Last weekend, I had the great privilege to see one of my favorite musicians, Cecile Licad, perform Saint-Saens' Second Piano Concerto with the Vallejo Symphony. She was breathtaking. Here she is playing Chopin's minute waltz (which she did for us as an encore at the concert).
She blew us away with the Saint-Saens concerto (a piece I'd never heard before). I've heard many famous pianists live, including Evgeny Kissin, Garrick Ohlsson, Helene Grimaud, but I must say that she was the best. When you hear Licad play a piece, you consistently feel that it is the definitive performance; you never feel (as I have with some) that something should have been a little faster or a little slower. I wish I could hear her play Scriabin.
It's not always easy to find when Licad is performing in the U.S., but if you get a chance to see her, I could not recommend it more strongly. While I'm at it, I'll most strongly recommend her recording of Rachmaninov's Second Concerto, which as far as I'm concerned is, again, the definitive rendition.
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