Chopin Recordings

[Brian]

Definitely did not expect to see this new release!



This September on Avie: Russell Sherman plays the complete mazurkas!

[Bogey]

Any thoughts on Tharaud and/or Blechacz in the Chopin preludes?

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Brought these over for Paul.

[George]

I don't like either of them, Paul. I like Sokolov and Moravec.

[Holden]

...but then again there is this.....



Rare but not impossible to get hold of. Amazon has a couple of used copies

[George]

...but then again there is this.....



Rare but not impossible to get hold of. Amazon has a couple of used copies

I got me a nice copy a few years back. I am still trying to get what you guys hear in that one (and I am a huge fan of Arrau's Chopin.)

[PaulSC]

I don't like either of them, Paul. I like Sokolov and Moravec.

Thanks George. I like Sokolov too but am looking for contrasting interpretations. I won't rule out Moravec, a great pianist and great in Chopin specifically. Food for thought...

[Brian]

Interestingly, Moravec himself when asked to name an inspired Chopin pianist from among the younger generations named Blechacz.

[George]

Interestingly, Moravec himself when asked to name an inspired Chopin pianist from among the younger generations named Blechacz.

I imagine Moravec enjoys Blechacz's beauty (which I do as well), but other than that, his playing is, as an old Music Theory professor used to say, "plain vanilla." Plus, he rarely generates the requisite excitement in the more bombastic preludes.

[Holden]

You've got a number of different approaches to choose from when playing the Preludes. You can go for beauty and expression a la Arrau, Sokolov, etc. You can take the more bravura approach as epitomized by the Argerich version. Then there is a combination of the two where Bolet and Fiorentino stand out. I like all of these recordings though maybe the Sokolov is a little too quirky in places.

If I was going to recommend a version for a newbie to these works it would probably be Bolet. If the Rafael Orozco recording was available on CD I would also recommend that but I'm not sure it ever made the leap onto that medium. A pity as it is an excellent recording.

[George]

If I was going to recommend a version for a newbie to these works it would probably be Bolet.

The live one, right?

[Holden]

The live one, right?

Definitely - recorded live at Carnegie Hall I believe. I have this on the GPOTTC twofer.

What label is the studio recording on? I've never come across it.

[George]

Definitely - recorded live at Carnegie Hall I believe. I have this on the GPOTTC twofer.

What label is the studio recording on? I've never come across it.

Decca, I believe.

[Brian]

I got back in touch with MusicWeb to tell them I've moved in to my new apartment and can start receiving CDs again. Lo and behold, after more than a month, they were still trying to find a reviewer for Russell Sherman's Chopin mazurkas. Len, the publisher, tells me, "Chopin is very unpopular with our reviewers." Guess that's how I racked up 6 Chopin reviews this year.*  


*ranking by personal enjoyment:

1. Sudbin [outstanding]
2. Koziak [plain, has moments]
3. Lortie [plain, has moments]
4. Koroliov [treats everything like nocturnes; irritating sameness]
?. Sherman
Disqualified for not belonging in this mortal world: Moravec's 19 nocturnes

In a way, I can see Moravec's point, because very good Chopin is hard to come by these days. Marcin Koziak is your typical competition pianist, technically extremely solid but not an interesting interpreter, while Louis Lortie and Evgeni Koroliov indulge that old cliche about Chopin being all perfumed salons and bouquets of flowers and wistful sighs, without the originality of voice or expression that makes playing really poetic. It seems as though a lot of people these days play Chopin the way they think they're supposed to, and the result is a certain sameness. Sudbin beats that sameness to death with a shovel, and it might end up being a fairly controversial approach but it's also quite liberating.

[Holden]

In a way, I can see Moravec's point, because very good Chopin is hard to come by these days. Marcin Koziak is your typical competition pianist, technically extremely solid but not an interesting interpreter, while Louis Lortie and Evgeni Koroliov indulge that old cliche about Chopin being all perfumed salons and bouquets of flowers and wistful sighs, without the originality of voice or expression that makes playing really poetic. It seems as though a lot of people these days play Chopin the way they think they're supposed to, and the result is a certain sameness. Sudbin beats that sameness to death with a shovel, and it might end up being a fairly controversial approach but it's also quite liberating.

I agree that there is a 'way' to playing Chopin and many pianists don't understand the 'way'. It's hard to define but you can hear what the great Chopin performers do you instinctively know that this is the way it should sound. I'm talking about Rubinstein, Cortot, Michelangeli, Solomon, Moravec, Sokolov, etc, etc. There are some extremely good Chopin interpreters around today including Blechacz but there are many more who don't have a clue. They are what I call mechanics. Technically fine but with no musical soul.  It might be interesting to start a thread on who you think the best living Chopin interpreters are. I'll start with Moravec and Sokolov. There are many more.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

It might be interesting to start a thread on who you think the best living Chopin interpreters are. I'll start with Moravec and Sokolov.

Interesting idea. Honestly I find the list of living Chopin players who do absolute justice to the music engaging. There's a lifetime of fascinating Chopin in the fingers of each of these living pianists:

Momo Kodama (3rd sonata, impromptus)
Dmitri Alexeev (preludes, waltzes)
Nelson Freire (nocturnes)
Alexandre Tharaud (waltzes)
Moravec (anything)
Andrei Gavrilov (etudes, 2nd sonata, ballades)
Martha Argerich (that 3rd scherzo!)
Mikhail Pletnev (potpourri)
Krystian Zimerman (concertos, ballades)
Pogorelich (eccentric in the solo stuff, but his 2nd concerto is divine)

I don't consider any of these players to be lacking in sufficient Chopin etiquette. Their playing has character, depth, and, of course, is appropriately mordant in all the right places.

While we're at it, I'd also like to give a round of kudos to the recently departed in Chopin:

Richter (magical moments)
John Browning (etudes)
Shura Cherkassky (all kinds of goodies)
Michelangeli (same as Cherkassky)

Lastly, one great underrated Chopin player is Julius Katchen. Long deceased of course but a pianist who lived into the stereo era. His 2nd and 3rd sonatas command attention (although they're actually mono).

Not a single pianist above need take a back seat to any long dead Chopin interpreter. Which is why I'm baffled at all the talk about deficient Chopin playing these days.

[Mandryka]

I got back in touch with MusicWeb to tell them I've moved in to my new apartment and can start receiving CDs again. Lo and behold, after more than a month, they were still trying to find a reviewer for Russell Sherman's Chopin mazurkas. Len, the publisher, tells me, "Chopin is very unpopular with our reviewers." Guess that's how I racked up 6 Chopin reviews this year.*  


*ranking by personal enjoyment:

1. Sudbin [outstanding]
2. Koziak [plain, has moments]
3. Lortie [plain, has moments]
4. Koroliov [treats everything like nocturnes; irritating sameness]
?. Sherman
Disqualified for not belonging in this mortal world: Moravec's 19 nocturnes

In a way, I can see Moravec's point, because very good Chopin is hard to come by these days. Marcin Koziak is your typical competition pianist, technically extremely solid but not an interesting interpreter, while Louis Lortie and Evgeni Koroliov indulge that old cliche about Chopin being all perfumed salons and bouquets of flowers and wistful sighs, without the originality of voice or expression that makes playing really poetic. It seems as though a lot of people these days play Chopin the way they think they're supposed to, and the result is a certain sameness. Sudbin beats that sameness to death with a shovel, and it might end up being a fairly controversial approach but it's also quite liberating.

So are you going to write a knocking review of Shermann's mazurkas? I had mixed views, I thought that some things came off better than others. I'll try to hear Sudbin's CD, I've heard him play Chopin in concert. I thought he was wonderful, exciting.

[George]

So are you going to write a knocking review of Shermann's mazurkas? I had mixed views, I thought that some things came off better than others.

I am sampling it now on Spotify. He plays them too fast for me.

[Brian]

So are you going to write a knocking review of Shermann's mazurkas? I had mixed views, I thought that some things came off better than others. I'll try to hear Sudbin's CD, I've heard him play Chopin in concert. I thought he was wonderful, exciting.

Do try to find Sudbin's CD, if only because I feel like I'm the only person who's heard it and my enthusiasm is therefore making me question my own taste.  I've only heard 6 or so of the mazurkas from Sherman; some things came off better than others is a good way of putting it, but I look forward to hearing the rest. At least he's doing something different.

[George]

Do try to find Sudbin's CD, if only because I feel like I'm the only person who's heard it and my enthusiasm is therefore making me question my own taste. 

It's on Spotify. I'm listening to it now. And yes, it's nice. 

EDIT - The two Ballades don't work for me, but the Mazurkas are excellent.

[Coopmv]

I am sampling it now on Spotify. He plays them too fast for me.

A NASCAR pianist ...