ABCD 247 Chopin Piano Concertos / Janne Mertanen (pn), Joensuu CO, Hannu Koivula (cond)

"This is my first encounter with his artistry, and the loss until now has been all mine. Janne Mertanen is that rare animal, previously extant in the persons of Alexander Brailowsky and Adam Harasiewicz, the Chopin specialist. Nearly all of Chopin's works are in his repertoire. He won the International Chopin Competition in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1992. Mertanen has been recording Chopin since 1994. His CDs of the nocturnes, also on Alba, were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin 2005 in Warsaw.

His playing goes from a mere whisper, even in runs, to thunderous fortes, plus everything in between. As a Chopin player, he reminds me most of the great Jeanne-Marie Darré. There is the same precision in bravura passages. Both play with plenty of passion, but never let it descend into bathos. Mertanen is an extremely clear player. His execution is clean and solid-he plays all the notes, something one can't take for granted in these works.

The orchestra's accompaniment is excellent, both spirited and dramatic. The balance between piano and orchestra is altogether natural and superb, captured in recorded sound that is some of the best I've heard for a piano concerto. To sum up, I would rank Mertanen in the First Concerto with Gary Graffman, on LP, and in the Second Concerto with Arthur Rubinstein's first stereo recording, conducted by Alfred Wallenstein. In other words, this is some of the best Chopin playing I know of. Enthusiastically recommended."

Dave Saemann / Fanfare Magazine

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