Hats off!
10/28/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jan Narveson - University of Waterloo Gazette - October 12, 2002Pianist Juana Zayas is unknown in these parts, and in her concert for the Chamber Music Society the question that immediately came to mind is, why? In the short opening Romance in F# by Schumann, the warm, rich sounds she elicited from the KWCMS Steinway were altogether extraordinary, as was her evident feeling for this brief piece. Without pausing for applause, she lit right into Schumann's Fantasy in C, a piece that has been played quite frequently here over the past few years. No one, however, has equaled, let alone exceeded, Ms. Zayas' account, with its splendid clarity at all volumes, its masterful handling of intricate passages, and above all, its conveying of a convincing account of this score. The other masterpiece of the evening was Schubert's great final sonata in Bb, a work that has not been played as often hereabouts, but again, never played so convincingly. This performance struck us as generally magical. For one thing, it always managed to sing, be the song happy or sad, its surrounding material complex or simple, fast or slow. For another, she has a wonderful way with rhythm, as in the scherzo that provides such strong contrast to the deeply felt slow movement; this had the needed spring and life, which is not a matter of velocity. And she managed to make the finale seem neither anticlimactic nor redundant. In a selection of encores too, by Chopin and Scarlatti, she demonstrated that she is not just another pianist, let alone some obscure unknown, but simply one of the greatest keyboard artists of our day. Hats off!"
Chopin by Zayas
Pio Valenzuela | Williamston, MI USA | 11/22/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this CD because I own another CD by Juana Zayas which I have enjoyed very much. This one did not disappoint. The recording was very clean, the piano sounded like a piano. While I still prefer Rubinstein's recording of the Op. 35 sonata, and Martha Argerich's 1965 recording of the Op. 58 sonata, one could argue that these may be matters of interpretation and personal taste. Nevertheless, I found this entire CD a pleasure to listen and enjoy."
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1