Hat-Trick From Sergio Tiempo

Three composers are tackled in the best possible sense by pianist Sergio Tiempo.

Composer: Mussorgsky, Chopin, Ravel
Repertoire: Pictures at an Exhibition, Three Nocturnes, Op.9, Gaspard de la Nuit
Artists: Sergio Tiempo (piano)

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Instrumental

Label: EMI 558 0182

There’s much to enjoy in this fiery disc from the young Argentinian pianist Sergio Tiempo. The high colours and dark tales of the Mussorgsky and the Ravel come across vividly and he is capable of producing a marvellously singing sound, the voicing carefully balanced. But sometimes his approach strikes me as representative of a current pianistic trend: that beautiful tone in soft passages often vanishes in louder ones in favour of excessive, stabbing force, while apparent interpretative originality is not always as convincing as one would like. Tiempo’s immediacy, flair and many moments of true poetry nevertheless make this recital well worth hearing.