Chopin Recordings

Started by George, April 06, 2007, 06:00:36 AM

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Herman

Quote from: Mandryka on February 19, 2010, 01:46:32 AM


I think he smoked and drank to much in later life -- hence the deterioration.


The younger you die, the sooner you are "later in life".

I purchased my first François album in a store run by a man who was quite eloquent about his playing, he'd seen him perform many times. Somehow his store assistant was an attractive middle-aged woman who'd worked for an Amsterdam impressario and had escorted François from the plane to the hotel and to the concert hall many times. Need I say more...

Scarpia

Just listened to Francois' recordings of a few of the Polonaises.  Particularly the first two, then skipped ahead to the "Heroic" in A-flat.  Francois' performance of the Heroic may not be the most immaculate in terms of technique, but it certainly is charismatic.  Not the sort of recording you want to listen to twice at a sitting, too willful and eccentric.    But good to listen to as though at a recital.  Little details, like the handling of the trills, are delicious.  Certainly a welcome contrast to Pollini, who sounds like he is trying to break the piano, more than anything else.

George

Quote from: Scarpia on February 20, 2010, 11:32:43 AM
Just listened to Francois' recordings of a few of the Polonaises. 

Haven't heard them yet, but I heard his Ballades, Scherzi, Waltzes and Impromptus this week. I very much enjoyed his Chopin overall. Not a first pick, but a nice alternate perspective.

George

#683
Some thoughts on the new Martha Argerich Chopin CD on DG:

Ballade 1
It's herky-jerky and lacks that flow and grace I usually like in my Chopin. This isn't Prokofiev, Martha! She plays the fast parts well, though.

Etude in C Sharp Minor Op. 10/4
Wow! This performance is wonderful! Her technical facility and intensity is put to good use here. One of the best performances I have ever heard of this one!

Mazurka in C Sharp Minor Op. 41/4
Like the first Ballade, this one does not come off very well. It sounds under-rehearsed and though the quieter moments are nice, the louder ones come off like Horowitz at his worst. This isn't a Scherzo, it's a Mazurka, for goodness sakes.

Mazurka in e minor Op. 41/1
The sadness is conveyed well, but again, she takes to banging and ruins the louder passages.  :-\

Mazurka in C Major 
Again, she sounds under-rehearsed and not refined enough. Not terrible, just not special.

Mazurka in f minor
Nice mystery at the start, but again nothing that special here.

Mazurka in D Major
Louder and faster than I like this one. Bang! Bang! Bang! quiet for awhile then BANG! BANG!

Nocturne in F Major
Like the prior works, it sounds unfinished, like she really doesn't have a feel for the music.

Nocturne in E Flat Major
Better here, with a nice flow missing from most of the other performances, but still nothing to write home about. She's got the coldest Nocturnes I have ever heard. 

Mazurkas Op. 59
No. 1 was played well, with a nice gentle tone. No. 2 was also played well, No. 3 is again too loud and too fast for me.

Piano Sonata 3
Decent here, but not really better than many others that I have heard. Like her Nocturnes it's a cold Chopin, technically impressive, yes, but Chopin needs more than that. Much of this sounded rushed to me. Not enough depth either, it's like she's just skimming the surface of the music in the faster movements. The Largo and the finale were better, but still weren't that great. 

George

Not a recording, but worthy of a mention here:

Ready to laugh and enjoy some great pianism?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYY47zdi8So

(trust me, this is great!)

Mandryka

#685
Quote from: Barak on February 16, 2010, 07:16:46 PM
Samson François in the 24 Études. To my ears this sounds better (sonically) than some of his other recordings. Fanciful and dramatic, more interesting than most.

I have spent quite a lot of time listening to his Op 10s these past few days. You may well be right, Barak. Probably, they are more interesting than most. But that may not be saying very much.

I think they are a mixed bag actually. Mostly he doesn't seem to realise much of the music in there.

But there are some exceptions. I thought 10/9 was especially good – and maybe also 10/7. 10/11 and 10/12 too – that's a score of 4 out of 12.

Part of the  problem is that Cortot's 1933 record sets the  standard for expression, colour warmth etc very high – most of the time I don't think François  even comes close.

Of course, there are excellent performances which try to shift the point of reference. Cziffra doesn't even try to compete with Cortot for expression, colour and warmth – his recording is valuable because he has other, new things to say – Cziffra shows us Chopin as blood brother of Liszt; as experimenter and maverick.

But I don't think that François has anything so interesting to say in this music.

I'll try to listen again to Op 25 later this week.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

George

Upcoming release from Marston records - http://www.marstonrecords.com/html/future.htm
 
A Century of Romantic Chopin

54001-2 (4 CDs for the price of 3)
A Century of Romantic Chopin is a four CD-compilation commemorating the Chopin bicentennial year. The set will include some 65 pianists, going back to Francis Planté and Vladimir de Pachmann who were born when Chopin was still alive. Other pianists in the set include Josef Hofmann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ferruccio Busoni, Moritz Rosenthal, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Ignaz Friedman, Alfred Cortot, Jan Smeterlin, Rosita Renard, Claudio Arrau, Guiomar Novaes, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Solomon, Arthur Rubinstein, Emil Gilels, Earl Wild, Jorge Bolet, and others. All of Chopin's etudes will be represented, as well as a selection of preludes, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, ballades, and scherzi, each performance conveying a personal approach to the music. Some of the recordings will already be familiar to pianophiles because of their legendary status, while many others will be delightful surprises, as they are taken from concert performances and out-of-print recordings.

George

Quote from: Holden on March 17, 2010, 02:58:42 AM
The problem is that no pianist has really come forward to take their place. We've been in a state of hiatus for a number of years now with no clear candidate emerging.

Hi Holden,

I agree with your statement above, with three exceptions: Pogorelich (though he hasn't recorded any Chopin as of late), Wasowski (I love his Nocturnes and his Mazurkas) and Gekic (I love everything this guy does and his Chopin is no exception.) 

Since I am off topic, I moved my answer to this thread. 

Clever Hans

Quote from: George on March 17, 2010, 03:36:36 AM
Hi Holden,

I agree with your statement above, with three exceptions: Pogorelich (though he hasn't recorded any Chopin as of late), Wasowski (I love his Nocturnes and his Mazurkas) and Gekic (I love everything this guy does and his Chopin is no exception.) 

Since I am off topic, I moved my answer to this thread.

Tharaud?

George


Clever Hans

Quote from: George on March 17, 2010, 10:48:53 AM
Not IMO. I didn't like his preludes at all.

His waltzes are better. At least he tries to be interesting

George

Quote from: Clever Hans on March 17, 2010, 10:55:08 AM
His waltzes are better. At least he tries to be interesting

Interesting is good, I agree. Like any interpretation though, it either connects or it doesn't. I know others enjoy Tharaud's Chopin, which is a good thing.

I've been slowly getting to know the old masters myself - Rosenthal, Pachmann, Bolet, Fiorentino, Godowsky, Koczalski, Saperton (etudes) and Hofmann.

Herman

Quote from: Clever Hans on March 17, 2010, 10:55:08 AM
His waltzes are better. At least he tries to be interesting

Agreed. I got Tharaud's Waltzes cd recently (it's five years old) and I like it a lot.

I was at a live performance of the Preludes and wasn't quite convinced.

Clever Hans

Quote from: George on March 17, 2010, 11:37:40 AM
Interesting is good, I agree. Like any interpretation though, it either connects or it doesn't. I know others enjoy Tharaud's Chopin, which is a good thing.

I've been slowly getting to know the old masters myself - Rosenthal, Pachmann, Bolet, Fiorentino, Godowsky, Koczalski, Saperton (etudes) and Hofmann.

Don't forget Friedman. Get his Mazurkas on Naxos. The transfers are great. I'm a big Rosenthal fan. In his prime--around the turn of the century--he was a supervirtuoso.

That said, I think Tharaud has the right idea. Of anyone around, he plays the most like Cortot, and with a minimum of aristocratic sauce (Rubinstein, etc). 

Scarpia

What of Vasary's set of recordings on DG, from the 60's I think and available on a pair of those "trio" releases.  I have some Vasary recordings, Debussy, which I enjoy.  Is his Chopin noteworthy?

kishnevi

Quote from: Scarpia on March 18, 2010, 10:48:33 AM
What of Vasary's set of recordings on DG, from the 60's I think and available on a pair of those "trio" releases.  I have some Vasary recordings, Debussy, which I enjoy.  Is his Chopin noteworthy?

I have the "Trio": Nocturnes, Waltzes, Ballades, Scherzi.  I bought it to fill out my Chopin library in a budget friendly way, back in the days when I was insane enough to believe one needed only one recording of a work...
To be perfectly honest,  I haven't listened to any of it in a good long time: the nocturnes, from what I remember, seemed fairly bland,  the ballades good, and the waltzes very good.
I have enough other Chopin recordings that I've never felt impelled to dig it from the bottom of the stack where I saw it last.  I suppose he is due for a rehearing...

George

Quote from: Clever Hans on March 18, 2010, 10:43:31 AM
Don't forget Friedman. Get his Mazurkas on Naxos. The transfers are great.

Yeah,  I have all 5 volumes of that series. His Moonlight is superb!


George

Quote from: Scarpia on March 18, 2010, 10:48:33 AM
What of Vasary's set of recordings on DG, from the 60's I think and available on a pair of those "trio" releases.  I have some Vasary recordings, Debussy, which I enjoy.  Is his Chopin noteworthy?

Not IMO.

If you are after an inexpensive Chopin set, I suggest the budget Rubinstein box on RCA or the somewhat more expensive set by Ashkenazy on Decca.

Clever Hans - I don't know how I left out Cortot. I LOVE his Chopin.  :)

Dancing Divertimentian

Quote from: Clever Hans on March 17, 2010, 08:02:22 AM
Tharaud?

Yes, I'll join some of the others in praising Tharaud's Waltzes.

In fact, for me there's much to be said for post-78 era Chopin playing on disc:

• In the second and third sonatas Katchen (Decca) is divine - angular yet cohesive.

• Gavrilov (EMI) crackles in both sets of Etudes yet never sounds exploitive.

• Cherkassky enlightens every nook of Chopin's music.

• Argerich can be spotty (her DG Preludes are pretty good) but her third Scherzo on DG is spectacular. 

• Three words: Moravec, Moravec, Moravec.

• And there's always Richter to consider.

• I've just started listening to Freire's recital (Decca) with the second sonata and Op. 10 Etudes and allowing for the more introspective vs. flashy approach I find it refreshing. So far.
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Mandryka

#699
Quote from: Clever Hans on March 18, 2010, 10:43:31 AM
Don't forget Friedman. Get his Mazurkas on Naxos.

I hate them. He plays them like they are peasant dances.

Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on March 18, 2010, 09:44:28 PM
In fact, for me there's much to be said for post-78 era Chopin playing on disc:


You forgot four of the best: Pletnev and Virsladze and Pollini and Weissenberg.

Quote from: George on March 18, 2010, 11:39:33 AM
Not IMO.

If you are after an inexpensive Chopin set, I suggest the budget Rubinstein box on RCA

Not recommended by me -- he's lost the magic touch by then I think.

For a cheap set, go for Samson Francois or Alexis Weissenberg.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen