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March 2007
*****
“There's a grand romanticism about Trpceski's interpretations… The hectic sweep in the Sonata's first subject drives ahead with a feverishness against which the second subject is allowed to relax, glowing deep and tender; and Trpceski's phrasing of the songful trio embedded in the manic second movement is simply magical.”
“He quickly displayed the compelling hallmarks of his style: light but devastatingly punchy octaves; well delineated rhythms (he can pounce on chords with a drum-like vigour when he chooses); a gossamer touch in lyrical episodes; and an impeccable ear for internal balance.”
2010
“From Simon Trpceski, a relatively new star in EMI's firmament, Chopin's music boils with a Heathcliff-like defiance. Here is no drawingroom dandy but a composer who truly rages against the dying of the light. Yet just as awe replaces critical scrutiny when faced with Trpceski's formidable mastery, you remember how such towering virtuosity is complemented by an equally remarkable refinement. If few pianists have stormed the Second Sonata's first movement more heroically, even fewer have played the Funeral March's central Elysian Trio with such poise and concentration. The four Scherzi, too, offer a similar combination of superlatives, one where a thrusting youthful impetuosity is balanced by lyrical introspection (try Chopin's central molto piùlento reworking of the Polish carol 'Sleep little Jesus'). Such unfaltering style and assurance are enough to make lesser pianists weep with envy and, more generally, there is an almost palpable sense of Chopin's irony, when he called three of his most savage utterances 'scherzo' (literally meaning a joke). Trpceski's dizzying voltage and aplomb, superbly recorded, represent the finest modern alternative.”
Andrew McGregor
2nd April 2007
“there’s a genuine feeling of spontaneity about these performances, yet he’s still able to bring out little details and emphasise lines you might not have noticed before...Personality in spades, yes, but there’s also integrity, and that really matters. You get the feeling that Trpceski really identifies with this composer-pianist...Sheer delight from end to end.”
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