In 1990, Kevin Kenner won the Chopin Competition and bronze medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition, which was the first time an American won prizes in both. Known for his interpretations of Chopin, having studied with Polish pianist Krzysztof Brzuza and in Poland with Ludwik Stefanski, then with Leon Fleischer at the Peabody. Legendary Polish-American conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski said Kenner's Chopin interpretations are the most sensitive and beautiful he remembered. This recording features several Mazurkas, a Polish national dance. Sonata No.3 is considered to be extremely technically challenging, and despite being derided by contemporaries such as Liszt and D’Indy, it soon gained in popularity which has endured to this day.