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Culture Watch: Ingolf Wunder Chopin Recital

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Ingolf Wunder Chopin Recital


(Deutsche Grammophon)

The Austrian pianist, born in 1985, tied for second place last year at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, but he seems to have won the big prize – an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His first recording of mostly late Chopin is an extremely elegant and polished affair.

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Most impressive is the Polonaise-Fantasie, played with grace, superb restraint, unflashy but utterly secure technique and a wonderfully mellow tone. Add to this a probing performance of the Third Piano Sonata, a flowing Fourth Ballade and a spiffy Andante Spianato/Grande Polonaise Brillante, and this becomes a Chopin recording one can easily live with for a long time.

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-- Mark Swed

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