REVIEWS & OBSERVATIONS

There is something corrupt in the kingdom(?) of piano competitions. It begins with vanity disguised as ambition and ends with applause hollowed out by politics. The spectacle of an already celebrated pianist, contract in hand and engagements with the world’s top orchestras, returning to a stage meant for those still clawing toward daylight is parasitic. The Chopin Competition, once a sanctuary of discovery, has become another theatre of ego where fame circles back to feed upo

Pandora’s Box: The International Piano Competition Deluxe Edition

A recital is not a lecture, not a display case of technique, not a private confession disguised as a performance. A recital, when truly conceived, is a meeting. A space opened between performer and listener, between intention and reception, between silence and sound. It is in this sense, and only in this sense, that programming a recital becomes an art in itself. Not the mere assemblage of pieces but the silent construction of a path, a sequence of human experience traced in

There is an old story, perhaps more poetry than documented fact, that Michelangelo, standing before an unhewn block of marble, already...

Let me begin by saying that what follows may invite criticism, but I offer it not as condemnation but as a heartfelt plea. I feel a deep...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baUThSI0xwA The art of Lieder performance demands a synthesis of profound textual insight and consummate...

In the modern age, where self-promotion and public validation often precede substance, the actual artist remains a paradox. The most...

Murray Perahia’s Chopin Études: A Sonic Revelation

Sitting at the piano in the stillness of early morning or late evening is profoundly sacred. The world is either yet to awaken or settling i

Sonata in A Major D.959 From the first measures of the Allegro , Volodos establishes himself not as a performer in the conventional sense...

Thomas Schwan’s  live interpretation of both Books I and II stands as a resounding success—an achievement of extraordinary technical mastery, intellectual clarity, and spiritual depth. This monumental live recording has been released under his own label, Con Anima , and is now available on CD . The album can be purchased directly through his website: website: https://www.thomasschwan.com/bach-well-tempered-clavier-schwan-cd For those who wish to listen online, both performanc

Leif Ove Andsnes' traversal of Rachmaninov's four piano concertos reveals a synthesis of mastery and imagination rarely encountered in...

It is with a mixture of incredulity and dismay that I observe the recent trend of pianists, in a display of misguided self-importance,...

Ferruccio Busoni was a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, showcasing a rare combination of intellect,...