Reviewed by Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition
Fuzjko Hemming, piano - Works of BEETHOVEN, CHOPIN, LISZT, SCARLATTI, DEBUSSY - Domo
I discern Fuzjko to be a more natural Liszt acolyte than a Chopin interpreter, since the rhythmic freedom in Liszt seems more suited to her idiosyncrasies.
The offspring of a Japanese pianist mother and a Swedish father, Fuzjko Hemming is being touted as a keyboard star re-born since her “arrival” in 1999 as the subject of an NHK documentary. Sponsored by the likes of Samson Francois, Herbert von Karajan, and Leonard Bernstein, Hemming has gained a reputation for her performances of Chopin and Liszt, who figure prominently on this, her latest disc for Los Angeles-based Domo. Whether Hemming--who will tour the US beginning in July--will fulfill her publicity or merely devolve into what David Helfgott became, a musical eccentric and passing curiosity, remains to be seen. From this disc I discern Fuzjko to be a more natural Liszt acolyte than a Chopin interpreter, since the rhythmic freedom in Liszt seems more suited to her idiosyncrasies.
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