch.
The performances of the two shorter works share similar virtues to the Concerto and for once I can understand Schumann’s famous comments after hearing the Variations. They come across as having real imagination and wit rare in sets of virtuoso variations of the period.
With excellent and well balanced recording this goes straightaway to the top of my preferred performances of the Concerto. There is no sense of self-indulgence or of empty virtuosity; instead, we hear what the composer has written projected with beauty, wit and imagination. For me this is near the ideal in the performance of Chopin.
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