Tay Boh Tsun wrote:

>I am looking for good performance of Chopin piano pieces (Preludes and
>Noctunes) on CD.  May I have some recommandations, please.

There are outstanding but underappreciated and undermarketed versions of
these pieces by Dang Thai Son, available from JVC (RCA Japan) or Analekta
(Canada).  Dang Thai Son's Nocturnes compare easily with those of
Rubinstein and possess a better recording quality.

Dang Thai Son won the gold medal and all other special prizes at the 1980
Chopin competition in Warsaw.  Unfortunately, his victory was overshadowed
by Martha Argerich's resignation from the jury to protest Ivo Pogorelich's
elimination from the finals.  Practically no one was aware that later
Argerich sent Dang Thai Son a congratulatory message and affirmed that his
choice was the right one.

Despite all sorts of invitations, Son was also blocked for 9 years from
entering the U.S.  by the State Department for apparently no other reason
than that he is from Viet Nam, considered as an enemy state until recently.
Son has since performed in the U.S., but remains relatively unknown there.
However, he enjoys a thriving career in Latin America, Japan, and Europe.

Tan-Trao Phi