Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21

If there ever were Piano Concertos in which the deeply personal expressive and emotive prompting from the pianist is of paramount importance, they would have to be these two concertos by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). And more specifically both of their inner slow movements. I've heard many, many recordings of these works and I must say that even after only one or two listens of this new recording on the Dynamic label, that it may quickly become one of my favorite interpretations of these, especially the exquisitely inspired overview of the beautiful Larghetto movement of the Piano Concerto No. 2.

Not only is Italian pianist Pietro De Maria's playing highly expressive, it's also tempered by an acute sense of balance and structural logic. Each and every phrase is shaped and contoured in relation to the rest of the music, so that nothing feels out of place or exaggerated. Compared to so many of today's younger generation of pianists, his approach is devoid of excessive self-indulgence. And his crystalline technique makes every trill, every higher register runs sparkle with clarity.

Under lesser hands, these concertos can easily become exercises in melodrama, contorting the music to one's personal mannerisms. Pianist Pietro De Maria, along with conductor Daniele Rustioni, demonstrate how you can retain the authenticity of a score, even with total freedom of expression.