The commonly used English title
Transcendental Etudes
fails to capture the flavor of the original French title,
Etudes d'execution transcendante
("
Etudes of transcendental execution
"). These are, despite all the fireworks, true etudes, concerned with specific technical issues, and they were dedicated to the master of the piano study,
Carl Czerny
. Young pianist
Alim Beisembayev
shows nerve in going up against the existing performances of these works, particularly the one by
Igor Levit
that appeared not long before, but
Beisembayev
offers confident readings that differ from those of the tempestuous
Levit
and stand up to others on the market. His strength is that his execution is indeed transcendental, with clean renditions of the finger-crunching pieces (sample
Mazeppa, No. 4
) that are relaxed enough for the pianist to suggest longer lines. There is a kind of warmth in his playing that flowers in full in the final
D flat major piece
from the
Six Consolations
, one of two short pieces that ring down the curtain from a compelling set of etudes. This release serves notice that
, the winner of the 2021 Leeds Piano Competition and possessor of a following in both East (he is Kazakh) and West, is a talent to watch in the Russian-school virtuoso arena. ~ James Manheim