But in a guessing game perhaps it would be the two finales that would most betray the identity of the soloist. Mstislav Rostropovich vc Martha Argerich pf. This second recording from 1999 with a hand-picked “Polish Festival Orchestra”, and while the Giulini recording is already excellent, this one really is a true benchmark. Is the Funeral March too brisk, an expression of sadness for the death of a distant relative rather than grief for a nation? As enthusiastic audience applause (discreetly rationed on the disc) makes plain, these two concertos were recorded live at Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium. All of these lists are, of course, subjective, but every recording here has recieved the approval of Gramophone's critics and are artistic and musical benchmarks. The concerto was recorded shortly after the 18-year-old pianist’s victory at the Warsaw competition in 1959. This is altogether a recording of magnificent playing. The legendary Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, himself also winner of the famous Chopin competition, has recorded the concertos twice. If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information. It is salutary to be reminded that the Fantasia and Krakowiak were composed when Chopin was still a teenager (1828). No Chopin list can be complete without the name that is most closely associated with this composer: Artur Rubinstein. Regarding EU jazz, I’m also surprised that in the 21st century there is still very limited overlap between what’s happening on both sides of the pond. This recommendation is following up to a recommendation in the forum thread that I should check out his earlier recordings. Murray Perahia pf Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Zubin Mehta. In the First Concerto, while recognisably the same pianist, Rubinstein is altogether more subtle, following his characteristic exuberance and extroversion with playing of a rapt magic and delicacy. The Fantasia and Krakowiak are no less successful. And thanks for your feedback and kind words overall. That said, although I do appreciate good sound quality and at least on the headphone side have a system to appreciate it (Sennheiser HD800), I still will always prefer musical performance over recording quality. Completely different, each one of them is a world on its own. But I am at last almost persuaded that it has been supplanted. This new performance is easily the best I have ever heard and one particularly enjoys the counterpoint of slow cello and fast piano, of ardent lyricism and exuberant virtuosity. There are echoes of Les Six, Stravinsky and Ravel, whose G major Violin Sonata surely provided the model for the languid, bluesy middle movement. Maurizio Pollini pf Philharmonia Orchestra / Paul Kletzki. Chopin’s orchestration, so frequently criticised and occasionally revamped by others, serves its purpose more than adequately and is handled here with workmanlike authority by Wit and his players, placed in an acoustic which borders on the roomy. Was this prompted by ‘inspirational heat-of-the-moment’? You’ll get the Zimerman piano concertos in the Polish Festival version, the Ballades again by Zimerman, the Pollini etudes, and the Nocturnes by Maria João Pires (my second favorite after Moravec), the Preludes by Blechacz, and the Cello Sonata by Argerich. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Register now to continue reading Thank you for visiting Gramophone and making use of our archive of more than 50,000 expert reviews, features, awards and blog articles. Martha Argerich’s first commercially released recordings of the Chopin concertos were for DG; No 1 in 1968, No 2 in 1978. 1 in E minor, Op. Not only are they faster, but they are also of a more scintillating, scherzando-like lightness. Composer: W. A. Mozart. Monday, October 10, 2016, Complete with the original Gramophone reviews of 50 of the finest Chopin recordings available. His mastery of this piece is such that it elevates the composition into the top of Chopin’s output, in my opinion, where many others prefer the more famous #2. The solo items are a further reminder of Pollini’s effortless bravura and aristocratic poise. Mozart is known for … 3 played more passionately. So in part, this is also a “best of list” of my Chopin blog posts. About Mark Allen Group The rarely recorded Là ci darem Variations are welded into a cohesive whole in what is a new benchmark recording (try the final pages of the Alla polacca variation, with Nebolsin’s left hand injecting a motoric rhythm against the non-stop right-hand semiquavers). The Budapest Concert, Musicophile's 25 Essential Jazz Albums - Part I, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. In the scintillating coda Rubinstein takes his bravura to a spine-tingling edge, but in, for example, the Larghetto’s central storms there is a brusque, streamlined indifference to the music’s finer qualities. Seriously? But you probably have noticed the large number of yellow covers above, and DG really did a great job on this 17 CD box. I have a pretty sophisticated sound system and I strongly respond to the nuance and the immediacy of the sound itself, not just the interpretation. For Sonata #3 I have to plug Emil Gilels on DG. So I must admit that until recently I only knew one recording of this, by Sol Gabetta. Here she revisits both concertos and offers an act of re-creative daring, of an alternating reverie and passion that flashes fire with a thousand different lights. # Top 80 American Music Blogs 2020. The recording by Paul Tortelier and Aldo Ciccolini of the last work Chopin published (Paris, 1847), which they couple with Rachmaninov's Sonata, has been a favourite of mine since it appeared. And when we talk Nocturnes, the legendary Ivan Moravec version really is unbeatable. The Concerto No 2 was written a year later with Concerto No 1, confusingly, following a year after that. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Add to this the medieval geographic restrictions of music licensing rights, and we’re far from a globalized world in terms of Jazz. Read review, 'I know of no other pianist who combines attention to the smallest detail with such nobility of phrase and cohesive sweep of the dance as a whole.' I agree with you on Gilels, he’s great, and I like his sonata 3 as well very much. We have included, where possible, the complete original Gramophone reviews, which are drawn from Gramophone's Reviews Database of more than 45,000 reviews. The First Concerto is given in Balakirev’s touched-up version and if in the studio Gulda’s playing is more disciplined, less free-thinking, it is also of a special imaginative delicacy and engagement. Thanks for flagging! I confess that I am also making my assessments based on recorded sound quality. Pollini is typically the perfectionist, rational architect, and Argerich is known for her energy and fire. Pollini begins with a magnificent account of the Ballade No 2, the maelstrom that erupts after the pastoral first page sounding like a howl of despair. You can find the recordings either in the respective original blog post or here: Concertos / Zimerman: here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical) (note that Presto has a special offer on Zimerman recordings until the end of 2017), Ballades / Zimerman: here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical), Etudes / Pollini: here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical), Argerich Legendary 1965 recording: here (Qobuz), Argerich Rostropovich Cello Sonatas: here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical), Chopin Mazurkas Rubinstein here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical), The Complete Chopin Edition here (Qobuz) and here (Prestoclassical), I'm not a professional musician, I don't work in the music industry, I'm just what the name says, somebody who loves music. This disc is a classic. Try Prelude No 14 for a virtuoso savagery beyond the world of other more ‘civilised’ pianists, or No 13 where Gulda’s rapture makes the music stretch seemingly to infinity. How she keeps you on the qui vive in the Second and Third Sonatas. The pianist’s son, Paul Gulda, writes a moving and informative essay clarifying much of his father’s complexity and telling us, perhaps not surprisingly, that Alfred Cortot was among his chief musical idols. It’d be difficult for Pollini to produce an ugly sound (and he doesn’t here), but while the piano is captured from a slight distance (say the front row of the stalls), the pianist’s frequent nasal intakes of breath are recorded in close-up. If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information. The performance of the Chopin Sonata is unusually successful. There’s an air of spontaneity, yet the expressive weight of each phrase is carefully considered, by York as well as by Wallfisch, giving the whole work a powerful sense of unity. I don’t know; but it is certainly one of the most consistently inspired, masterfully executed and beautiful-sounding versions I can recall.' You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. And if her free spirit leaves us tantalised, thirsting for Chopin’s First, Second and Fourth Scherzos as well as his Third, for example, she has also left us overwhelmingly enriched, forever in her debt. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Zimerman perform some of these live, including the beautiful Barcarolle that you’ll also find on this outstanding 1988 album. The Tortelier recording is somewhat warmer, the separation between the instruments better defined; yet this recording is excellent also. 25 Essential Classical albums ” by a forum participant called Sphinxsix hardly a comfortable companion, your. Isn ’ t at all aware of Perlmutter choice for the feedback and the words... 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