Preludes / Piano Sonata No 3

"At his best, Demidenko is a dazzling pianist… the Preludes… in his hands become a confection of enormous scope and variety… he imbues the swift numbers with a terrific urgency and excitement… and captures the individual moods… as well as Pires does in her vividly etched set."
(Gramophone)

"He's by no means the first pianist to pull away from the well-worn idea of Chopin as the archetypal Romantic dreamer. But there's austerity here, an emotional directness and a willingness to explore the music's percussive, rhythmic potential rather than its lyricism, all of which make Chopin sound startlingly new."
(Guardian)

Debut release on ONYX from the legendary virtuoso and poet of the keyboard Nikolai Demidenko.

Recognised as one of the great Chopin players of our time, he recently performed these works during the Chopin Experience weekend on BBC Radio 3. This is his first recording of the Preludes.

Bryce Morrison in Gramophone magazine praised his last Chopin recital disc: "Demidenko's razor-sharp articulacy and immaculate dexterity are complemented by the finest musical grace and individuality" (Editor's Choice, 2007)

Demidenko won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, recorded a highly acclaimed series of discs in the 80s and 90s (mainly on Hyperion) including a Gramophone award-winning disc of Medtner Concertos. As a young man he was widely acclaimed as a firebrand virtuoso but this was never the whole story and like a good wine his playing has matured gloriously. Now with new management.