I have raved about this extraordinary musician a number of times on this blog, and had the pleasure of seeing her perform at the Salzburg Festival, so it is nice to see a wholehearted recommendation from the New York Times:
Kopatchinskaja doesn’t always beat music black and blue. She can reduce her sound to a fragile whisper, or honey her tone into sweetness:
But she always strips away the fat, giving canonical works a breathing — indeed, panting — vitality. She grounds decorous masterpieces in the earthiness of Central European folk traditions.
She doesn’t do plush or placid. Pretty? Kopatchinskaja gives you biting wildness.
Here is the first movement of the Tchaikovsky:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbdy5Ldeo70
As long as there are artists like Kopatchinskaja around I don't fear for the continued existence of classical music.
