The young Russian pianist Anna Gourari‚ now settled in Germany‚ is not only talented but attractive. The film director Werner Herzog was so won over by her personal magnetism that he asked her to star alongside Tim Roth (among others) in his film‚ Invincible: she plays a talented Czech pianist who earns a living in a cabaret orchestra and dreams of playing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with a decent band. This live recording with Sir Colin Davis and the Dresden Staatskapelle is the soundtrack to the film. It is a fine performance‚ moderately paced but played with a gritty dramatic edge. There are many more polished recordings available‚ but Gourari’s playing is full of life and character‚ especially in the finale. In the solo works her playing is rhythmically taut and full of driving momentum‚ but there is something unyielding about it (and the recorded sound is slighty harder). The slow movement of the Pathétique is a shade too stiff‚ the melody is not allowed to sing‚ and there is little sense of rapture or wonder. Another slight drawback‚ although it’s no accident‚ is that all three works are in C minor; by the time you reach the opening chords of the Pathétique‚ after a variation set that doesn’t venture beyond the same home key‚ you are longing for a different tonal landscape. Gourari’s Chopin is altogether more Romantically volatile. The most noticeable difference from her Beethoven is the freedom of her tempos. She is not afraid to accelerate for some episodes (in the F minor Fantasie‚ for example‚ from 5'16" – although here she has to pull back drastically for the lyrical passage at 5'52")‚ or relax her tempo for others (the middle section of the Second Scherzo). In the central section of the First Scherzo her playing has such intimacy that it is as if she is playing for herself‚ and her expressive directness and unaffected simplicity are deeply moving. (But what’s the justification for playing the very last right­hand chord an octave higher than written?) Elsewhere she is bold and passionate‚ stoking up bass lines and utilising a wide dynamic range with powerful results. Of the scherzos only the third is a disappointment‚ with the gossamer showers of arpeggios too lumpy and heavy­handed to offset the magisterial chords. The F minor Fantasie lacks a feeling of organic growth and spontaneity‚ as well as a crucial element of narrative drama. The C sharp minor Polonaise is articulate‚ but I would prefer a greater aristocratic poise and rhythmic definition. The waltz is a dazzling encore‚ whisked off its feet with considerable aplomb. The recordings are successful‚ with more warmth than the solo Beethoven‚ and of the two discs this is the one I’d recommend‚ despite small reservations.