joshlildude

this may as well be the longest review i ever write, so i wanna preface everything by first saying:
LISTEN TO THE WHOLE ALBUM BEFORE FORMING AN OPINION ON IT!!

i'm kind of under the pretense that a lot of people that may have listened to the tfb album had only originally listened to Crow Song or Three Swords, and may have somewhat based their opinion of the album from that alone with little regard to the rest of it. that's very unfair even if those songs are still really good
before ... read more

after beginning Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 myself a few months ago, it’s definitely boosted my view towards Zimerman’s recordings of the four even more. i had already come to like these recordings, especially Ballade No. 4, and i see myself consistently coming back for that and No. 1.

practically all of the musical aspects are there: dynamics, accuracy, accents when needed, beautifully-controlled rubato; everything is stunning. the ONLY reason that this isn’t a 100 is ... read more

just like a lot of Yunchan's recordings, the driving virtuosity in this performance is stunning and that's pushed so, so much more considering he was just 18 during this competition and considering that this was a live performance in one of the most prestigious concert halls ever. although, i feel that this virtuosity is what slightly brings down some of the etudes as it takes over beauty in some parts. his technical accuracy is unmatched, but this "virtuosity over beauty" ... read more

hard to pinpoint the motives behind whether or not some of the tracks on this album were created in pure edginess or to go along with the storyline at hand, but regardless the majority of Goblin just really isn’t that pleasant to listen to.. especially if you understand English