This is Vol. 4 of Tacet’s series titled “Etudes for Piano.” Previous editions have covered the work of Stravinsky, Bartók, Messiaen, and Ligeti (Vol. 1), Lutosławski, Scriabin, Ligeti, and Debussy (Vol. 2), and Franz Liszt (Vol. 3). All are done by 75-year old pianist Erika Haase, whose manual dexterity seems not to have diminished by one wit. Far greater names have shown much more deterioration at this age, but as you can see by this listing, etudes are by their nature the most difficult works technically in the literature and musically some of the most significant works ever penned. (...)
Erika Haase plays with great clarity and exceptional perspicuity, rendering these works with an élan and effortless sensibility. (...) The sound is excellent on this recording, and it can be recommended primarily for the inclusion of the missing etudes, as well as the collection of Paganini studies and the Pedal Piano arrangement of Debussy. There are no real competitors currently on the market of substance aside from an old Vox recording of Peter Frankl and András Schiff.
Steven E. Ritter

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