# 100 Favorites: # 26



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Chopin: The Complete Preludes
Dmitri Alexeev (EMI)*










Dmitri Alexeev's approach to these works is inward and languid, a very _personal_, finely-calibrated reading. It's at the opposite end of the spectrum from Argerich's famously fiery, extroverted recording of this music. I enjoy her recording too. I just find that I reach for the Alexeev disc much more frequently.

I remember seeing a mini-review of Alexeev's Preludes in an early edition of the _Penguin Guide to Classical Music_. The authors dismissed his recording out of hand, calling "not satisfactory" or "not competitive with the best recordings" or something like that. Obviously, I disagree. Strongly. It just goes to show that you shouldn't trust anyone's ears but your own.


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