damn my new mate Rolf in Zurich actually reviews the playing of each prelude
https://www.rolf-musicblog.net/igor-levit-tonhalle-zurich-2017-06-08/
Your mate Rolf in Zurich caught Scherbakov in the program I missed here last year 
Do you know if he records?
She must be one of those who carries around a programme and a half because I’ll hear Ravel Miroirs and Stravinsky/Agosti Firebird in the second half when she comes here in Jan. As much as I love Liszt and the B minor sonata I’m happier to hear the rep for the Paris concert.
Cool site, btw. I’m gonna read through his stuff.
Dude goes to more concerts than me.
No idea. Do you want to ask him or should I?
Whichever. I can send him an e-mail if you like since I have a genuine question re Scherbakov, but I almost hope I don’t get a positive response since it’s hard enough already as it is to keep up with all correspondence.
haha 
ok it’s all you then. I don’t have any impulse to communicate but I’ll be interested in how he responds.
I read with interest the post he did on organising concerts.
The pianist is playing here in a couple of weeks so I might go along to check her out, never heard of her.
goethe.de/ins/fr/fr/sta/par … d=21103776
I assume she will be playing a Blüthner, which I’ve never heard in concert.
Fingers crossed now!
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Dear Sir Rolf,
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA yo da concert yoda ov da Swizz alpz in da whole world n stuff. 
Diz Scherbackov mofo wit da pimp brotha heroics tru. Did yo BOOTLEG dat sheeyat? Tru, zend all booties tru. Thanks.
Kindest regards,
XSDC
haha You will always win if you start a conversation off with a laugh
Brew I don’t know which post you mean but is he organising Shevchenko’s recitals? He’s seen her lots this year
Yeah, he organised some recitals for her in March:
rolf-musicblog.net/layman-concert-agent/
There’s a Busoni comp vid of hers on youtube I started watching but I couldn’t judge her from the first piece (seems like a comp commissioned work) but I’ll keep watching later.
I’ve read a few of his reviews; I like the way he writes.
It’s very analytical with frequent references to the score, not some vague assertions written in flowery language like most critics.
haha guilty as charged. Not a critic but it’s pertinent.
Rolf is our new mate.
To change the topic, does anyone have a copy of Tatiana Nikolayeva’s Chopin Preludes? They were released on LP in the '80s but I’ve never seen a copy.
I think critics are to a certain extent… how do you say, have their hands tied? How many times have you not heard of a pianist who simply stops playing in cities where the criticism has been unfavorable? Concert reviews in the newspapers here are for the most part completely pointless. They tell you nothing about how the musician played, and only rarely what the critic really felt about it. If I want an opinion on something the best route for me is usually to consult friends I know about where I have aesthetically, or who I know are able to assess or appreciate a broad range of styles.
I don’t really put much stock in criticism, but there’s a certain style of writing about music which I like, which fairly informal in language and direct.
There’s also a certain style of writing I hate; pompous assertions of opinion, entrenched personal biases, etc which are traps many critics habitually fall into. I think back to the damage that Hanslick did to Liszt’s reputation as a composer, and the scandalous things people like Thomson said about Horowitz.
Of course, it’s is perfectly normal to have aesthetic differences with the artists you review, but at that point what is the benefit to the reader or the performer of continuing to bash someone whose approach you disagree with?
Then I see criticism which is just factually incorrect, like Lompech saying that Glitburg’s Petrushka lacked clarity. I think the recording shows that that is just wrong.
Yes - allright this will get me going - disagree with or even fundamentally don’t understand. We all have our aesthetic preferences, but a lot of people - including several great musicians themselves - are so locked to a certain style that they fend off anything that doesn’t match it as trash, perversions, or any other suitable adjective for the performance in question when compared to that template. This is why I don’t think reviews carry a whole lot of meaning unless you know the person who writes them, and have a feel for what kind of references he/she has.
In the visual arts, where it’s easier to quickly familiarize with and learn to recognize a broad range of styles and movements, you don’t have this problem to the same degree (though they certainly have others). No art critic in their right mind would criticize a Picasso for not being true to nature for instance, a Limbourg Bros for improper use of light and perspective, or a Delacroix for lacking clarity and form. The first ignores purpose, the second evolution, the third style. Yet in music it’s not expected to have this wider understanding, and you see this being done all the time.
Daim, I wanna hear this, love da shost p&fs and quite like da Levitating pianist.
Maria Nemenova-Lunz (1879-1954), studied with Scriabin, graduated with a gold medal in 1902. Goldenweiser said that she also took lessons from Rachmaninoff, and that her very small hands prevented her from having a notable concert career.
Afanassiev talks about Beethoven and his life
Has anyone heard recordings by Merzhanov pupil Oleg Volkov? He has some CDs on Amazon and one Melodiya LP recording