As I wrote last time, the recordings by Dina Yoffe and Janusz Olejniczak have captured my interest, and indeed have given me a great deal of pleasure. Each has a carefully selected program that provides just the right balance. Both are seasoned veterans who are either Polish (Olejniczak) or nearly so (Yoffee is from Latvia, trained in Moscow) and have the nuance seemingly fixed into their DNA.
The same edition of FanFare that introduced me to these recordings raved over a third performer, a relatively young American by the name of Kevin Kenner who was unknown to me. Why not add to my burgeoning Chopin collection with yet another new name? Furthermore, I saw he also had a recording of Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze. I discovered this Schumann last year and love it so much that I was compelled to get another perspective, in spite of its expense ($25 USD, making it the most expensive single CD I have bought to date.)
Kenner may be American, but he is obviously a Polish national treasure. All three of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute recordings I have are wonderful, but Kenner's has a breath of life, an inspiration that is just magical. I listen to Kenner on the 1848 Pleyel and wonder if Liszt could have sounded any better.
Kenner's Schumann, recorded on a nameless modern piano, is every bit as good as his Chopin. I now have two magnificent recordings of Davidsbündlertänze. I think I like the sound on Kenner's slightly more. Kenner is ever so slightly more brisk than Giacometti – brisk without being less warm. Ultimately, what may make Kenner's CD more attractive is his inclusion of the Phantasy in C major, Op. 17. This is a work that was completely unknown to me and which reveals Schumann the real romantic visionary.
