Love him or hate him, Pogorelich guarantees a response. Chopin for the faint-hearted this is not; original, provocative, challenging, daring, it emphatically is. As piano playing this disc is simply phenomenal, and yet in its straining for extremes of contrast and its saturation of musical and pianistic incident it may arouse controversy. Nevertheless, while recognizing that Pogorelich’s most unconventional ideas approach wilful eccentricity, or will incite accusations of pianistic self-glorification, for me the rewards far outweigh any reservations. True, if they weren’t reinforced by such transcendental pianism Pogorelich’s interpretations wouldn’t carry nearly the same authority or conviction; but it is precisely the marrying of his imaginative scope with his extraordinary technical resource that opens up such startling expressive possibilities.
The first and second Scherzos show the juxtaposition of extremes at its most intense, stretching the limits of the musically viable. Predictably, the outer sections of the B minor Scherzo are incredibly fast, possessed with an almost demonic drive, while the central Polish carol (Sleep, little Jesus) is unusually slow and luxuriously sustained. But such extremes, of character as much as tempo, place enormous tension on the musical structure, and this is most evident in the B flat minor Scherzo. Make no mistake, Pogorelich’s playing is astounding, from the imperious opening (with a splintering treble in places) to the lingering and ravishing middle section, where his sublime lyrical simplicity (especially from 4'12'') is of the deepest inward poetry. With playing like this you lose track of time, gripped by such an intoxicating spell. But as soon as the right-hand passagework returns (4'45'') Pogorelich darts off again, shattering the dream with dazzling roulades of leggiero embroidery. The effect is of a series of fantastic vignettes, each as magnificent as the last, but only loosely bound together – episodic rather than cumulative. The whole should be more than the sum of its parts, but here it is less.
The contrasts inherent in the Third Scherzo are surprisingly underplayed, the showers of descending arpeggios taken quite slowly, eschewing the element of virtuosity. I remain unconvinced by the rhythmic extensions each time the majestic chords return: this doesn’t feel like natural rubato and the phrases seem to hesitate and stutter. Still, for sheer clarity and fluency I’ve never heard the coda surpassed. In the more elusive E major Scherzo Pogorelich captures the capricious mood perfectly, and sings the central arabesque with a finely spun melodic line. Insights and felicities abound, and the sense of narrative drive and musical logic is strongest here, with Pogorelich’s breadth of artistic vision and all-encompassing pianism at last directed towards larger structural goals.
To sum up a recording like this is not easy. For all the hugely seductive pianistic allure, some may find Pogorelich’s probing individualism too overwhelming. There are more ideas crammed into under 42 minutes than on many discs almost twice the length, although most collectors will still feel short-changed by the playing time. If you want only one recording of the Scherzos, the more rounded versions by Rubinstein or Richter are preferable. And yet, having heard this disc I would not be without it. This may not be Chopin for every day, but the force of Pogorelich’s musical personality subtly and irrevocably shapes one’s view of the music. He has also been given a wonderfully clear and immediate recorded presence. A truly extraordinary record.'