Chopin Recital 2 – Fialkowska

Piano International (Sep, 2012)
This is Polish-Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska’s second Chopin recital disc for ATMA. Arthur Rubinstein, no less, described her as ‘a born Chopin interpreter’, and right from the dark murmurings of the E flat minor Polonaise, it is clear his words carry the ring of truth. The music unfolds naturally throughout, and her deep sound and varied tone are well captured by ATMA’s engineers. The darkness at the heart of the Polonaise is perfectly caught, as is the sparkling brilliance of the first of the group of Waltzes, the E minor, which becomes a miniature tone poem. Her rubato is perfectly judged in the melancholy A minor.

It is the purity of …