Lars Vogt's performance at the 2011 Verbier Festival, in the mountains of Switzerland, is an exercise in virtuosity.
A challenging program of Janáček, Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms is followed by bonus material including a Mozart concerto and a Chopin nocturne.
The German pianist Vogt proves himself more than up to the task, with an inspiring performance of the rarely performed In the Mists, then striking the subtle balance between the delicacy required of a Brahms Intermezzo and the boisterousness of Beethoven's last piano sonata.
Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9
Sounds format DVD: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 75 min
December 2012
***
“Charm isn't sprayed around, but you must respect his intelligence..Vogt demonstrates particular care over the shading of dynamics, attack, and inner voicing, as he does indeed in Beethoven's final Sonata. Trouble is, his considered manner often resembles the dissection of a dispassionate surgeon...Yet there are three minutes of genuine poetry on this DVD, in the posthumously published Chopin Nocturne”
Awards Issue 2012
“Throughout this demanding programme Vogt plays with a wonderfully quiet hand, drawing the most lovely tone from the Steinway (Verbier ships in its best instruments for the Festival)...How good to hear one of the least-played of Mozart's miraculous cycle and to have it delivered by Vogt with understated, stylish conviction.”
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