chopin...

Hi Ken

We have a CD in our catalogue of Chopin's Scherzi 1-2-4 and Preludes Op 28. They are performed by a Norwegian pianist called Havard Gimse who is the pianist with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. He's won the European piano competition, the Steinway prize and the prestigious Greig prize.

Gramophone magazine said: "The Recordings are excellent and this is definitely a pianist to watch". We will be releasing a new disc with Havard later on in the year.

Naim CD028 if you want to buy it!

Anna

There's nothing bad at the Nocturnes - my favourite version remains Artur Rubinstein. Claudio Arrau is good too.

The "Four Ballads" as well as the "Four Scherzos", the sonatas 2 & 3 should IMHO be part of every single record collection. Good performers of these works are: Michelangeli, Cortot, Perlemuter, Arrau, even Pollini. If you don't know what to choose, never hesitate with Rubinstein: his light, clear and joyful playing almost always works. Even though he was especially good in Concert, most of his recordings can be recommended.

But for me, the GREATEST PIANO RECORDING OF ALL TIME remains the selection of Chopin Preludes by Sviatoslav Richter. He wasn't a Chopin specialist at all, I'd even say he's recorded some truly dreadful interpretations, but at this Concert in Tokyo, something absolutely unique happened - maybe it was the sushi ?

Enjoy

Bernard

anna: many thanks. yes, i will pick up cd028 soon. pretty safe bet as all the naim recordings i have are of very high quality.

enjoy...

ken

Bernard: many thanks for the recommendations -- i will look out for "Four Ballads" as well as the "Four Scherzos", the sonatas 2 & 3, and also Chopin Preludes by Sviatoslav Richter -- can you prove a little more info on this -- who did the recording -- to make it easier for me to get it.

in my hyperion catalogue, i notice that this pianit called "demidenko" has also done the ballards/sonata 3 and also "scherzi" (whats a scherzi?? is the idea that of a scherzando -- i.e playfully??). do you happen to know this demidenko guy, or better still these 2 hyperion recordings?? he has also done "clementi" -- who i have seen amongst my daughter's piano study books..

many thanks again, and enjoy...

ken

Let us not forget the transcendentally good waltzes as performed by Dinu Lipatti. They're so good, I don't think I'll need to listen to any other versions.

tod, many thanks.

enjoy...

ken

There is a 5-CD box by EMI of (almost) all Dinu Lipatti recordings, from 1947 to his death in 1950. Beware that the sound is really bad, and Lipatti was physically so weak that he recorded many pieces at home on an upright piano (is that the real english term???). The whole thing is a pure gem and Lipatti's playing can indeed not be compared to anything else in matters of sensitivity and modesty - you can actually hear he's a devotee of the composers he plays. BUY IT ! You may find it unlistenable to in the beginning, but you will inevitably fall in love with this 5-pack. These are certainly the best sold poor recordings in the classical discography today, listen to them and you'll understand why. EMI CZS 7 67 163 2 (at least in Switzerland).

The Richter recording (Tokyo Recital 1979) was originally issued on vinyl by JVC-Melodiya 204 004-425. It contains also the Schumann Novelettes. Funnily, the recording of the Chopin Preludes has been reissued on CD on Olympia-Melodiya OCD 112 (with Rachmaninov pieces). It is stated on the disc that the music was recorded somewhere in Russia, but I am dead sure that these are the Tokyo recordings, as the selection as well as the interpretation (and the applause of the audience) are strictly identical.

The Ballads and Scherzos are available together on one well-packed remastered CD by Artur Rubinstein, RCA Red Seal RD89651. Can be warmly recommended, as are the sonatas 2 & 3 in the same series (don't know the RCA order number). Don't ask me why Chopin called his Scherzos or his Ballads this way - judging by their name, the Ballads should be "slow" and the Scherzos "joyful" - but there's not much relationship. Even the waltzes (recommended by Todd, how right he is!) have not much in common with the 1-2-3, 1-2-3 beat of a Vienna waltz.

I know, it has nothing to do, but if you're into classical piano, give Brahms a listen, even if you hate his symphonic work (that's my case). Julius Katchen has recorded practically every piece and he remains famous for his Brahms interpretations. A dirt cheap 6-CD-Pack is available, EMI 455 247-2.

The two Brahms Piano Concertos are brilliant as well, the most famous interpretations (IMO) are:

Curzon/Szell for the #1, Decca 425 082-2. The recording quality is absolutely outstanding too, even by today's standards (40 years later!). You can even find it on 180 gr. vinyl.

Richter/Leinsdorf for the #2, RCA GD86518. Richter draws the utmost attention from the listener from the first note to the last, and Leinsdorf is unusually good. Good sound quality too.

HTH.

And first of all: Enjoy !

Bernard

[This message was edited by Bernard on SATURDAY 21 April 2001 at 14:10.]

[This message was edited by Bernard on SATURDAY 21 April 2001 at 18:04.]

bernard: thanks for taking the time to provide all that information!!! next time i walk into a record shop, i will sound as if i know what i am taking about!!!

i have at least 2 brahms cd's -- "clarinet sonatas" and "clarinet quintet and trio" -- havent played them for a while -- last time i did, i remember not being too moved. but perhaps the piano recordings will be better.

you dont know the hyperion recordings that i mentioned then??

enjoy...

ken

No, don't know these Hyperion recordings. A Russian pianist is often a good bet, and if you like good recording quality, then go for it.

I know hyperion for their releases of baroque and elizabethan music - if their romantic recordings are of the same (very high) level, why not ?

Bernard

I second Dinu Lipatti playing the Walzes as well. If you don't go for the collected works, as suggested by Bernard, there is a great album in the EMI Classics Great Recordings of the Century series:

Chopin, 14 Valses, Dinu Lipatti (EMI 7243 5 66904 2 4)

Ciao!

Willem

bernard, willem -- thanks guys. i will look out for Dinu Lipatti -- and if i happen by that emi collection, i will get that.

have you guys tried the naim recording cd028 that anna mentioned?? i intend to get it when i visit my dealer next.

for classical i seen to be collecting more baroque, early music, and piano stuff like the chopin i mentioned to you. i seem to have ended up with quite a few schuberts' -- "die schone mullerin" , "winterrese", "german mass in G" and a few others...

thanks again...

enjoy...

ken

For me, no one gets to the melancholic lyrical Polish heart of Chopin as well as his countryman, Arthur Rubenstein. Lots of pianists play Chopin very well, but Rubenstein best expressed the unspoken poetic essence.

Rubenstein (sic) plays Chopin pretty convincingly - I once heard him perform at Carnegie Hall (when I was a wee lad). I recommend those who really love Chopin to dig into some of the "Golden Age" piano recordings, although they are not of the (ahem) shall we say, best recording quality. I'm thinking of Ignaz Friedman (especially his unsurpassed reading of the E-flat nocturne Op. 55 No.2), Josef Hoffman (listen to his Casimir Hall Recital - a shattering performance of the F minor Ballade), Moritz Rosenthal, Leopold Godowsky, Alfred Cortot, Vladimir de Pachmann, and, of course, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Slightly more recently, I love the recordings of Richter (he had an album on DGG with the F minor Ballade, the Polonaise Fantasie, the Revolutionary Étude, along with Debussy Estampes and the Scriabin Sonata No. 5 - a great recital), as well as Lipatti, and of course, Horowitz. It's really rewarding to check this old stuff out. You'll hear a different way of playing Chopin, which has been lost in our age. More plastic rubato, "broken hands" effects, more emphasis on the inner voices, etc. Thankfully we have a good recorded legacy to draw on. You might find some of this stuff on the Pearl Records web page.
Happy hunting!

Do you really HAVE to make us all jealous ?

And I fear you've also seen Furtwaengler, Oistrakh and, why not, Horowitz, eh ??? Playing Beethoven's Eroica, the Tchaikovsky violin concerto and some Scriabin sonatas ???

All I hope is that you won't answer me: "Oh, yeah, I've seen all that, but you forget to mention Bellini's Norma at the Met in 1953, with the Callas conducted by Tullio Serafin" ...

You lucky man, you - to be born at the right time (I'm 34)

Enjoy

Bernard

[This message was edited by Bernard on MONDAY 23 April 2001 at 08:33.]

oh my god, this chopin thread is turning into a serious project now. i sense i am going to learn quite a bit here...

fred s: thanks for chiming in with the Arthur Rubenstein recommendation -- any particular recommendation???

and peter l: there is enough there to keep me busy for a while. but i was caught by your "...More plastic rubato, "broken hands" effects, more emphasis on the inner voices, etc."

"plastic rubato" -- !! i can sense the tension.

many thanks guys -- i will list all the relevant piano recordings that i have and see where else this takes me -- which reminds me i havent listended to the latest p noland that i bought together with dreamhouse and ted sirota.

meantime...

enjoy...

Yes I have seen Horowitz (Oakland Paramount in the 70s-he was fabulous-even played some Rachmaninoff, and of course, Chopin and Schumann). Never saw Furtwaengler or Oistrakh, but did hear Isaac Stern do the Beethoven-beautiful tone. I saw Leonard Bernstein conduct many times. My father often took me to Carnegie Hall to see Lennie. Lennie was his favorite. Also heard Glenn Gould at Carnegie. He had a special chair and a glass of water on the piano. My father wondered why he didn't also bring a ham sandwich on stage with him! Heard Ormandy conduct as well-Sibelius no.2. The sound of the Philadelphia was so very superior to anything I had ever heard. The strings were just super smooth, lush, and perfectly unified. One of the greatest pianists I had the opportunity of hearing was Lazar Berman. Saw him in 1977, twice: the day my son was born (3/12/77), and playing the Rach. 3 concerto a week later. His performance of the Scriabin sonata no.1 was mesmerizing. Oh yeah, saw Olivier Messiaen and his wife, Yvonne Loriod, perform the "Seven Visions of the Amen" at Hunter College in NYC. Tremendous performance. It stimulated me to study his work in depth (as well a play it on the organ) when I was at university.
There aren't many performers I'd pay to go see today, although Michael Tilson-Thomas once conducted a Mahler 3rd in SF that was to die for. I was so moved, I felt I was listening to the music of G-d. Needless to say, I feel very fortunate to have heard these legends.

Hello Ken,

Richter is super pianist but be careful that a
lot of his stuff is live recordings.

I am fan of Moussoursky 'Pictures at an Exhibition' but Richters Sofia concert is great piano but lots [and I mean lots] of coughing.

James H

I am replying to ...

One of the greatest pianists I had the opportunity of hearing was Lazar Berman.

Totally agree !! Have only heard him [on record
playing Listz, Beethoven and Moussoursky] But he is super. Dont know if he plays Chopin.

James H.

hi folks,

none of you have mentioned vladimir ashkenazy -- is that because you dont rate him that highly as a pianist?? i have vol 4-10 of beethoven violin sonata's where he is the pianist -- i know he has done other stuff, including, i believe, conducting??

enjoy...

ken

AFAIK, Ashkenazy was very fashionable in the mid-80's, also because of his many humanitary actions. He has done excellent work in chamber music, accompanying Itzhak Perlman for instance. Personally, I quite liked his Chopin, but I always felt a little uncomfortable with his "touch", which is somewhat hard.

I have seen him at the Martigny Festival because he once replaced Claudio Arrau (what a pity !). He played Beethoven, a composer that absolutely doesn't suit him IMHO. Sorry, but I had to leave at the end of the first part ... good that Beethoven wasn't in the audience (well, he wouldn't have heard anything anyway ). There was an excellent exhibition of Monet paintings on the floor below, so the journey was not for nothing ... But again, his Chopin is not bad, although there are far better choices.

Enjoy

Bernard

I won't pretend I'm a classical piano expert with lots to compare it to, but I have, and enjoy, the naim Chopin CD. Nul Points for the quality of the sleeve notes, mind you...

Pete.

hi folks,

spent lunch time at tower records today and bought, amongst others, the emi Chopin, 14 Valses, Dinu Lipatti.

i am playing it right now -- the fact that its not very good hifi (its mono) is actually a positive -- i get drawn into the art of the performance -- and my system now loves to have such records thrown at it. one can think of all sorts of esoteric words to describe this record. i think its enough to simply say: "its very good music". it communicates.

thanks guys for recommending it.

i almost bought the rubinstein chopin --- i had too may already -- so next time -- and i will let you all know...

enjoy...

ken

Ashkenazy's a fine pianist, and his Rachmaninoff Piano Concerti on Decca are worth having if you're looking for reasonable recordings. Remarkably close interpretations to the original Rachs as well.

But for Chopin, I would look out for:

Martha Argerich. She has delicate sensuous playing. Her interpretations of Etudes and Nocturnes are lovely. These are very introspective pieces and maybe a woman's touch is required here. She produced reams of stuff on Deutsche Grammophon, some of it digital and some analogue. The piano tone was rich and lovely, rather than the rather bright tuning we get nowadays. If buying vinyl, the analogue recordings are better. You can distinguish between the two since the Deutsche Grammophon label would say 'Stereo' for analogue recordings and 'Digital' for the others. Of course, there were also some Mono recordings which have nothing in the label I believe. Only the digital recordings are of variable quality - the rest are good to very good.

Also look out for:

Tamas Vasary. He is a very sensitive pianist indeed and I must say I look out for his recordings when I am in a record shop. Again on Deutsche Grammophon, his recordings are very good. I have his Nocturnes (2 albums) and other bits (Preludes and Piano Concerti I think), and I like everything I've heard very much.

Regards,
Frank.

Ken, any Chopin by Rubenstein is worthwhile.

Not to rub anyone's nose in it, but I also had the great fortune to hear Rubenstein in concert, twice. Sublime. Dude was 80+ years old, played really great.

My parents were very supportive of my music habit, and sent me to hear a series of Sunday afternoon piano recitals (albeit in the cheaper upper balcony seats), where I heard not only Rubenstein, but Horowitz, Ashkenazy, Richter, Alicia De Larrocha, Andre Watts, Serkin (Rudolph and Peter), and many others.

My dad would also take me to hear jazz greats like Coleman Hawkins, Roland Kirk, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Gerry Mulligan, Barry Harris, Gene Ammons, and many others.

Yes, I was very, very fortunate.

My big regret is not going to hear Jimi Hendrix when I had the chance.

[This message was edited by fred simon on WEDNESDAY 25 April 2001 at 22:32.]

Okay, some people are just lucky by nature. Fred: You forgot to mention the Beatles. That would just be too much.

I've just started a new thread about that.

Bernard