Short review from New York Times:
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Tackling Chopin's Études With Dazzling Technique
By JEREMY EICHLER

Chopin's études are fiendishly difficult works, designed to isolate individual technical hurdles on the keyboard and drill them in punishing repetition.

They can intimidate even the most veteran soloists, so there was a sense of anticipation when it was announced that the 44-year-old Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, replacing an injured Maurizio Pollini, would make his Carnegie debut on Sunday afternoon by performing all three sets of études.

But if his program was brutally challenging, the news seemed not to have reached Mr. Lortie. The pianist, himself injured in a ski accident, hobbled his way to the piano on crutches and then, without much strain or fanfare, proceeded to flood the hall in sound. Crystalline notes poured from his fingers as étude after étude passed by in a perfect wedding of tensile brilliance with supple grace.

The "Revolutionary" Étude No. 12 was one of many highlights in the Opus 10 set. The bass surged primarily from below, while the right hand trumpeted the dotted theme in clarion tones. The "Trois Nouvelles Études" (Op. Posth.) were more autumnal in tenor as Mr. Lortie captured this music's subtle wistfulness, raising his gaze upward as if reading the notes off of a distant horizon.

The 12 Études (Op. 25) were once again dizzying. During No. 10, as Mr. Lortie blazed up the keyboard in thundering double octaves, the man in front of me simply shook his head in disbelief. A few minutes later, a huge granitic chord brought the program to a close and the audience to its feet.

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Mr. Lortie's recording of the same repertoire is cherished by many, myself included. His Beethoven and Schubert sonatas are equally outstanding. I won't miss him if he ever comes into town. This is a pianist to watch closely.

Rgds,
AndrewG

any idea what's happened to Pollini?

I was wondering the same thing...

He apparently has a back strain, and has cancelled his entire spring '03 tour.
This is according to the Seattle Times April 30.

Thank you Phlebas for the info.

My son Max was so bummed out when the Pollini performance in San Francisco was cancelled.

OTOH, if Lortie materialized in S.F., I know he'd go in a heartbeat.

Joy

I hope Pollini comes back to NY soon, I have seen him twice at Carnegie, and its always a treat.