Kissin in Tokyo: "live" 1987 piano recital - Sony Classical LP, very rare

$

175

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This outstanding and extremely rare LP from Sony Classical (S 45931, Dutch pressing, silver label, DDD stereo, original inner sleeve and insert included) features Evgeni Kissin’s now famous “live” Tokyo recital given at Suntory Hall on 12 May 1987 – a remarkable occasion by any measure, and a truly memorable portrait of the artist as a young man, Kissin already displaying a fully formed musicianship and technical command that has awed audiences ever since.

 

Read the review below and you might very well agree that this remains one of the great “live” piano concerts ever captured on record.

 

His program for this historic concert included the following works:

 

Sergei Rachmaninov:

Lilacs, No. 5 from 12 Songs Op. 21

Etude-Tableaux No. 1 in C minor, from the set of 9 Op. 39

Etude-Tableaux No. 5 in E-flat minor, from the set of 9 Op. 39

 

Sergei Prokofiev:

            Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major Op. 82

 

Frédéric Chopin:

            Nocturne in A-flat Major Op. 32 No. 2

            Polonaise for Piano in F-sharp minor Op. 44

 

Alexander Scriabin:

            Mazurka in E minor Op. 25 No. 3

            Etude in C-sharp minor Op. 42 No. 5

 

Franz Liszt:

Concert Etude No. 2 in F minor S 144 “La leggierezza”

            Concert Etude No. 1 S 145 “Waldesrauschen”

 

Kiyoshige Koyama (arr. Shigeaki Saegusa):

            Natsu-Wa Kinu

 

Anonymous (arr. Shigeaki Saegusa):

Todai-Mori

 

Anonymous (arr. Shigeaki Saegusa):

            Usagi

 

Wrote the superb critic David J. Fanning in his review for the November 1990 issue of The Gramophone: “Kissin's generous lyricism and lovely rubato in Rachmaninov's Lilacs make a distinguished prelude to this recital; but they are only a hint of the revelations to come. The big E flat minor Etude tableau drenches the listener in an extraordinary welter of sound, at once free and controlled, sensitive to harmonic nuance and yet to broader undercurrents as well. And it is followed by a phenomenally articulate C minor, swirling and crackling like a force of nature (with just a couple of accidents on the last page as a brief reminder of human frailty).

 

“The apex of the recital is a colossal account of the Prokofiev Sixth Sonata. Pianistically it has everything—tremendous force, tremendous resonance, wonderful sensitivity to texture and colour, inspired pedalling, fantastic rhythmic grasp, supreme control whatever the extremes of tempo or dynamic. And all these are at the service of a vision which penetrates to the essence of Prokofiev's art—the subdued half-lights and obsessive drive of the first movement, the deadly serious clowning of the second, the stoical suffering of the third, and above all the appalling despair at the heart of the finale. Please don't think I've taken leave of my critical senses—I noted in passing that the rhythm in the last three bars of the first movement is wrong and that Kissin nearly burns himself out before the tumultous last page of the finale. But if this doesn't qualify as a great performance I don't know what does.

 

“So far I've managed to avoid mentioning that Kissin was aged just 15 and seven months at the time of this recital. In his Rachmaninov and Prokofiev it never occurred to me to think about that, either as a plus or a minus. The remaining pieces do perhaps fall into a less exalted category—they are merely astonishing considering his youth. The Liszt studies are seductive, poetic and rhetorical but not yet entirely settled; the Chopin Nocturne could breathe more freely and has a nasty mannerism of right hand before left, a reversal of bad habits of olden days; the Polonaise sacrifices pride and grace for allpurpose grandeur, unimaginatively driving home every first beat in the bar. For all their finesse, I can imagine the Scriabin pieces reaching further out into the unreal and the ecstatic; and the Japanese encores are wholly trivial and forgettable.

 

“Perhaps the biggest drawback of all is the ultraclose microphone placement. But Kissin is one of the select few whose playing can withstand such clinical scrutiny; and such is the electricity he generates, so strong his empathy with Rachrnaninov and Prokofiev, that you feel inside the music both spiritually and acoustically. I suppose it is conceivable Kissin will one day make an even finer studio recording of the Prokofiev; but I would not bank on it re-creating the magic, the sense of danger courted and triumphantly surmounted, of this astonishing live performance.”

 

The recording producer was Juro Yokoyama, while the sound engineer was Ken-ichi Handa. The striking cover photo of Kissin was taken by Koichi Miura. Included is a full-page, double-sided insert with excellent liner notes in English, French, German, and Italian by Ingo Harden.

 

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

 

The condition of the jacket is VERY GOOD. Really, the only flaw concerns a minor bend to the upper-right corner (visible in the image provided). There is also some minuscule wear at corners, but that is all. Otherwise, the jacket appears almost as new. There are no owners’ markings, seamsplits, or other defects, and the album remains solid, bright, glossy, and very striking in appearance – overall, this rates as a very good collector's copy.

 

The condition of the LP itself is near-MINT and the playback is outstanding – overall, a truly fine collector's copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

PAYMENT:
Payment by PayPal is greatly preferred. Payment should be made within 5 days.

SHIPPING:
Shipping is free to anywhere in the world; this is true regardless of the number of LPs you buy, be it 1 or a 100. All LPs will be sent via standard airmail (7-10 days delivery). Note: There is no tracking number provided with standard airmail. Should you wish to have your item(s) sent via certified airmail (i.e., with a tracking number), please contact me. The fee for this $5.00 USD.

FEEDBACK:
I will promptly leave feedback for all buyers. Please do not leave negative, or even neutral, feedback without first giving me an opportunity to resolve any dissatisfaction you might have with an item or transaction. I do understand that, on occasion, a buyer might believe the item description to be inaccurate or that a buyer may be disappointed in some other way regarding the sale. I promise I will do my very best to resolve any unhappiness you've experienced in your buying experience with me to your complete satisfaction. Thank you.

REFUNDS:
Returns are honored, and any buyer you makes a return will be refunded in full. Please contact me before making a return.

Please see my other classical LP and CD auctions, and feel free to write with any questions, I'll be glad to help.