Kissin is an extraordinarily aware musician. And lest anyone suspect me of paying a backhanded compliment, let me say straight away that his latest concerto disc is a continuous delight, offering two of the most completely satisfying Prokofiev performances I have ever heard
What I mean by aware is that he always seems to have time to acknowledge the implications of Prokofiev's harmony, to allow the left hand to dialogue with the right (always naturally, never tricksily), and to gauge the relationship of his part to the orchestra. He is also scrupulous with dynamics. At the first entry in the C major Concerto he manages, as few pianists do, the piano contrast after the first three notes without losing soloistic presence. And he resists the temptation to shout out forte passages, so that Prokofiev's fortissimos stand in proper relief, as do his carefully placed accents (hear the opening theme of the same concerto's finale).
Perhaps none of that strikes you as exceptional, but it is so in Prokofiev, where the sheer athletic demands are extreme and refinement seems like too much to ask. Kissin's musicianly poise resembles Mari Kodama's on ASV, except that the Russian has more power in reserve and commands a wider range of character. In neither concerto does he seek to blow our socks off with technical overkill. With a technique like his and an orchestra as responsive as the Berlin Philharmonic behind me I doubt if I could resist the temptation, and there are just a few places in the C major Concerto, such as the final pages, where I wished Kissin would allow himself to be a bit more carried away. But there is no shortage of exhilaration in the youthful D flat Concerto, which is a model blend of attack, wit, poetry and drive. In fact there is little discernible difference between this studio recording and the live C major, either in accuracy of in excitement.
It would be wrong to say that Kissin surpasses Ashkenazy, whose performances of all five concertos on a two-disc, mid-price Decca set still sound breathtakingly vivid. Bronfman on Sony Classical is virtually a match for him and offers the Fifth Concerto in addition. But DG's recording is clearer than the nearly 20-year-old Decca, and Abbado and the Berliners are far superior to Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic. Full price for 42 minutes of music may seem a bit steep; but what Kissin and Abbado have to offer is certainly in the luxury class.'