Recorded in 1982/83, Ivan Moravec's Debussy and Chopin recitals for Vox count among the most attractively engineered piano recordings from the early days of digital. Max Wilcox's engineering does full justice to Moravec's luminescent tone and ultra-discreet mastery of the sustain pedal. The runs and arpeggios in Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau, Mouvement, and Poissons d'or flow so naturally and unmechanically that you don't immediately notice how precise and even they really are. The hushed, sustained atmosphere of Debussy's Des pas sur la neige and Estampes' exotic overtones come alive through Moravec's acute sense of timing and tonal application.


Although his less-heroic, more inward path through Chopin's C-sharp minor Polonaise and Polonaise-Fantasie contrasts with Artur Rubinstein's firmer swagger, the approach proves equally valid. And Moravec coaxes half tints and inner voices from his selected Mazurkas and Waltzes without unduly underlining them (the trio of the C-sharp minor Waltz, for instance). Even if you already possess Michelangeli's Debussy Images, Richter's Estampes, or Rubinstein's Chopin, Moravec deserves equal space in your collection. A bargain not to be missed. [2/26/2002]
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com