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A brilliant young pianist covers two of the piano repertoire's best-loved works.
Three years into his record deal with Deutsche Grammophon, the 28-year old Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder has released two of the greatest works in the repertoire - the first Piano Concertos of both Tchaikovsky and Chopin.
This scintillating recording was made live at St. Petersburg's 2012 White Nights Festival. Here Wunder is accompanied by the magnificent St. Petersburg Philharmonic under the baton of the legendary Vladimir Ashkenazy.
These are works that Ashkenazy knows well - he has performed them himself as a pianist hundreds of times - and he brings crisp, precise support to Wunder's reading.
In Ashkenazy's own words, Wunder offers a performance that is 'convincing, fresh and interesting.' Certainly there are moments that are revelatory in these familiar works as Wunder gives every note appropriate weight and emphasis.