''A British music magazine recently asked 100 leading pianists to nominate the three pianists they regarded as the greatest of the 20th century. The final top 20, which was predictably headed by Rachmaninov, Horowitz, Rubinstein and Richter, contained four players who are still very much alive today. Few would disagree with three of those choices – Argerich, Zimerman and Lupu – but the appearance of Murray Perahia at No 17 in the list might have raised a few more eyebrows. Much of this set of Chopin recordings, though, provides a timely reminder of what an aristocratic player Perahia can be, and what an understated and self-effacing artist he is, too. The two sets of Chopin's Études Op 10 and Op 25 have an immaculate finish, with none of the attention-seeking glitz that some pianists apply to such technically demanding pieces; Perahia has all the necessary technique but never flaunts it. A bit more flamboyance, however, might have sparked up the two piano concertos and the Second and Third Sonata. Yet Perahia's approach to the Four Ballades, and to the waltzes, mazurkas and impromptus that make up the other discs, contains so much that is perfectly realised, so exquisitely coloured and phrased, that it becomes totally convincing.'' The Guardian