A LOST ART?.
In realm of passionate expressiveness and sublime music making, I can think of no other living pianist to rival the performances on this compact disc by Daniel Barenboim. Recorded in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon in 2000, it was made to mark the 50th anniversary of his career’s debut recital.
From the astonishingly idiosyncratic rendition of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K.330 in C Major which opens the compact disc to the final devil-may-care brilliance of Brazilian works by Resta, Ginastera and Villa-Lobos, Barenboim compels attention, and wonder.
When I first heard these recordings, I thought, here’s an artist riding a wave of adrenaline, in complete control, hide bound to let IT all hang out and leave his home town crowd with unforgettable memories. From their response, he succeeded.
But just before the Brazilian blitz, another shock. Two works by Chopin, an Étude Op. 25 No. 2 in F minor and the Nocturne No.8 in Db major, Op. 27 No.2. The Nocturne, alone worth the price of the CD, is attached above. I have rarely experienced such a liquid, boundless world unfurl. It is a gift of music and we should be grateful.
Daniel Barenboim Live from the Teatro Colon 2000
EMI Classics
Robin Engelman 
Rick Sacks
November 24, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Playing music by Steve Reich and the pattern music composers requires steadfast rhythmic clarity but chamber music that is not about motoring rhythms should breathe. Wuorinen’s podcilliam Patterson College in New Jersey took a group of students, and through the revelation of ‘phrasing’, the push and pull of voice leading and line, created a top notch ensemble.
There’s not enough of this in chamber music today.This example, Robin is a very good one. Who is it?