Arsenii Mun at Duszniki International Chopin Piano Festival 2024
A supreme stylist and poet of the keyboard
A standing ovation after an extraordinary performance of Liszt’s ‘La Campanella’ which was the last encore in a recital of radiance and beauty. A kaleidoscope of sounds from a pianist who was also a magician who knew how to extract an extraordinary range of sounds by a sense of balance without ever overstepping the limit of the instrument. Sumptuous full sounds, never hard or ungrateful.
What a revelation ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ was after the enormous build up of Baba Yaga to suddenly see the vision of the imaginary gate from a distance .It gradually came nearer and nearer with the bells pealing and the whole air resonating with the vibrant outpouring of sounds.
There had been radiance and nobility from the very opening of this extraordinary recital with Bach’s Chorale Prelude ‘Nun komm dear Heiden Heiland’ in the beautiful transcription by Busoni in his centenary year. There was an religious simplicity to the opening out of which emerged the beauty of Bach’s Chorale. Sumptuous bass notes allowed radiance and luminosity in the upper reaches of the piano with quite magic effect. A whispered final few bars as the audience sat in revered silence as the deep bass C sharp of Chopin’s Barcarolle was allowed to enter this magic land.
