The Consensus Best Chopin Nocturne Ever Recorded | Ep. 2 The Chopin Podcast

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024

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  • @finnmeldrum7264
    @finnmeldrum7264 วันที่ผ่านมา +19

    this is very quickly turning into my favourite series on youtube...

  • @TheRobyMann
    @TheRobyMann วันที่ผ่านมา +19

    Whew - my first time hearing that Friedman recording… that is incredible. Almost brought me to tears.
    I have a soft spot for Ivan Moravec’s recording of the nocturnes. He takes an extremely slow and somber approach that just suits the “night music” side of the pieces so well I think.
    Thanks as always Ben for your amazing content. Hard to believe it’s free on TH-cam for us all to enjoy. Merci ❤

  • @jtandy
    @jtandy วันที่ผ่านมา +14

    That Friedman recording is special. I hadn’t heard it before. He plays it as if he wrote it himself. He is a true pianist/composer/musician!

    • @peterectasy2957
      @peterectasy2957 13 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      ok and so about Claudio Arrau ?

  • @Zympans
    @Zympans วันที่ผ่านมา +8

    Always have loved Freire's warmth, empathy, and sincerity, his egoless approach to music is the ultimate refinement - counterintuitively as it may sound at first - I'm looking for most of the time when listening. And that Friedman... definitive. No better recording of the piece.

  • @jtandy
    @jtandy วันที่ผ่านมา +15

    Was just reading the Wikipedia page on Friedman. Interesting to note the he was heavily criticised during his day for the romantic “excesses” in his playing. Feels like the classical music world is really starting to come back full circle and reevaluate these older beautiful traditions and values. So nice to see!

  • @dennischiapello7243
    @dennischiapello7243 13 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Hearing that cements Op. 55 No.2 in my mind as Chopin's most melodically and rhythmically complex. It calls for the utmost in subtlety and spontaneity. Incredible!

  • @teraz76
    @teraz76 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    No word can describe how beautiful that starting bflat is in this piece. A note that can reach one’s soul.

  • @bluepearl4806
    @bluepearl4806 22 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +1

    Nelson Frere and Ignaz Fredman are absolutely amazing!!!I love their interpretation their playing...Beautiful....❤Most beautiful Chopin interpratations I have ever heard so far (after Artur Rubinstein).....thank you🙏🍀💐

  • @LukeSchneiderEWI
    @LukeSchneiderEWI 15 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +1

    To me... Opus 9 No. 3 is THE BEST OF ALL !! 🎹👍

  • @chazinko
    @chazinko วันที่ผ่านมา +10

    Freire's compatriot, Guiomar Novaes has her own wonderful rendition of the Nocturnes. Although the sound is a little dated, the poetry of her playing clearly comes though - Chopin playing well worth knowing.

  • @andrewgregg3617
    @andrewgregg3617 วันที่ผ่านมา +11

    Love these! and don't forget Ivan Moravec😇

    • @StuartdeOcampo
      @StuartdeOcampo วันที่ผ่านมา

      I had the fortune of being the artist driver for Ivan Moravec, when I worked for the Hollywood Bowl during Summer 1994: it was Moravec’s very first, and definitely his very _last_ performance, _ever_, at that venue. 🙃

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      @@andrewgregg3617 I love Moravec. I wondered if Jed would pick his nocturnes, but it turns out he’s saving him for another genre, coming soon…

    • @Architravsky
      @Architravsky 16 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      @@benlawdy Preludes?

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  16 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      @@Architravsky preludes already happened. It’ll be the next episode (coming out this evening) on the ballades

  • @gregoberski5897
    @gregoberski5897 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

    That Friedman, wow! Talk about laser precise pedal work and phrasing. You've heard of the third hand illusion, he takes it to the next level with "second piano" illusion

  • @Chopin1995
    @Chopin1995 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    Not a single mention of Rubinstein, who is my personal favourite. His simple, unpretentious approach is always wonderful to listen to. And Friedman is just other-worldly.

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@Chopin1995 Rubinstein is mentioned at the very beginning of the full episode!

    • @Chopin1995
      @Chopin1995 20 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@benlawdy Allright, I guess I need to listen to that now :)

  • @iianneill6013
    @iianneill6013 วันที่ผ่านมา +9

    My nominations (feel free to ignore if you hate Golden Age pianists):
    - Op 9, No. 1 - Raoul Koczalski (1940s)
    - Op 9, No. 2 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1920s?)
    - Op 9, No. 3 - Josef Hofmann (1938)
    - Op 15, No. 1 - Grigory Sokolov (1973)
    - Op 15, No. 2 - Raoul Pugno (1903)
    - Op 15, No. 3 - Sviatoslav Richter (1960s?)
    - Op 27, No. 1 - Grigory Sokolov (1990)
    - Op 27, No. 2 - Josef Hofmann (1945)
    - Op 32, No. 1 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1925)
    - Op 32, No. 2 - Grigory Sokolov (2019)
    - Op 37, No. 1 - Claudio Arrau (1978)
    - Op 37, No. 2 - Sviatoslav Richter (1950)
    - Op 48, No. 1 - Myra Hess (1948)
    - Op 48, No. 2 - Grigory Sokolov (1990)
    - Op 55, No. 1 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1920s?)
    - Op 55, No. 2 - Ivo Pogorelich (1990s?)
    - Op 62, No. 1 - Leo Sirota (1963)
    - Op 62, No. 2 - Claudio Arrau (1978)
    - Op 72, No. 1 - Leo Sirota (11/16/1952)
    - Op. Posth. in C sharp minor - Maria Yudina (1940s?)
    th-cam.com/video/78sUH3U3CTo/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=OzanFabienGuvener

    • @andrewzhang8512
      @andrewzhang8512 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      who would hate golden age

    • @iianneill6013
      @iianneill6013 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      @@andrewzhang8512 You'd be surprised! There's a cohort of lovers of modern piano practise who consider Golden Age pianists to be basically hacks or drunkards.

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      @@iianneill6013 that’s unfortunately very true! But they’re missing out, and there’s a growing wave of influential pianists (both young and old) who embrace and champion the golden age style.

    • @iianneill6013
      @iianneill6013 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@benlawdy That gladdens my heart. There are so many treasures amongst those late 19C and early 20C pianists. And some jaw-dropping feats of pianism, and styles that have inexplicably disappeared. The jeu de perle technique of Raoul Pugno and Busoni, for example, is a wonder ...

  • @robinaustin4087
    @robinaustin4087 21 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Thank you, Ben! Your podcasts are extraordinary!

  • @sonholee5769
    @sonholee5769 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Man... I'm gonna need more room on my shelves for all these recordings I've never heard of

  • @scottpilgrim5638
    @scottpilgrim5638 23 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +2

    I just wanted invite anybody who hasn't heard the 1937 complete nocturnes set by Rubinstein to listen to it. The famous 1965 Rubinstein recording is very cautious, lukewarm, and reserved. While there is some beauty in more simplicity, 1937 set is everything the 1965 is x1000 in terms of raw emotion. Once you hear that, you get a sense that Rubinstein is holding back in 1965. IMO it is by far much more beautiful and my favorite complete nocturne set recorded.
    I also wanted to mention how it seems like Rubinstein started playing differently while recording around 1950. It seems like he himself wanted to set a better example for the youth by playing more cautiously and straightforwardly to avoid inspiring anybody of distortion. You can compare his Nocturne op 27 no 2 from the 1965 to his live performance of it in Moscow in 1964, the live performance feels like the recording on steroids (in a good way!)

    • @peterectasy2957
      @peterectasy2957 13 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      i think that Chopin himself played nocturnes differently than we play it todays

    • @scottpilgrim5638
      @scottpilgrim5638 13 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      @@peterectasy2957 I have no doubt that Chopin played differently than all our naive imaginations. The descriptions can't accurately portray his playing and I bet someone who has read every description of his playing would still be surprised to hear him

  • @iggyreilly2463
    @iggyreilly2463 16 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Friedman's articulation is, to my ears, fatiguing, although his pacing is unique and mesmerizing.
    Interesting how seldom Zimmerman is mentioned in the comments! And satisfying to see Freire get some love!

  • @AaronDao
    @AaronDao 19 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    I have never heard of Kgnaz Friedman’s recording of my favorite Nocturne Op.55 No.2 before,but listening to it makes me wonder if there’s any recording as unique as his.Thanks for introducing a new recording of my favorite Nocturne for me!!!

    • @Architravsky
      @Architravsky 16 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      Some people claim that Cortot's rendition of this nocturne is just as good as Friedman's.

  • @Sunicarus
    @Sunicarus วันที่ผ่านมา

    I rarely listen to Chopin but I play his music at the piano more than any other composer.

  • @ASKAJAIMES
    @ASKAJAIMES 7 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Bartok's (albeit incomplete) recording of opus 27 no 1 deserves a mention, at least in the comments! I've never heard anyone achieve that haunting resonance and selection of overtones by way of the pedal, the way he does. Not to mention the rubato...

  • @dpact4201
    @dpact4201 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    John Browning playing Op. 27 No. 2 made me interested in the nocturnes and introduced me to the Brunhoff recording. It’s the only one he played

  • @ddgyt50
    @ddgyt50 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Sublime.

  • @pianoredux7516
    @pianoredux7516 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    The Friedman is justly celebrated, but for me equally astonishing is the live March 1945 performance of Josef Hofmann in Op. 48 No. 1, where Hofmann plies all his dark arts of nuance into an almost occult blend of sonorous magic and deeply felt expression. The Lipatti Op. 27 No. 2 is also an all-time great.

    • @Blaqjaqshellaq
      @Blaqjaqshellaq วันที่ผ่านมา

      Was Josef Hofmann related to ETA Hoffmann?

    • @pianoredux7516
      @pianoredux7516 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@Blaqjaqshellaq No. Did you notice their different name spellings?

    • @brozors
      @brozors วันที่ผ่านมา

      YES! This has my vote as well.

    • @pianoredux7516
      @pianoredux7516 14 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      I do have one slight reservation about the Friedman Op. 55. To me he plays it so improvisatorily that his interpretation seems unbound by any through-line, as if it were a daisy-chain of exquisitely beautiful noodling moments without a culmination. It lacks a driving sense of musical inevitability of direction. But it is still incredible piano playing.

  • @nerrdinho
    @nerrdinho วันที่ผ่านมา

    I know mentioning Chopin’s Barcarolle is out of place here but I’m really i terested in Sofronitsky’s interpretation of it, I feel its worth mentioning once we reach the solo works category of the podcast!

  • @dorfmanjones
    @dorfmanjones 9 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Two terrific substantial sets of nocturnes, not absolutely complete, are those of Jan Smeterlin (Decca Eloquence label), and Vitaly Margulies, (if you can find him.) Everybody agrees on Friedman's legendary recording, but the Hofmann Db nocturne op. 27, no. 2 is on that level, as is Arthur Loesser's BM noctune (live) op. 9, no. 2, both on the Marston label.

  • @RobertoGoulart-y7s
    @RobertoGoulart-y7s วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Wonderful performance! I love Nelson Freire!

  • @ronl7131
    @ronl7131 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Good vid

  • @mhermarckarakouzian8899
    @mhermarckarakouzian8899 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    The Friedman recording just seemed like wild gymnastics in voicing (albeit super impressive). And at times, with no logic (just for the fun of it). Not to mention how rushed it was!

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      @@mhermarckarakouzian8899 Interesting. I hear the “rushing” as *sweep*. It feels like lovers being swept off their feet by each other.

  • @carpediem7286
    @carpediem7286 23 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Besides Friedman, who is my personal favorite, Cortot’s recording is no less amazing. Special mention to Rubinstein op. 48 n.1 and Cherkassky op. 27 n. 2.

  • @apoorva_i
    @apoorva_i วันที่ผ่านมา

    Hi ben, in one of your videos you mentioned someone you considered to be great at improvising like Chopin but I couldn’t get the name correctly. Could you please mention that person’s name again? I’d love to give them a listen 🙏🏻

  • @iampracticingpiano
    @iampracticingpiano วันที่ผ่านมา

    2:08 Who knew the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz was an ace pianist!?!

  • @jorislejeune
    @jorislejeune วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I know these things are extremely subjective, but no Youra Guller?

  • @MSchrei
    @MSchrei วันที่ผ่านมา

    I've been enjoying Luis Fernando Perez's recording...

  • @silver_c1oud
    @silver_c1oud 23 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    for Me
    Yundi Li for Op.9 no.2
    and Op.27 no.2

  • @chasekimball5999
    @chasekimball5999 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

    I own complete nocturne sets by Novaes, Rubinstein, Francois, and Wild. Maybe some others But the only set I ever listen to is Moravec, and it is the only set I ever expect to listen to again.

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@chasekimball5999 moravec has been my favorite too since college. Jed will be recommending Moravec in a different episode very soon…

    • @chasekimball5999
      @chasekimball5999 17 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@benlawdy Supraphon (somewhat) recently did a remastering of the Moravec, which is significantly superior to the earlier Nonesuch CD release, I hope you have the Supraphon. After I bought the Supraphon, I sent the Nonesuch to Mark Ainley, who didn't have the set at all. Also, I love your channel!

  • @ml-ei3nz
    @ml-ei3nz วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    5:00 could it be that it’s played not on a steinway? To me it sounds more like a Bechstein which was richer in sound and very different in character between the registers. Steinway is very even, so such effect (of two different pianos) is much harder to produce.

    • @pdxUser1411
      @pdxUser1411 วันที่ผ่านมา

      I think that the Thierry de Brunhoff recording is a Bechstein.
      th-cam.com/video/drOBqplVlP4/w-d-xo.html

  • @joaocorreia524
    @joaocorreia524 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I dont know if you answered this before but statistically/stylistically, how many ways there are to play a Chopin piece(or by other romantic composer)?
    And could you recreate the breathing and rubato of, say, one of those early Josef Hoffman recordings?

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      @@joaocorreia524 infinite? Haha I don’t know. I guess there are only a small finite number of interpretive traditions, but the ways individuals make Chopin their own is infinite. As for imitating Hofmann, I wish I could and many have tried, but he’s a singular artist. You might check out Stephen Hough’s Chopin Waltzes - there are plenty of Hofmannesque moments in them.

    • @joaocorreia524
      @joaocorreia524 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@benlawdy thank you!

    • @joaocorreia524
      @joaocorreia524 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@benlawdy thank you!

  • @GustavoMartinez-tx5cr
    @GustavoMartinez-tx5cr วันที่ผ่านมา

    Pogorelich's 2022 Op. 48 No. 1, for God's sake

  • @Murmur1796
    @Murmur1796 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I wonder how much the Friedman recording benefits from the recording technology of the time. They recorded with gramophones in mind. That singing melody, the 2nd voice coming from another room... I wonder how it sounded live, and if he performed it differently for live audiences. Gramophones kinda punch out those trebles and the lower voices get a bit muddy, how did that factor in?

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@Murmur1796 it could have an effect, but also you can hear things proportionally with his sound (so, not just a matter of absolute recording quality) that are nuanced and breathtaking, so I’m willing to bet it sounded pretty spectacular in the room with him.

  • @bifeldman
    @bifeldman วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Dinu Lipatti, Db Maj.

  • @Architravsky
    @Architravsky 22 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Just for curiosity's sake: in communist Poland (People's Republic of Poland), Chopin's Nocturnes were something to be ashamed of, because, as musicologist Professor Zofia Lissa wrote, they were an embarrassing offshoot of the bourgeois aesthetic in his work.

  • @jmft
    @jmft วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Claudio Arrau wins most of them.

  • @Daniel_Zalman
    @Daniel_Zalman วันที่ผ่านมา +4

    Can't argue with Mr. Distler's selections in the slightest. Those are desert island recordings. Of complete sets, Arrau's recording for Philips is my favorite. Garrick Ohlsson's splendid recording is also of that ilk. As far as recordings of individual nocturnes, there are tons of breathtaking performances. I like eccentrics, so I'll go with Afanassiev in Nocturne No. 1, Op. 9, clocking in at a profound 8 minutes and 17 seconds: th-cam.com/video/ybm4_PfhnRo/w-d-xo.html

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@Daniel_Zalman how about Ohlsson’s late *slow* op48/1? Not so many pianists can pull it off like that.
      I’ll have to check out the Afanassiev.

    • @Daniel_Zalman
      @Daniel_Zalman 19 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      Ohlsson recorded that one again after the Arabesque/Hyperion release? Didn't know. Afanassiev is eccentric. I don't know your tastes, but just be forewarned. The ADGO TH-cam channel has some nice life performances.

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  19 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      @@Daniel_Zalman there’s the angel/emi nocturnes form 79 and then the ‘95 arabesque/hyperion. The earlier has a fast doppio section and the later one is slow

    • @Daniel_Zalman
      @Daniel_Zalman 18 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@benlawdy The earliest recording of Garrick that I've listened to is the late 80s Debussy. I'll need to take a listen to Garrick as a young whippersnapper. Thanks.

  • @uriahkremer_piano
    @uriahkremer_piano 12 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Hofmann recordings of the nocturnes are comparable to Friedman's.

  • @tomarmstrong1281
    @tomarmstrong1281 วันที่ผ่านมา

    It is still an opinion when everyone has had their say and shared their opinions. Music, if anything, is the definition of subjectiveness. Attempting to categorise music as 'the best' is just a touch too mercurial for me. Others obviously feel differently.

  • @ijskålleter
    @ijskålleter วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    My 3 favourite recordings of the nocturnes:
    - op 27 no 2, Khatia Buniatishvili
    - op 48 no 1, Brigitte Engerer
    - op 72 no 1, Maurizio Pollini

  • @iianneill6013
    @iianneill6013 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I humbly submit my own playlist of best recordings for each Chopin Nocturne. Before you run in the other direction, I should point out there are some great pianists on the list spanning 121 years of recording ... 😁
    th-cam.com/video/78sUH3U3CTo/w-d-xo.html

  • @pinzer-b6c
    @pinzer-b6c วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Any comments, without even mentioning the late Sviatoslav Richter are just useless. And yes, Nelson Freire was a great Chopin interpreter.
    Richter never played the full catalogue... he plays only those pieces, he liked. And these pieces are equalled only to those, played by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

    • @benlawdy
      @benlawdy  วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@pinzer-b6c in his segment Garrick mentions Richter’s op15/1, which is wondrous. I confess I don’t know richter’s nocturnes partially well.

    • @pinzer-b6c
      @pinzer-b6c วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@benlawdy You must listen Richter often. Not Horowitz. Rachmaninoff about Horowitz - " Colossal octaves.He swallow the whole Concerto in once. But Pinchie (that way Rachmaninoff calls Horowitz) lacks musicality. I wish to him to obtain her by the passing of the time".
      Richter about Horowitz
      "Great technician, but what vulgarity".

  • @pdxUser1411
    @pdxUser1411 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    For me it's Thierry De Brunhoff. Always.
    Bechstein Piano. He gave up public life to become an Benedictine Monk in the south of France. It will make you weep. th-cam.com/video/drOBqplVlP4/w-d-xo.html