To describe Ingolf Wunder's performances as couched in a kind of neo-Mozartian aesthetic isn't to criticise but to applaud them . . . These are warm-blooded, big-boned, panoramic accounts, richly and subtly expressive without displaying a hint of bombast or manipulative self-indulgence. They are remarkably alike in their natural balance and their "symphonic" demonstration of unity achieved through diversity . . . Vladimir Ashkenazy is very much more than an accomplished and insightful accompanist. He is a fully fledged, generous partner, weaving the variegated orchestral strands into a polyphonic tapestry of timbres, perfectly suited to offset and enhance the very different sounds of the piano. Wunder, meanwhile, easily distracts us, when its appropriate, from the essentially percussive nature of his instrument, not least when he uses his power, depth of sound and breadth of phrasing to meet the orchestra on its own terms -- as in the first movement of the Tchaikovsky. Indeed this is one of the most subtly and illuminatingly coloured accounts of this work I've encountered . . . these are both outstanding performances.
Tchaikovsky.
Piano Concerto No. 1