CD-REVIEWS 1st CD PIANO JOURNAL - London Review of the Compact Disc by Paul LANFEAR Susanna Artzt`s tone colours are second to none. Her playing of the first book of Images is everything one could wish for: wonderfully paced, without any superficial mannerisms and an impeccable command of texture. L`isle joyeuse receives here an unhurried treatment that is allowed to build naturally to its ecstatic closing bars without the music becoming engulfed in its own virtuosity. In Artzt`s hands the piece certainly seems to prepare us for the Scriabin sonata that closes the disc. Estampes receives again an immaculate performance in which the sheer beauty of tone, superbly captured in this recording, leads one to hang onto every note this pianist plays. Her Pagodes and Soiree dans Grenade are as evocative as her Jardins sous la pluie is highly charged. From gardens in the rain to the gardens of the Villa Medicis, where 21-year-old Lili Boulanger spent three years before the outbreak of war in 1914. The Trois Morceaux date from that final year and this short triptych is a significant work in the oeuvre of a composer who was sadly to die only four years later. The first piece is the most harmonically daring and clearly has its antecedents in the second book of Preludes by Debussy, although Boulanger`s musical voice is distinctly her own. Susanna Artzt captures the uniqueness of this voice perfectly; from the elusive melancholy of the first piece, through the child-like serenity of D`un jardin clair to the joy and vitality of Cortege. Perhaps the impression one is left with is of the extraordinary feeling of nostalgia for childhood expressed by a composer so young. A similar degree of retrospect is implicit in Scriabin`s op.16 Preludes and this is certainly brought out in Artzt`s interpretation. In this case, of course, it is to Chopin rather than Debussy to which the composer looks back, albeit through the prism of Mussorgsky. Again the pianist`s superb control of dynamic shading allow her to articulate each melodic idea with both subtlety and clarity. This is even more the case in the Sonata. By keeping the virtuosity of the piece in check she reveals more detail and succeeds in arriving at all the peaks without the excessive accelerandi that so many pianists rely on to achieve the climaxes. This is not Scriabin played with complete abandon, but with the exemplary poise and control that seems to be so appropriate here, given the context provided by the other works on the disc. A thought- provoking recital by a magnificent pianist. ______________________________________ RONDO-Magazine - BRD Susanna Artzt is indeed a very tasteful Debussy interpreter. No single detail should dominate the whole. Whoever listens to the first book of “Images” or “Estampes” will have to admire such a fullnes of tone, such finely tuned grades of the piano passages, such a delicate use of the pedal that the names of the famous pianists spring to mind. It is not only that this playing on the piano is cultivated, it is also original. Matthias KORNEMANN ______________________________________ WESTDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK, WDR 3 Maybe it is the „multi-national“ background of Susanna Artzt (forgive me this hackneyed expression) that makes her CD so rapturous. No incompleteness or compromises here. Her music is clear without being shrill, articulate without being pedantic, lively without haste, contemplative without being boring, and all this all of a sudden on a completely unpretentious new recording. You never get the impression that there is an artificial „interpretation“ imposed between the music and the listener, rather what you hear comes in its natural musical order; this music arises in a strikingly natural way, as if it had just been written down by its composer. Susanna Artzt disposes of undisputed lyrical possibilities on the piano as well as a virtuoso´s hand, that makes the highest demands on a pianist appear as a play of ease and laughter. Susanna Artzt’s masterly interpretation - I cannot say this otherwise - of piano works by Claude Debussy, Lili Boulanger and Alexander Scriabin, is, by the way, also perfectly recorded. A grand CD. Hans WINKING ______________________________________ PIANO NEWS CD chosen as „CD of the month“ As a pupil of Paul Badura Skoda, after winning several competitions and performing highly praised concerts, here we have the first CD of this young pianist Susanna Artzt, who lives in Austria. And what debut! In many respects she gives credit to the premature praises, which were conferred on her by the press on her first concert tour through Germany in 1999. On the one hand it is unusual, that a CD recording is not made on a classical grand piano, but on a smaller one (in this case it is the Bösendorfer 225) which however under the fingers of Artzt creates an almost sinfonic sound. Considering the interesting programme, which this young pianist has chosen, the necessity for thundering sound is very rare. With Debussy’s „Images“ and „Estampes“ as well as his „L’isle joyeuse“ she pours out flowery worlds of sound, extremely transparent and clearly accentuated, with much emotional depth. Cultured touch is the magic word, with which Susanna Artzt’s play can be characterized. At the same time she accentuates with fascinating tension, so that these well known pieces - freed from too much icing and transfiguration - sound in a fascinating novelty. And there is something else remarkable in that recording: Lili Boulanger’s „Trois Morceaux“, which are recorded very seldom. In these pieces the composer takes up Debussy’s stile and lets it develop in the direction of Poulenc. With these 3 miniatures, too, Artzt’s play fills us with enthusiasm. In the end the pianist, moreover, proves her knowledge of different means of expression: with the interpretation of Scriabin’s 5th sonata. Here she so convincingly conjures up the world of sound of the spirit of this Russian, who was always searching for the new, achieving it with that swinging between lyricism and vehement outbreak, so that one can almost speak of a new understanding of this work. Bravo! Carsten Dürer Interpretation: 6 Sound: 6 Repertoire: 6 (This is the maximum in all three categories) ______________________________________ KURIER - Vienna Joy of discovery If you are interested in rare recordings, you may well find them amongst other piano recitals or from other record companies: Susanna Artzt plays very clearly structured, with superior technical skills and with subtly differentiated tone colours works by Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin and also three little pieces by Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918). Lili’s enchantingly pointed miniatures give an impression of which new directions this young lady might have taken away from Debussy (as Satie or Poulenc did later). (Lili Boulanger died at the age of 25) Karl LÖBL ______________________________________ KLASSIK HEUTE Susanna Artzt presents a winning performance, which stimulates your appetite for hearing her in concert ... a remarkable recording. Peter COSSÉ ______________________________________ ÖSTERREICHISCHE MUSIKZEITSCHRIFT Susanna Artzt uses her nimble, supple skill for a vivid and unsuspiciously pleasing performance of Debussy... Her decision to put some French rarities – namely the 3 delightful small pieces by Lili Boulanger - in between the works of Debussy and Scriabin, show her discographic prudence. Susanna Artzt succeeded in presenting a recording that points to her certainly hopeful future. ______________________________________ CD-REVIEWS 2nd CD WIENER CHOPIN-BLÄTTER Journal of the International Chopin Society in Vienna „The poetry of dance in sound – and rarities rediscovered“ This would be a fitting description of „La Valse“, the latest CD to be released by the Austrian pianist Susanna Artzt. Maurice Ravel's great piano composition La Valse (Poème chorégraphique pour piano seul) opens this hour of music in three-four time and provides further evidence of her great pianistic accomplishment when it comes to structure and subtlety of sound. Judiciously she concludes the recording with the Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn and the Menuet antique which display how masterly both composer and pianist are in early music and counterpoint. Frédéric Chopin's Three Waltzes op.64 Nos.1- 3 (the „Minute Waltz“ in D flat major with its fascinating perpetuum mobile, as well as the C sharp minor and A flat major Waltzes) are uplifting throughout – the sounds close at hand but issuing from „another world“. Of the 14 pieces on this CD eight are world premiere recordings! The Waltz Impromptus op.9 Nos.1 and 2 by Franz Schreker (1878-1934) are delicately articulated pieces of positive-sounding melancholy which turns in on itself or bewitches the listener with strikingly enchanting melodies. From Franz Xaver Mozart (1791-1844), the youngest child of the great Wolfgang Amadeus, we have the Six Polonaises mélancoliques op.17. His teachers Joseph Haydn, Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Georg Albrechtsberger ensured that, at the age of seventeen, he was artistically equipped to leave Vienna for Poland (Lviv) where he made a career as a composer, house tutor and the founder and director of a choir for almost 30 years. The very interesting and fine-sounding six Polonaises could be briefly characterised, perhaps, as follows: „A song of melancholy“, „Faint echoes of Chopin“, „Euphonious determination“, „If it must be, then so be it!“, „Explanation as to why melancholy“, „Search for help growing more urgent“. The pianist has earned our gratitude, not only for her first-class musicianship, but also for her discovery of rarities. Helmut Batliner (Gramola Nr.98809) ______________________________________ ÖSTERREICHISCHE MUSIKZEITSCHRIFT A high standard of instrumental playing and interpretational ethos: it is not hard to sound the praises for pianist Susanna Artzt, who has now somewhat daringly released a collection of waltzes for the increasingly active label Gramola. It offers well-known works by Chopin and Ravel side by side with charming, now largely neglected polonaises by Franz Xaver Mozart and waltz impromptus by Schreker that are also seldom performed: an Austrian pianist who knows what she wants and who possesses the ability required to lend form and sound to what it is she wants. Peter Cossé ______________________________________ PIANO NEWS An extraordinary talent Three years ago Susanna Artzt’s debut CD was voted CD of the month by PIANO NEWS. In the current edition you can read a cover- story interview with Susanna Artzt about her career, her new CD and much more. Here are two excerpts from the interview: Susanna Artzt had already come to our notice when she brought out her first CD. This CD, containing works by Claude Debussy, Lili Boulanger and Alexander Scriabin was immediately named CD of the month. The editors were particularly impressed by her highly nuanced phrasing and extraordinary richness of tone. When she was a guest at the Bechstein Centrum in Cologne in September last year, we took the opportunity of speaking to her about her career so far and how she sees things. Susanna Artzt has plenty to do: she has already made a name for herself in Austria and feels she is “breaking through”. But she remains realistic: “I see what I do as a calling, a blessing. This difficult path has brought me incredibly far.“ Susanna Artzt also plays a great deal of chamber music, and prepares a number of different programmes each season. After our meeting and conversation there is no doubt in our minds: this pianist will make her way; there is more and more that she will be able to accomplish. This is because Susanna Artzt is a thoughtful, serious musician for whom playing is a joy. And you can hear that. _____________________________________

NEW RELEASE Mozart³" Order N°: or 0009 orlando records by amazon or at www.gramola.at WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART sonata in B flat major K 333 sonata in F major K 332 sonata in C major K 330 _____________________________________________________________ PianoNews 4-2014: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Sonatas No. 10 KV 330, No. 12 KV 332 and No. 13 KV 333 Susanna Artzt, piano Orlando Records or 0009 (distribution: Naxos) The Croatian-born, Vienna-based pianist Susanna Artzt, who was discovered by Paul Badura-Skoda, is one of the most promising talents of the younger generation of female pianists. Playing with supreme facility and great delicacy of touch, she here performs the Mozart sonatas KV 330, 332 and 333 with lots of imagination and many poignant moments. Fine dynamic nuancing, unhurried tempi, and clear and intelligent phrasing characterise this young woman's playing. The trills effervesce so lightly; and Artzt often holds the final chords right back, as in the opening Allegro of Sonata No. 13 KV 333, leaving a movement almost in suspension the moment it dies away. No caesura seems inappropriate, no ritardando overdone. Just how one would like to hear Mozart. Ernst Hoffmann _____________________________________________________________ Chosen as "CD of the day" by: _____________________________________________________________               Classic CD Susanna Artzt: Mozart Sonatas Mozart as though for Valentine's Day      Susanna Artzt: Mozart Sonatas, Orlando records (dawa) The KV 330s sonatas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – and rarely have they sounded more graceful and elegant. The Vienna-based pianist Susanna Artzt is highly regarded in this country for her approach to the pieces she plays: thought through to the smallest detail. True to form, in "her Mozart" the ethereal-intellectual element prevails with razor-sharp finesse. And that's how it should be. Nothing flashy, nothing superficial adorns these interpretations. In the B flat major Sonata KV 333, for instance, she changes her narrative style from reserved sentimentality to final joviality, keeping her composure at all times as is proper. The F major Sonata KV 332, with its opening alternation between unconditional major tonality and minor-key dramatics, presents itself to the listener as an airily played succession of variants, with drive right from the start. Enchanting, especially the splendid hunting theme. Equally, in the popular C major Sonata KV 330 the Austrian pianist demonstrates not only her affinity with, but also her aptitude for the Vienna Classics domain. In the effervescent closing Allegretto, Artzt offers a compelling display of sure-handed technique. A worthwhile recording since it's a really loving rendition and one that doesn't strain after effects. _____________________________________________________________   WAZ Mozart takes music into unearthly fields The pianist Susanna Artzt stood out brilliantly with a touch, which seemed to be light as a feather and effortless even at the most difficult arpeggios and scales. This music seemed to hover far above earthly fields, Susanna Artzt’s fantasy bestowed it depth and brilliance. _____________________________________________________________ SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG United in success Susanna Artzt played the seldom concerto in g-minor op. 22 by Saint- Saens. The daughter of an Indian and (former) student of Paul Badura- Skoda intensified the pathetic g-minor mood of the first movement and impressed strongly with the virtuoso bravura in the dance-like Presto- Finale.   Klaus P.Richter _____________________________________________________________ DIE PRESSE, Vienna ENCHANTING PIANO PEARLS Susanna Artzt, pianist, enchanted in the Brahmssaal of the Vienna’s Musikverein The pianist Susanna Artzt captivated her audience with Debussy, Scriabin, and Ravel. To make a journey for one evening, without moving: to immerse into Asiatic foreign parts of sound, then to sway in the rhythm of Spanish dances, and suddenly to hear the rain, as it splashes down in a garden in France. These are the locations evoked by the young pianist with her sophisticated, subtly differentiating interpretation of Debussy`s piano cycle „Estampes“. In the emotional restraint, in the sustained piano, the curbings of a roaming thought are shown... Extremely passionate then Maurice Ravel`s „La Valse“. Susanna Artzt had worked out exquisitely the often abruptly changing impressions in the works of Debussy, now we had the breaks of the waltz melody, crystallizing from an initial, soft tremolo. Tonal steps, dynamic jumps give the impression of flashlights from other worlds, other dimensions. They anticipate the drama which gradually plunges forward in a more and more tormenting way, „the fantastic and also fatal whirl of a waltz night“ as Ravel commented himself. _____________________________________________________________ DER YBBSTALER Arts Section Susanna Artzt, an Austrian pianist with experience in the international field, made a good impression with the c # minor Nocturne as a self-effacing and sensitive interpreter, who enchanted with magical pianissimo and legato. On the other hand, where Ravel asks for power and impact in his “La Valse”, she demonstrated her great powers of interpretation, showing an undeniable affinity with the picturesque soundworld of this daring Frenchman. It was astonishing, how this first class pianist teased out the highly complicated and cunning harmonies in this apotheosis of the waltz, how she lost herself wholly in these swooping and scintillating sounds. The audience was highly appreciative. Hubert Bauernhauser _____________________________________________________________ REWIEV FROM THE JAPANESE MAGAZINE „CHOPIN“ ... Among all these highlights one artist stood out, the young Indian-Croat pianist Susanna Artzt, who is now living near Vienna. Already in an earlier recital, one was fascinated by her performance of the f-minor Ballade of Chopin, with its finest details mapped out, in which, with remarkable control she articulated to the full, without for a second breaking the curve of the phrase, contrasting this with equally convincing, brilliant, passionate, cascading figures. Susanna Artzt’s interpretation made for the attentive listener something quite new out of this familiar work. Next day, Susanna Artzt tackled the heights of the piano repertoire with the fiendishly difficult – and therefore rarely to be heard live - „La Valse“ of Maurice Ravel. In a certain sense this work presents a logical development of the valses of Chopin, who produced magnificent compositions in this dance form, whilst always maintaining a critical relationship with J. Strauss pêre. Ravel was also aware - and not only after his first visit to Vienna in 1920 – of a considerable gap between Viennese men and Viennese music. In a masterly manner, partly ironic, partly even in caricature, Ravel contrives to interweave these strands and Susanna Artzt was able to bring them out. In her hands, the piano was transformed into a whole orchestra full of the most glittering and varied colours, whereby the „conductor“ contrived to combine emotional depths, the presentation of dramatic development, and clear formal structures.   Sumie Ishibashi _____________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL CHOPIN SOCIETY MAGAZINE, Vienna Noted as an extraordinary sensitive pianist, the Austrian Susanna Artzt again fascinated us with her „Ballad op.52, No 4, in f-minor“, where the delicacy we expected, was set off by impressive drama and her excellent technique, all of which brought tumultuous applause.   Helmut Batliner _____________________________________________________________ RHEIN-NECKAR-ZEITUNG heidelberger frühling  Music Festival „Prometheus Unbound“ That is how Beethoven might have imagined his music being performed: dynamic, expressive, passionate, uncompromising. At the same time, however, highly differenciated, qualified, and concentrated. Music freed from tradition and conventions. [...] Here Prometheus was successfully unbound. Eckehard J.Häberle _____________________________________________________________ RECKLINGHÄUSER ZEITUNG „Classic meeting“ with an enchanting Mozart” „[…] Now we could hear this enchanting work played by Susanna Artzt and numerous listeners enjoyed her performance, which was distinguished by sensitive clearness and powerful virtuosity. The soloist played her part full of tension by using finest dynamic and rhythmic evaluation and well thought-out agogic. Thus this concert, which is regarded as Mozart’s most difficult work for the piano, turned out to an extraordinarily high musical pleasure.“ _____________________________________________________________ WAZ Mozart takes music into unearthly fields The pianist Susanna Artzt stood out brilliantly with a touch, which seemed to be light as a feather and effortless even at the most difficult arpeggios and scales. This music seemed to hover far above earthly fields, Susanna Artzt’s fantasy bestowed it depth and brilliance. _____________________________________________________________ BUERSCHE ZEITUNG Matthäuskirche: Philharmonic Orchestra made music with the pianist Susanna Artzt The pianist Susanna Artzt, daughter of Indian-Croatian parents, who lives in Vienna, played the piano concerto with due clarity, sophisticated culture of touch and definite structure. _____________________________________________________________ RHEINISCHE POST, GERMANY „Where many pianists can’t resist the temptation to demonstrate their virtuosity, Susanna Artzt concentrates on underlining the sensibility of the pieces, and turning their inner lives to the outside. There was cheering already after the first part of the concert, but the great highlight was still to come. Susanna Artzt had chosen Schubert’s sonata c-minor D958 as the final piece. She played it like coming from one single impulse, profoundly, without artificial showing off of temperament.“ _______________________________________________________ OBERÖSTERREICHISCHE NACHRICHTEN BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE SERVING A WIDE PALETTE OF MUSICAL STYLES „[...] Susanna Artzt played Etudes by Claude Debussy, shaping them with fine suppleness, allowing the individual character of each to emerge. Then came a worthwhile diversion onto the conservative „modern“ repertoire, works by Alban Berg and György Ligeti, followed by Etudes by Frederic Chopin. Susanna Artzt seems to have a special affinity for this composers music. With technical perfection she took the extremely difficult „Revolutionary Etude“ at a breathtaking tempo. This was the work of a young pianist who will certainly soon make her mark on the classical music scene!“ _____________________________________________________________ YOUNG TALENTS PROMPT UNUSUAL CONSIDERATIONS: PROBLEMS WITH THE MASTERS Being a wunderkind can often be an unpleasant life-long task for an artist or scholar. It is not uncommon that creative powers during youthful years are regarded sceptically: „This young person or child is dealing with things well beyond his/her years. With this way of life, the boy or the girl may well advance to the status of a „young, rising star“, but later their lives will become empty, if their dreams don´t come true.“ But all these are merely half-truths! We all know many examples from music history of great artists who were already showing their wondering skills in their very young age. Again and again in this context we find Mozart´s father reporting to his wife in letters of the constant new accomplishments of their son Wolfgang Amadeus (fortunately, these reports have been saved in archives). He writes, for instance, of how Wolfgang, during their many travels, was learning Italian and other European music, and that „just EN PASSANT“, that is to say, without making any effort whatsoever - or, as Plato puts it in a wise saying (in which of course he is referring to the greatest talents), „When we learn something, it´s as if we were remembering it“. [...] I pondered these things a few days ago while I was sitting in the Croatian Music Society Hall („Hrvatski glazbeni zavod“) and listening to the concert given by the young pianist Susanna ARTZT. At the age of eighteen - when in best case one begins his or her studies - she played her Diploma Recital, i.e. the requirements to fulfil the „Master“ level, which corresponds to the highest level for piano soloists which one can reach, as graduate student at the Zagreb Music Academy, the highest music-education institution in this country. I had to admit to myself that ... I had completely forgotten that I was actually attending a performance by a student who is completing her studies! I was surprised and swept away! ... We´ll always be swept by such talent!   Mladen Raukar _____________________________________________________________

Pianist opening up new expanses by Martina Dreisbach Pianist Susanna Artzt carries audience away at Chopiniade The familiar and the rare, cheerfulness and melancholy. Susanna Artzt performed piano works by Mozart, his son Franz Xaver, and Chopin in a virtuoso recital at the Chopiniade on Tuesday in the Municipal Hall. Susanna Artzt makes a reflective start to the Rondo in A minor KV 511. Using the minor key, Mozart dampens down the normally cheerful spirit of the rondo, imbuing it with a melancholy note. The pianist takes a serious approach but plays it without larmoyance. In the following Rondo in D, KV 485, Mozart uses a theme from Bach, although it is amplified more, with added dialogues and plenty of imaginative ideas. The Tuesday night audience at the Chopiniade in the Municipal Hall were fully won over by an artist whose playing had such finely judged expression. Based in Vienna and born in Croatia into a family with Indian roots, Susanna Artzt plays in major European concert halls. She has won several awards and has performed under Zubin Mehta in Munich. In his introduction, music critic Gerhard Schroth described the start of the recital featuring well known and seldom heard pieces as heavyweight. Franz Xaver Mozart, born in the year of his father's death, 1791, achieved something really new in the Polonaises mélancoliques Nos 1 to 3 in spite of the burden his great father represented, as Schroth pointed out. Equally dazzling the Sonata in B flat major KV 333 by W. A. Mozart. Susanna Artzt plays with a sublime but utterly unmannered tone, technically brilliant but never too sporty, and with constant poise. In the Polonaises, Mozart's son had already sounded the romantic note that pervades Chopin's Nocturnes op. 9. Waltz-like, by contrast, the Mazurkas op. 17 Nos 1 to 4 with their stronger rhythmic contours. Then comes Chopin's Ballade in G minor op. 23, the ballade par excellence, as Gerhard Schroth put it. The pianist opens up new expanses, places the notes with utmost care, chants, lets herself be carried by the music, and carries the listeners away. Long applause followed by the exquisite Nocturne in C sharp minor No. 20 for more than just the night to come. Article dated 3 March 2016 ____________________________________________________________ Superb Chopin anniversary concert by Susanna Artzt On the anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth the young pianist Susanna Artzt presented a remarkable programme with some choice, rarely played pieces at the Stadthalle. In the concert, Mozart's city of Vienna, where the pianist herself lives, and Paris, the adoptive home of the Polish musical genius from 1831 until his death in 1849, were coupled and connected by an intelligently dichotomous programme. The first part was devoted to the Mozart family, father and son. Admitted to the Academy of Music in Zagreb, the young musician of Indian ancestry was discovered at the age of 16 as an extraordinary pianistic talent by Paul Badura-Skoda. She has gone on to win several prizes, give many fine solo recitals, and perform under Zubin Mehta in Munich in a sensational rendition of Saint-Saens' 2nd Piano Concerto. She began her concert with heavyweight rondos by Mozart, the muted A minor Rondo KV 511 followed by the cheerful one in D major KV 485. With this opening to a subtly programmed concert, which she played from memory with graceful fluency and lightness of touch, she won the audience over right from the start. After the rarely heard works, the three Polonaises by Franz Xaver Mozart, came the resplendent Sonata in B flat major KV 333 by his father. The second part was a homage to Fryderyk Chopin to mark the 206th anniversary of his birth. We heard, delicately performed, the bewitching Nocturne op. 9 with its atmospheric depths, as well as the starkly contrasting Mazurkas op. 17, interpreted with utmost sensitivity in major and minor. The grand finale and crowning glory of the programme, played with great concentration by this young star in the pianistic firmament, was the masterly dramatic Ballade G minor op. 23, famous for its exceptional melodic beauty. The enthusiastic audience was treated to an encore, Chopin's short, dreamily rendered Nocturne in C sharp minor No. 20. By scheduling a concert by this engaging, highly talented pianist, the Chopin Society's honorary president, Ilse Schwarz-Schiller, once again ensured that the anniversary of the birth of its household god was celebrated on the highest possible level – as every year since 1999. Photo: Susanna Artzt playing with great concentration at her Stadthalle recital ____________________________________________________________ Brilliant pianism Klangraum festival | The Arsio Piano Duo play Brahms, Chopin and Mozart in Schloss Seisenegg Leopold Kogler SEISENEGG | Susanna Artzt and Manfred Wagner Artzt, who together form the Arsio Piano Duo, are magicians of the keys who bewitch the audience with special and surprising concert programmes. The music gushes forth from deep inside the two of them, without frills or theatricality. And so the recital they gave in Seisenegg castle on Sunday afternoon the week before last as part of the "Klangraum im Herbst" festival was a brilliant one. The musical framework was provided by Johannes Brahms. At the start we heard a selection from the Requiem, and marvelled immediately at the pianists' crystal clear touch. In terms of emotionality, too, nothing fell by the wayside. The next piece was the Lento meditative from Scelsi's Sonata No. 2. Here, too, there were no grand gestures, merely brilliant pianism and technical finesse. Hearts were moved in particular by the interpretation of Mozart's Fantasy in D minor. A very special piece of music that was made to scintillate – as was the Sonata in B flat major for four hands. Everything in their rendition was convincing and unpretentious and at the same time fresh and full of vitality. In between were pieces by Chopin – virtuosity and rightness throughout. And then there were the encores. The evening was a musical delight and the many guests showed their appreciation by tumultuous applause. Robert Voglhuber ____________________________________________________________