Ivo Pogorelich was the pianist who became world famous because he lost a competition. And it was like this: during the prestigious Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1980, a Soviet Muggle decided to exclude the young Croat from the final. Fellow jury member Martha Argerich became so angry that she left the competition on high legs. The scandal made headlines, and the rest is history. A few months later
… Pogorelich was able to release his first lp / cd dedicated to Chopin (!) At DGG. Oh yes, during that scandal Argerich had also said that Pogorelich was a genius. And that point of view was not exaggerated, as witness this DVD with film material from Unitel from 1986-87. The images, shot in an Italian Renaissance villa, beautifully show how Pogorelich cat-like sneaks up on the classic masterpieces: note how the rubati are sent from the neck and shoulders. Especially Pogorelich's involvement with the old Beethoven was not uncontroversial at the time: so young, and already think you can play the Sonata op.111! (HJ)more
