Truly, Stunningly Horrible!
I heard this Rach 2 on public radio today, and was awestruck. I waited for twenty minutes in my driveway to hear who could possibly posses this clumsy sense of rhythm, this ability to make even the most graceful transitions sound forced, this manor of hammering awkwardly at the most beautiful left-hand runs ever composed, and a total -- and I mean complete and utter -- lack of dramatic sensibility. The local NPR station sometimes plays recordings of the local community orchestra; perhaps the no-name soloist from last season?... No, I would have remembered a performance as bad as this...Of course I recognized the name of Kissin when I heard it, famous as it is. However, I am not familiar with the rest of his discography for a simple reason; I only buy discs which are acclaimed critically. Yet, modest as Kissin's reputation is among reviewers, this performance truly shocked me. It really was THAT bad.