Chopin: Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Berceuse, Sonata, Op. 55-58

Chopin’s music has been part of Pollini’s life since boyhood and it provided him with, perhaps, the biggest milestone of his career when he won the International Chopin Piano Competition in 1960. Since then, numerous concerts and recordings have cemented that bond. Arriving shortly after his 77th birthday, this is a programme of consecutive opus numbers culminating in Piano Sonata No. 3, a performance hewn from granite. Pollini’s Chopin is deeply considered, stately, even ascetic. He favours intellectual rigour over easy-won poetry and the effect is, indeed, powerful—and his love for this music is evident in every bar.