Recommendations please - Chopin preludes

Fred,

The preludes are among those works for which there is always room for another interpretation. Two very different recordings that I both find extremely good:




There are many more. My personal favorite is Nikolai Demidenko's recent recording for Onyx, but he is too interventionist to qualify as first-time recommendation.

Cheers!

EJ

Maurizio Pollini (DG).

Ditto

Blechacz

Incidentally, why Pollini?

Well, it was a recording made when Pollini was in his absolute prime, the pianism is unmatched, and the recording is crystal clear (although some find DG's analogue productions from the 1970s rather 'hard'). At the time when he recorded these and other Chopin works - and including the late Beethoven piano sonatas, as well as some Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms concertos with Boehm, plus solo piano pieces by Schubert, Schumann, Stravinsky and others - Pollini could do no wrong. These days, following his recovery from a serious car accident some years ago, I don't think that he's quite the player that he was. (DG apparently taped Pollini in some new recordings of Beethoven's late piano sonatas a few years back, but they've never been released, which is not surprising, as his previous recordings from over 30 years ago transcend all others.)

Drawbacks to Pollini's Preludes? The CD running time is pretty short, with no fill ups, and it's still at full price, and unremastered. I'll hang onto my LP until it's released as a DG 'Originals' CD at mid-price.

Blechacz is interesting for the range of qualities he brings to the table.

Of the pianist I have heard do the preludes, which are Arrau, Pollini and most recently Blechacz, he has the most finely nuanced touch, and the clearest presentation of thematic material.  But that is only made possible by the finest rhythmic sense. 

Blechacz is able to take the beat where ever his intention directs it, and on the spur of the moment, in a manner totally unique and new to my experience.

The level of precision and the clarity of the recording are such that my ear is transported beyond the physical and straight into the heart of the music, or so I imagine.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Mike, interestingly, when I listened to at least a dozen excerpts from different recordings, that of Blechacz was one of the ones I was most attracted to ... more intimate than most, which is a quality I feel is required in much of Chopin's music. Beautiful tone, too, due to his finely nuanced touch, as you rightly say.

I liked the Pollini excerpts, too, but not as much. Tone didn't seem quite as poetic, performance not quite as intimate. For instance, in the B minor prelude (#6), the passage with the two full C major arpeggios, Pollini makes them too big, too bold for my taste. Blechacz, on the other hand, does something which I do myself when playing it, which is to crescendo through the first of the two arpeggios, but then to subvert expectations by playing the second one quieter, almost sotto voce.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any excerpts of the Arrau or Tharaud ... EJ, if you know where I can hear some please let me know.

Thanks again,
Fred

What's remarkable is the huge range of interpretive decisions, all the more so in this most subjective music ... just listening to the same excerpt (give or take a bar or two) from so many pianists is so instructive, both in general approach and in the tiniest of details, such as how to play a grace note ... where to start it in time, how wide to make it from its destination note, etc.

One revelation was how much I disliked the excerpts of Arthur Rubinstein ... often too loud, clangy, brash, pounding, ungraceful. Surprising to me, because I'm generally favorably inclined to Rubinstein, having enjoyed his recording of the Nocturnes many years ago (although maybe I should revisit those in light of this), and because he is so highly regarded as an interpreter of Chopin.

Fred,

Amazon.de has MP3s up of both discs. 

Cheers,

EJ

Thanks, EJ. I took a listen to both ... not bad, preferred Arrau to Tharaud, but neither got to me as the Blechacz did.

By the way, Mike, at the risk of thread cross-contamination, given that your suggestion of Blechacz here rang true to me, due, in no small part, to his beautifully poetic and intimate tone, I want to remind you to check out Keith Jarrett's The Melody At Night, With You, due, in no small part, to his beautifully poetic and intimate tone, playing songs that you and your wife know so well.

It occurs to me, I'd love to hear what Jarrett might do with Chopin's Preludes, although he has never recorded any Romantic era composers. Still ...

Fred, with the Jarrett I am just trying to listen enough that he takes a place in my memory; to become more accustomed to his musical voice.  But it is hard going.  It's not really moving me, and my wife hates it.

Somehow, Jarrett never grabs me by the short hairs and takes me for a ride.

Mike, I'm talking about The Melody At Night, With You ... I'm telling you, it's an entirely different ballgame. Check out the excerpts on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/4a8on9u

In fact, if you heard it in a blindfold test, you'd never guess it was Jarrett based on what you've heard of him already.

I'll give it a try.

You could always look out for this -



A 3 LP set which I found last year (for £3  )

Incidentally, I would not view the fact that it is still at full price a drawback, what price musical heaven?!

Karl

Fred, first off, I have to say, I love threads like this.  Thanks for starting this one.  It is a topic I have a passion for (same for any classical era composer though) and I like reading what others think of different recordings and the interpretations etc.  For me, I couldn't list all the recordings I have as there would be a danger that this would turn into a research project leading to a doctoral thesis.  Twenty four little treasures that, as you say, offer a limitless number of interpretations and responses.  So, not intending to muddy the waters, I'll say my favourite recording is the set of Preludes I have playing at the time.  I have spent a good chunk of my life "trying" to learn these Preludes complete (18 down and a few years to go still) and so I have a large collection of the recordings as well to keep me fresh and inspired.

In your case, it sounds like you are after just one recording maybe and that will suffice?  Do you have any other recordings currently?  Are their any particular Preludes you like most or do you listen as a set?  You are correct in that it is instructive to focus on one Prelude at a time and focus on the details of the different possibilities.  Your comment that you prefer an "intimate" sound/feeling is telling.  In general, the two extremes in Chopin may be a more classical, straight laced Chopin or a very romantic rendition.  That you said, your preference for the Blechacz tells me you prefer the former?

The Blechacz is a splendid recording and one I like very much as well.  It is one of the more classically inclined interpretations though.  This becomes most evident in the "wilder" natured music and perhaps the pieces marked with instructions such as Molto Agitato, Presto con fuoco, or Allegro appassionato etc.  Blechacz is more calm, cool and collected and tends to not want to go too deeply into the territory of unabashed romanticism or get too emotionally involved it seems.   

I was fortunate enough to be able to see Blechacz several weeks ago in an all Chopin concert and recital.  As you pointed out, this guy cannot play an ugly sound if his life depended on it.  Just beautiful and something I hold in high regard in pianism, too.  I understand what Blechacz does and his vision and my only comment is that on a few of what I would call the more passionate pieces I find myself saying go, go, don't hold back.  Again, it is a matter of taste and it is good to understand all the interpretations.

On the Rubinstein, I think we have to put the recording in context and not necessarily blame Rubinstein.  If it is the same as mine, then it is a 1946 Mono recording.  In my experience, there are very few mono piano recordings that really can be listened to regularly and enjoyed.  They can be trying sonically and not the first choice certainly when we have 60 years of choice from the 1950's onward.

I find out of a set of 24, every recording I have has something, somewhere in it that is worth experiencing.  I might like 1, 3, 20 of one guy and 9, 16 of another etc.  I can't name every recording but in addition to the excellent albums already named above I'll mention a few more that I would say are worth some investigation.  There is Maria Joao Pires, Ivo Pogorelich and Martha Argerich to consider among the dozens and dozens of other good choices.  These would be a nice contrast to Blechacz perhaps?

Regards,
Doug

Good to read your post Doug, I've missed them.

Since Fred already dragged another thread that the the three of us were all engaged in into this one,  I would like to revisit some unfinished business.

We were discussing melodic dissonance.  You had asked for an example.  Initially I drew a blank, and posted a retraction.  Later, my wife came up with a beautiful example that is easy to discuss.

The fourth note of "I Can't Get Started" is a 7th, and it has a tendency to resolve to tonic without any supporting harmony.  It is true that the tonic chord is embedded in the melody, but the point is that no second voice is required to demonstrate tension and release.  It embodies the notion of tension and release in music. The basic shape of a phrase lay in the movement through tension and towards release.  Now you can't move from tension to release by moving from one consonant to another or one dissonance to another dissonance and have tension and release.  To have tension and release you must move from a dissonance to a consonant.

It is fashionable to delay resolution in harmonically rich music, and some write melodies that exploit this as well.  In my opinion, those melodies are not as satisfying as they could be.

Having played a single line instrument for a while, I was taught to exploit these tendencies in shaping the phrase.  To my ears, that is a fine way to phrase.

I think Fred is telling me our ears have moved far beyond that, at least that is my understanding.

Melodic dissonance is something I hear when I listen, and it is highly prized.  Players who use these melodic tendencies to shape the music produce astounding results.  The effect of multiple players doing so in an orchestra enlivens the music.

I would like to understand more about this.

I would recommend two live recordings. The first is Claudio Arrau at the 1960 Prague Spring Festival, available on an APR cd (appian records). This is a most impressive, 'deep' performance. And it's much better than the later, digital Philips studio recording.

Another very good one is by Jorge Bolet, live at Carnegie Hall, 1974, available on the first Bolet volume of Great Pianists of the Century.

It takes a little effort to get these cds, but they will stay with you for a long long time.

Mike, it's been "fashionable" to delay resolution in harmonically rich music for centuries! I wonder what you mean by "fashionable," because in your context it seems to be derogatory.

Can you give us an example or two of "melodies that exploit this ... [which] are not as satisfying as they could be"? And some suggestions as to how they could be revised to be more satisfying.

I didn't mean to be derogatory by saying fashionable.  I had early Schoenberg in mind, specifically "Transfigured Night" and "Pelleas and Melesohn (sp.)"  Especially the P. and M.

As I said in the original post, I don't completely understand this, or even close.

I would like some direction from you, Fred.

This idea of melodic dissonance is understood to be real by every musician I've talked to.

This is relevant to Chopin Preludes, how?

Preludes=Grigory Sokolov

Also listen to Maria Joao Pires, already two decades old but IMO more beautifull than many men can do

With a wonderful Concerto #2 as opening course!

EJ

Thanks again to all for suggestions. I enjoyed the excerpts of the Maria Joao Pires I heard, one of the few I liked the most. I do love the F minor concerto.

Still like the Blechacz best, though, so will probably start with that recording.