2003-01-18T01:38:00.000-08:00

*** = must hear
** = worth hearing
* = avoid

Ballades

for information on stylistic similarities between Mickiewicz's Ballady and Chopin's Ballades as well as other interesting background information read this excellent thesis by Dorota Zakrzewska in Polish Music Journal Vol. 2, No. 1-2, Summer/Winter 1999. ISSN 1521 - 6039

(Collections)

*** Alfred Cortot (EMI CZS 767359 2)

1933; great poetical vision enunciated with rhetorical vigor, bel canto cantabile and incredible agogic finesse

*** Samson François (EMI 5 73386 2)

1954, highly personal visions executed with strong temperament and intensive cantabile; sometimes quite willful effects

** Artur Rubinstein (RCA RCD1-7156)

noble sound and good sense of formal unity; generally somewhat on the heavy side; lack of fantastic or mysterious qualities

** Claudio Arrau (Philips 422 038-2)

1977; noble sound; excellent formal control, but heavy and ponderous throughout; somewhat "constipated" rhetoric

No.1 in G minor, Op.23

(Cortot, François, Rubinstein, Arrau see Collections)

*** Josef Hofmann (VAIA/IPA 1020)

live recording from 1937; fantastic grand poetic vision with strong heroic undercurrent in the rhetorical gesture; vital propulsion yet always lucid; fantastic telescoping sweeps in development and truly maniacal in coda

** Annie Fisher (Dante HPC014)

live recording from 1949; stunning temperament; no compromises

** Byron Janis (Philips 456 847-2)

"grand style"; dramatic pathos; gorgeous cantabile sound; sometimes clumsy; broad declamation in second theme; lots of bass notes added in imitation of Hofmann and Horowitz; coda quite ridiculous

** Alexander Brailowsky (Pearl GEMM CD 9132)

recordings lacks dynamic range; construction of long periods not convincing; agogic effects tasteful but not always inventive

** Leopold Godowsky (Dolphin TCC38-FD193)

piano roll from 1916; interesting only for research of pedal (much less than modern pianists) and agogic manners; enormous tempo differences with exceptionally fast development and coda

* Vladimir Horowitz (Sony S3K 53461)

live recording from 1965; Horowitz at his worst: very harsh sound; erratic and willful effects; tasteless voicing effects; fragmented development and "Walt Disney" coda; great applause

* Adam Harasiewicz (Capriccio 69 464 6)

pedantic, metrical and "anti-poetic" (like a contestant); especially terrible: second theme

No.2 in F major, Op.38

(Cortot, François, Rubinstein, Arrau see Collections)

* Eugen d'Albert (Dolphin TCC38-FD174)

piano roll from 1913; some idiosyncrasies; agitato wooden

* Anatole Kitain (The Piano Library PL 221)

Andantino nice; Presto somewhat dilettantic; vain voicing; no legato in chord passages

No.3 in A-flat major, Op.47

(Cortot, François, Rubinstein, Arrau see Collections)

** Ignaz Friedman (Dante HPC 038)

"macho"; incredibly exciting, but somewhat "vulgarly" over-stylized; some "trivial" virtuoso effects (ending in sixths)

** Sergei Rachmaninoff (RCA 09026-61265-2)

excessive contrasts between ponderous slowness and sudden dramatic outbursts; structural telescoping; very rough propulsion; "macho" climax

** Wilhelm Kempff (Decca 452308-2)

1958; inspired poetic rendition; fluent and colorful; sometimes sentimental with mushy sound in piano and brittle (mezzo) fortissimo

** Sviatoslav Richter (RCA 09026-63844-2)

live recording, Carnegie Hall, 1960; good cantabile and nice voicing in focused touch; excellent control of form; lacks sense of epic quality

No.4 in F minor, Op.52

(Cortot, François, Rubinstein, Arrau see Collections)

*** Ivan Moravec (Philips 456 910-2)

gorgeously "Romantic"; beautiful intensive shaping of dynamics and vocal agogic in melody; some of his rubatos would appear mannered with a less beautiful sound; sometimes almost too much emphasis on detail; fantastic coda

** Youra Guller (Nimbus NI 5030)

dignified, weighty declamation; profound and spacious sometimes almost a little heavy; masculine touch reminiscent of Rubinstein; recorded at 80 (!)

** Georges Cziffra (EMI CDM5 65251-2)

sound not always convincing (cold); some voicing appears mannered

** Raoul Koczalski (Pearl GEMM CD 9472)

earlier fluent and "florid" Chopin style ("Art Deco"); more lean and "calligraphic" than modern performers (pizzicato "lute" basses); technically sloppy

* Ignaz Paderewski (Pearl GEMM CD 9397)

short-wave broadcast, 1938; Paderewski at his worst; very dilettantic; dry accompaniment (pizzicato basses)

Fantaisie in F minor, Op.49

*** Alfred Cortot (EMI CZS 767359 2)

1933; poetic vision with strong heroic undercurrent; vital rhythm, transparent texture and singing melody; especially impressive is his ability to differentiate all characteristic details without loosing the long line; dramatic vigor and poetic grace in perfect poise

*** Myra Hess (APR 5520)

live recording from 1949; impressive authority and very strong masculine verve; proud opening and passionate agitato; recording not very clear, unfortunately

** Harold Bauer (Nimbus NI 8817)

piano roll; passionate, heroic, even "macho"; impressive power in agitato but very heavy Lento; unfortunately the combination of roll and digital recording makes for very poor sound, blurred and not differentiated at all

** Wilhelm Kempff (Decca 452308-2)

1958; lovely, "feminine" sound in opening, but lacking in heroic grandness; dull pedal; agitato somewhat timid; lacks sweep; Lento quite dull

** Vlado Perlemuter (Nimbus NI 5064)

1982; nobel and stylistically secure; agitato a little academic; the digital sound of the recording sounds quite obtuse, especially in the Lento section

** Shura Cherkassky (Decca 433650-2)

1973; collection of interesting details without any apparent integrity of character or form; very capricious tempo changes; nice singing touch and beautifully inspired Lento

** Artur Rubinstein (RCA RCD1-7156)

nobel but sober; academic agitato lacks passion

** Claudio Arrau (Philips 422 038-2)

1977; heavy rhythm and opaque sound; good formal control in agitato but the declamation lacks propulsion; "vertical" sound in Lento

** Samson François (EMI 5 73386 2)

1969; not the best François, unfortunately; impressive details, but the piece falls apart

Historical Piano Recordings - Chopin