MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

Buy through MusicWeb
for £12 postage paid World-wide.

Musicweb Purchase button

Fryderyk CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Andante Spianato et Grande polonaise brillante Op.22 [13:07]
Ballade in G minor Op.22 [8:32]
Nocturne No.2 in D flat major Op.27 [5:22]
Scherzo in B flat minor Op.31 [9:40]
Mazurkas; G minor [2:00]; C major [2:10]: A flat major [1:20]: A minor [3:39]
Piano Sonata in B minor Op.58 [24:58]
Martin Kasík (piano)
rec. December 2001, Lichtenstein Palace, Prague
ARCO DIVA UP 0048-2 131 [71:02]

Experience Classicsonline



 
This recital was taped back in 2001 and released the following year, though I can find no trace of much reference to it, other than merely the noting of its existence. Even the pianist’s website doesn’t fanfare it, noting – at last inspection – that the booklet was ‘in preparation’. So, I’ve no real idea what lies behind the tardy-seeming nature of its appearance, or whether it’s been given a second shove to send it on its way.
 
Which is a pity, as Kasík is an excellent Chopinist. Born in 1976, he won first prize in the 1998 Mariánské Lázne Chopin competition. He’s since made a number of recordings and has established a small but potent reputation, especially as an exponent of his native country’s music. But the business here is Chopin. What I like about Kasík is his unsentimental but sensitive explorations, allied to a warm romantic tone. He brings, therefore, a genuinely appealing quality to the B flat minor Scherzo – his dynamics are apt, and his phrasing is strong, rising to a passionate pitch when appropriate. His G minor Ballade is cogently held together. He doesn’t rush through passagework – well, perhaps toward the end there is a passage where he should have held back, but it’s about the only moment where he does rush unnecessarily. Moods and episodes are coalesced, and his tone is pearly.
 
One particularly adept performance is that of the D flat major Nocturne. His tone remains lovely, but he doesn’t sacrifice a sensible tempo to parade it. Nor does he disappoint in the B minor Sonata, where he sets up the contrasts in the Scherzo finely and where, in the finale, he brings out the narrative sense of the melodic statements with exemplary intelligence. His Mazurkas are exciting and well chosen. In fact the whole programme has been chosen with care and consideration.
 
With a fine recording in the Lichtenstein Place in Prague, this disc, now a decade old, shows how potent a Chopin player Kasík was. I’m sure he still is.
 
Jonathan Woolf
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.