Of all the pianists on the scene, Anna Kravtchenko has always occupied a place that makes her rare and unique, able to transfix the listener in just seconds. This was clear to everyone who heard her in Lodi last January, when the young pianist played an unforgettable recital, as warm as it was tragic. If you would like to experience that magic (at least in part), you can do so thanks to a recent Decca CD devoted entirely to Liszt.
Set between the rebelliousness of the 12th Hungarian Rhapsody and a cluster of enchanted transcriptions of Schubert and Schumann, the megalithic Sonata in B minor is a whirlpool from which there is no escape: from its first notes, it creates an urgent, pulsing, dizzying, fatal drama. This performance should be placed on the shelf with the “must haves,” alongside that of Martha Argerich, whose divine, unpredictable fire closely resembles that of Kravtchenko. No other rising star so ably combines a perfect technique with an equally lofty imagination. (Elide Bergamaschi)