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Michael Korstick
Posted by J Huizinga on September 7, 2022, 10:56 pm
The recent review by D McDade of the complete Beethoven piano concertos by Korstick/Trinks opens with the question of why this exceptional pianist isn’t better known. This is indeed a puzzle when there are so many “house” pianists on big labels who I feel have markedly less musical values (this is subjective of course but I make the statement in view of having heard them live — I mention no names unless pressed).
After a quick search, I could not find any information on an actual recital after 2019 (Taipei, Liszt Harmonies poetiques). So that may account for some his lack of visibility, yet his recordings continue apace (recently, Scarlatti and an intégrale of Milhaud concertos). The reviews of his recordings are accessible and appear on MusicWeb, but also discussed in great depth by Lynn René Bayley on her redoubtable blog (including an excellent analysis of these same Beethoven issue).
So we have a kind of paradox — a superlative pianist who doesn’t seem to appear in public at the moment and, yet, who seems to have a carte blanche to record with a smaller, but major label (cpo). How is this even economically possible? Any thoughts?