Search - Adam Neiman - Chopin Piano Recital on DVD

Adam Neiman Plays Chopin

John F. Binder | Skokie, Illinois | 06/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not having been acquainted with Adam Neiman before seeing this DVD, I was not prepared for an artist of such impressive mastery in both his playing and in his musicality. Only twenty-nine, he turns out to have won many prizes, played widely as a soloist and chamber musician in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has fifty concertos in his repertoire, along with a great deal of other standard and not-so-standard solo and chamber works.

His Chopin playing is of a very high order: lyrical, powerful, exciting, dark, as the music requires. On this DVD he performs the Second (Funeral March) Sonata, Third Ballade, two waltzes, a Mazurka, the great Nocturne op. 48 No.1, and the Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise. In the commentary section of the DVD, which follows the performances, he shows a keen musical intelligence. Moreover, he can articulate clearly what he has come to think about the music he plays. His comments on each of the pieces are provocative and enlightening. For example, Schumann famously said of the Second Sonata that with it Chopin "bound together four of his maddest children." Neiman says that the work is Chopin's darkest and is his attempt to come to terms with death. He explains how each of the four movements ties with the others thus producing a unified work. Viewers of this DVD might want to start with the commentary before hearing the recital.

This DVD is a must for all lovers of Chopin's music. Either the playing or the commentary alone would be enough to recommend it. With both elements here, it's a real gem. Neiman is a superb artist who should not be missed.

"

Cant ask for more out of his Chopin interperatations.

Avi Young | CA, US | 03/31/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All of the chopin titles in this dvd are played with much emotion. An extremely talented player who lacked nothing in his playing or interperitations. great dvd of just piano."