by Stan

First off, these performances and the sound quality are wonderful, and the price, under $15.00 for the 83-minute DVD and the 56-minute CD, is a bargain. The CD contains most of the material on the DVD except for the Polonaises. No one should be disappointed with these discs.

These sets were self-published by the artist and her husband, Alex Kuznetzoff (ValAl Productions), so they do not have all the features of deluxe major-label products. The tracks on the DVD are not separated, but play continuously like a movie. There is not a "menu" page. Visually, the presentation is elegant but somewhat stark, with the pianist (dressed in black) and keyboard under a spotlight in a dark room, as seen on YouTube. The graphics and information accompanying the disc are minimal.

The performances represent material learned by Lisitsa in the last couple of years to coincide with the Chopin bicentennial. On her YouTube postings, she has written thoughtful commentaries about many of them explaining her sometimes unorthodox tempo choices and other matters.

Lisitsa has a reputation as a speed demon, but there is little indication of that here. She has matured since her earliest YouTube videos, and these interpretations are thoughtful and sensitive as well as masterful (with fireworks included).

I grew up listening to this repertoire played by Rubinstein, and I have had to learn to appreciate Lisitsa's very different approach. Rubinstein is more conservative and formal, always with the melody foremost. Lisitsa, on the other hand, allows tempi to fluctuate more and surrounds the melody with the accompaniment rather than separating it as much. She also uses more sustain pedal and allows the sonority of the instrument to support the music in a more voluptuous way. Her phrasing, voicing, and use of dynamics are sometimes provocatively original.

Recorded by Wolf Dieter Karwatky in Hanover's Beethovensaal, the artist played a specially-chosen Steinway belonging to piano technician Gerd Finkenstein. It is the same piano used by Valentina in her as-yet unreleased recordings of the Rachmaninoff Concertos with the London Symphony.

By now this batch of two-disc sets, exclusively available at Amazon, has sold out, and Valentina has said that there would be no more, but we'll see. I'm glad I ordered early!