As well as a super-refined approach to sonority, Pizarro has every note where he wants it, plus the power to whip the increasingly opulent decadence of La Valse up to a shatteringly self-destructive climax.

Men der er andet end teknisk brillans i Pizarro’s spil, han har også et usædvanligt kunstnerisk format, som gør dette til noget af betydeligste i klavermusikken i begyndelsen af det 20.

“But there is more than technical brilliance in Pizarro’s playing, he also has an unusual artistic format, which makes this one of the most significant in piano music in the early 20’s.”

Pizarro matches the grandeur of Ravel’s inventions note-for-note. With the opening movement of Miroirs, Pizarro delicately pedals Ravel’s looking-glass textures, while the folksy Alborada del gracioso from the same cycle is snappy enough to make anyone shout ‘olé‘. Volume two? Bring it on.

Fantástico en Juegos de Agua, que relaciona con los premonitorios Juegos de agua en la Villa d’Este de Liszt, Artur Pizarro está notable también en Miroirs (sobre todo en Una barca sobre el océano, se ve que le va la música acuática) y, por pedirle algo más -siempre se puede pedir más-, le pediríamos más profundidad en Le gibet y más misterio al comienzo de Scarbo, piezas ambas de Gaspard de la Nuit, y más sutileza rítmica en La Valse, que, no obstante, es tan brillante como podía esperarse de tan reputado virtuoso.

“Fantastic in Water Games, which he relates to the foreboding Water Games in Liszt’s Villa d’Este, Artur Pizarro is also notable in Miroirs (especially in A boat on the ocean, you can see that he likes water music) and , to ask him for something more -you can always ask for more-, we would ask him for more depth in Le gibet and more mystery at the beginning of Scarbo, both pieces by Gaspard de la Nuit, and more rhythmic subtlety in La Valse, which, however, is as brilliant as could be expected from such a reputed virtuoso.”

Insgesamt präsentiert Arturo Pizarro einen vielversprechenden ersten Teil des Klavierwerks Maurice Ravels: Als intensiver Interpret findet er zur notwendigen Mischung aus Eleganz, Brillanz, Kraft und Zurückhaltung, mischt genug Zweifel und ironisch gebrochene Leichtigkeit in ‚seinen’ Ravel – man wird den Fortgang des Projekts mit Interesse verfolgen können.

“All in all, Arturo Pizarro presents a promising first part of Maurice Ravel’s piano work: As an intense interpreter, he finds the necessary mixture of elegance, brilliance, power and restraint, mixes enough doubt and ironically broken lightness in ‘his’ Ravel – you will see the progress of the project Be able to pursue interest.”

The latter are beautifully illuminated by virtue of Pizarro’s absolute respect for Ravel’s text and impressive tonal control. His bracing, uncomplicated, and effortlessly shaped Ondine is a kindred spirit with Gieseking’s legendary 1939 shellac recording. Le Gibet is rock steady and hypnotically sustained: the widely spaced chords are voiced in perfect proportion to the repeated B-flats and single-note melodies. Scarbo’s formidable pianistic challenges don’t faze Pizarro one bit, even if his suave, unflappable poise sidesteps the demonic undercurrents so vividly characterized by Pogorelich and his imitators. Obviously this disc faces superior sonic and interpretive catalog competition–but what a phenomenal Gaspard!

Artur Pizarro gives further evidence that he is one of the best pianists of his generation with a scintillating Ravel recital that gets ever better as it progresses.