RAFAŁ BLECHACZ SCOOPS ALBUM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Debussy andSzymanowski album reaches new heights

Young Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz has been named winner of the “Best Classical Album of the Year” at the Polish Fryderyk Awards, held last night at the Polish Theatre in Warsaw.

The winning album, featuring Debussy and Blechacz’s compatriot Szymanowski, went Gold in his native country within a week of release in February 2012.

It is not the first Fryderyk win for Blechacz: he scooped “The Most Outstanding Polish Music Recording” in 2008 for his recordings of the Chopin Préludes and again in 2010 for his Chopin Piano Concertos. The Préludes CD was also named “Solo Piano Album of the Year” and the Concertos won in the “Symphonic and Concert Music Category”.

His Debussy and Szymanowski disc has been universally feted: “He presents an utterly compelling reading: splashy, colorful, and almost violent in its concentrated energy” – San Francisco Classical Voice. “This opens up new intellectual and poetic vistas for an enormously accomplished young pianist” – Buffalo News. “. . . a compelling new album . . . Blechacz once again proves he’s a musician living up to that awards sweep in Warsaw.” NPR (Washington).

Blechacz’s remarkable playing is further celebrated with a new Chopin release from Deutsche Grammophon later this year.