Repertoire: The IDEAL Chopin Works for Piano Solo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ย. 2020
- To get you started on your Chopin collection (and everyone needs one), here is an IDEAL list containing the two major sonatas, the Preludes, Etudes, Polonaises, Scherzos, Ballades, Waltzes, Impromptus, Mazurkas, and Nocturnes, with some singleton pieces tossed in for good measure--each major work (or group of works) played by a different and notable Chopin interpreter.
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"Life isn't complete unless you have some Chopin" Love it!
Mr. Hurwitz I will never be able to thank you enough for your exquisite and deep knowledge, spellbinding wit, magical humour and extreme generosity in doing these videos, I feel less lonely everytime I can see you on the screen and wait for every new one as a precious gift, like a child on christmas eve.
My suggestions for Chopin's major works would be, and I apologize for including too much of historical recordings, but these are the ones I cherish and would be very pleased indeed if I could add something made by someone who only knows by ear and hope it might somehow be of any interest among so many more informed people:
Sonata No. 2: Michelangeli
Sonata No. 3: Lipatti
Eutdes op.10 & op.25: Gavrilov
Preludes: Gulda (Mono)
Waltzes: Arrau
Polonaises: Stefan Askenase
Mazurkas: Nikita Magaloff (Mono)
Scherzos: Nelson Freire
Ballades: Nelson Goerner
Impromptus: Roberto Szidon
Nocturnes: Bart Van Oort
Fantasia op.49: Youri Egorov
Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise: Arthur Rubinstein (Mono)
Barcarolle: Kempff
Berceuse: Solomon
I have to thank you for reminding me of Ashkenazy Chopin recordings. I've long admired Ashkenazy for his Rachmaninoff concertos, but mostly ignored his Chopin and other stuff. I'm starting to discover them now and he really did a lot of wonderful perfomances.
Great list Dave! That's because I have a number of the same recordings on mine. :)
Ballades - Zimerman
Etudes - Ashkenazy
Impromptus; Berceuse - Perahia
Mazurkas - Rubinstein
Nocturnes; Fantasy - Arrau
Preludes - Cortot (1933)
Polonaises - Pollini
Scherzi - Richter
Sonata 2 - Pogorelich
Sonata 3 - Argerich (DG or EMI)
Waltzes; Barcarolle - Lipatti
I want to thank you for all the work you do criticising the broad range of offerings in classical music, curating this information in an engaging format and sharing your in-depth knowledge with the rest of us enhancing our enjoyment of classical music.
I have enjoyed listening to classical music since I was a teenager but I find it find it far too time consuming to wade through the encylopaedic corpus of information on composers, comopositions, conductors, and recordings so I am awfully grateful for you enduring this academic feat in order to summarise the information for me.
I will admit, I did start using these videos as a shortcut to the “best recording of x” and be done with it so that I didn’t have to go through it them all myself but I appreciate your decision to: one, list the many recordings of a composition with a brief description of each; two, the ideal list format which introduces us to more great artists.
With the first format, I like being able to choose from two very good but opposing styles e.g. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by Fischer with the Budapest Symphony as “technically stunning with lightness and flow” cf. the same piece conducted by Svetlanov with the State Symphony Orchestra of Russian Federation as “big, slow, pulverising, apocalyptic, pedal to the metal”.
With the second format, I enjoy the wide range of artists so if I’m not particularly enjoying Arrau’s version of Chopin’s Nocturnes, I could try Moravec’s (after listening to the Preludes) or Ashkenazy (after listening to Piano Sonata No. 3).
Once again, thank you so much for you work.
You are very welcome! Thank you for watching.
When I first heard Claudio Arrau play the Chopin Nocturnes, I was blown away! Being a "Beethoven" pianist, I assumed my opinion must have been wrong. HOW refreshing to hear that my (now) favorite music critic considers them to be legit!
Love your offerings-your creative insights! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this splendid talk, and how great to see that Pollini is indeed on your list, and Perahia. So now I'm even more looking forward to a video on Schubert's late pianosonatas, or Schumann's symphonic etudes, no pressure.
Ohlsson was actually my introduction to Chopin. I think it had just been released when I was first looking to explore Chopin and I'd already had good experiences with Hyperion artists before so I picked it up. I'm glad I did as even 15+ years later and having explored many other Chopin pianists I still find Ohlsson holds up remarkably well across all the repertoire, and even if he's rarely the best he's consistently excellent, and that's an incredible achievement in itself.
Great video! Superb list! Another great great recording of the Chopin Nocturnes: Tamas Vasary! One of my favorites!
Finding favorite Chopin recordings is not hard when you're a Rubinstein junkie (as I am). Then again - I became a Rubinstein junkie precisely because of his magnificent performances of Chopin. So, having that out of the way...
Sonata No. 2 - Rubinstein's 1964 Moscow live performance; despite the poor quality and a memory lapse in the 2nd movement it's an absolute blast of a performance.
Sonata No. 3 - Rafał Blechacz recording from the 2005 Chopin Competition.
Etudes - Pollini's DG cycle. There are some individual ones I'd have other preference (Op. 10 No. 12 by Janusz Olejniczak is something special) but as a cycle, Pollini's is a reference recording.
Waltzes - of all Chopin's works waltzes are probably the ones I care for the least, but I find Rubinstein's 1960's cycle completely satisfactory.
Polonaises - Rubinisten's 1930's cycle. If you can live through the quality of the 1930's recording, that's some of the best performances of the polonaises out there.
For a modern version by another pianist - Janusz Olejniczak "Chopin National Edition" cycle (he also recorded Chopin's early polonaises omitted in most cycles). Pollini never quite did it for me, I find his DG set very dry and unexciting.
Mazurkas - Rubinstein's 1960 cycle.
Ballades - Rubinstein with Zimmerman as a second choice. Both are magnificent. I find the G minor Ballade despite its popularity is actually an incredibly hard piece to pull off. There are many good ones out there but very few flawless - Rubinstein and Zimmerman both do it in my opinion, with the slight preference for Rubinstein.
Scherzos - Rubinstein's 1930s cycle. No doubt. Again, the quality is 1930's, but the playing is completely worth it.
Nocturnes - Rubinstein's 1960s cycle.
This must be the single most helpful of your videos. It's just not possible for me to work through so many records, and I'm a pretty committed and experienced listener. Thanks as always.
What a wonderful overview. You really included so many of the greatest Chopin practitioners. In some cases it's interchangeable, because as you say Moravec's Nocturnes are incredible and Arrau's Preludes are wonderful as well. And Ashkenazy is amazing across the board. I really want to hear Lipati and Ohlsson based on what you said about them (I've always had Rubinstein on call for the Waltzes and Mazurkas), so thanks for that. The only pianist I would have liked to have been given a nod is Abbey Simon, but as you say there are so many.
fantastic and thanks so much !
Thanks for the recommendations! And I agree 1000% with Perahia's Impromptus. My jaw was on the floor the first time I heard how he played those furious scalar runs with such delicate control.
As a pianist, Ohlsson was responsible for opening the world of Chopin to me when I was young. His interpretations are always special, even when I disagree with a few things, they end up convincing me. I’m also really excited about the recent laureate of the Chopin Competition, Bruce Liu. Great Chopin video! I recently discovered you and am thoroughly enjoying this channel!
Thank you.
Horowitz’s ballades are incredible. His coda of No 1 is breathtaking.
I had assembled a Chopin collection of individual recordings from a handful of pianists with only a small bit of overlap that included 2 of your selections - Pollini in the scherzos and Perahia's recording of the Impromptus and other works. I also have Rubinstein and Argerich, but not in the same things on your list. Later I wanted to hear another version of everything and bought the Ashkenazy 13 disc box. I think his interpretations stand up well versus all of the individual discs I had collected and in some cases surpass them, and they're beautifully recorded. Ashkenazy's box would be a great starting point for somebody new to Chopin or for someone wanting a second or third version of his major works. For anybody considering Perahia in the Impromptus or the Etudes or anything else, all of his Chopin recordings (including the concertos) are available in a cheap Sony box.
Thank you David, I’ve been following you sharing and this is a great one again.
You’ve got many topics about orchestral and chamber music. I wish you could share some keyboard music of Bach ...the suites and partitas.
Thank you for all your work. It's really appreciated in these interesting times! ---I really mean it.
Regarding the topic - so far for me:
Preludes: Ashkenazy
Etudes: Zayas due to better sonics as Ashkenazy's
Nocturnes: Moravec (runner-up: Freire)
Ballades: Arrau - nails the forth like noone (my fav. chopin piece)
Mazurkas: Ohlsson
Impromptus: Perahia
Waltzes: Tharaud
Scherzi: Rubinstein - RCA
Polonaises: Pollini
Sonata No. 2: Freire
Sonata No. 3: Argerich (DG!)- she takes the intro repeat like Arrau in his ingenious EMI-Recording. YES!
Many, many thanks as always Mr Hurwitz. You already mentioned that is planned, so just to add that Moravec Supraphon box "Portrait" is already available and I enjoy it very much.
Loving these videos, David. Thank you so much for spurring these discussions.
Here are the ones I feel strongly about:
Sonata No. 2: Pogorelich
Sonata No. 3: Argerich
Etudes, Op. 10: Cortot
Etudes, Op. 25: Sokolov
Nocturnes: Pollini (the wonderfully icy 2005 recording)
Scherzos: Yundi Li
Ballades: Richter
I strongly agree with the sonata 2 choice, pogorelich's is the best performance
The Zimmerman Ballades have always been a favorite of mine that I still come back to over and over. I have not heard any of the Ohlsson Chopin performances but just to throw out an obscure performance worth everyone's time - Gabor Csalog on Hungaroton for the complete Mazurkas. This one is a very good set. Very characterful without being fussy.
I applaud your choice of my fellow Romanian, Dinu Lipatti for the Waltzes. Lipatti was one of my “gateway drugs” into classical music. His single recording of the F-sharp major Barcarolle opened my eyes to how interpretation can make or break a piece. But from more modern times, let me mention young pianist Alice Sara Ott who did a great recording of the pieces for DG, almost improvisatory in nature.
His Brahms waltzes are phenomenal as well! Great artist. So sad that we lost him to leukemia. 😢
The Arrau Nocturnes have long been my ideal. I was interested in your other choices, but you end with confirmation of our shared sensibility, and I shall listen now to some of your other recommendations.
Thank you Sir
A really valuable survey. I was nursed on Rubinstein's Chopin, and for me they will always be intimately related. I can't imagine anyone's "Nocturnes" displacing Rubinstein's in my affections, and a similar sentiment applies to many of the other works as well. Nonetheless, I'm curious to listen to a number of your recommendations; thank you.
Yes, Rubenstein for everything, except when you need somebody who throws lightening bolts. So Horowitz for the Polonaises.
@@oakdaddy Rubinstein's 2 set of mono Polonaises are as good as anyone's.
Word.
the ideal Liszt of Chopin....
next we need the ideal Shoppin' for Liszt
Thank you, David, for the recommendations. I have been listening to classical music for more than 65 years, starting with the piano music (because my elder sister played it while I was too young to play, like the toddler Chopin crouching under the piano to listen to his elder sister playing the piano). Over the years, I also developed my own list of Chopin favorites and "Chopin pianists". Maybe I'm old school, but Artur Rubinstein is on top of the list, and I have agreed with David's choices and most commentators' choices as well. For the Nocturnes, side by side with Arrau and Rubinstein is, for me, Maria Joao Pires (listen to her complete set on DG, including the rare posthumous ones). I also would like to mention that her playing and interpretation of the Polonaise-Fantaisie (op. 61) is, for me, the most "Chopin-esque" of all I have heard. I believe if Chopin were alive today, he would have been pleased with Pires' "getting it". Just to share my 2 cents with all Chopin lovers.
Thank you for your insights. They all sound terrific to me!
I've loved Ivan Moravec's playing since the Connoisseur Society recordings in the '60s. (Wow, did E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend know how to record a piano!) I had the great good fortune to hear Moravec three times; on one of those occasions, he played the 4th Ballade. He had a monster technique. He practiced everything much faster than he played it in concert or recital. That made the technical aspect of playing much easier--sort of like a baseball player swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle. But one rarely noticed Moravec's technique. His playing was all about poetry, an absolutely gorgeous tone--many have called it "hammerless"--and a seamless legato. (He heard Caruso recordings as a boy and always wanted to make the piano sound like a singer.) I know Dave's rules, but I'm unable to play by them. For me, Moravec's Ballades, Preludes, and Nocturnes are in a league of their own, a higher league at that. His Barcarolle and the Mazurkas he chose to record are also unforgettable. The Mozart Concertos and Sonatas, Beethoven Sonatas, and Debussy are equally brilliant. All of it will make you think, "Yes, that's how that's supposed to sound."
Good video and beautiful choices : I was ready to write "Ivan Moravec for the Preludes!!!" and then you said it... 😊 Also for the Ballads I love Krystian Zimerman of course but also heard Leif Ove Andsnes who is a master but I don't know if he recorded them on a CD. Now regarding the concerti, Menahem Pressler is certainly the best ever. (Very strange your pianist friend who couldn't play the Ballad straight.. This how we are supposed to PRACTICE slowly to put everything into place and back into place later on. And of course we have to start from the score and it's analysis to get as close as possible to Chopin's composition. You're totally right ).
Love this post, thank you
I have found waltzes played by Zoltan kocsis and I think they are very good!
They certainly are!
I tend to like Rubinstein in everything but probably because Its what I listened to mostly in the beginning. Morevec is incredible in what I've heard. I enjoy the temperment and sound of Pires doing the Nocturnes. I agree on Perhia in the Impromptus. Pollini's Etudes are evidence for God, unreal. One worth Checking out is Ruth Slenczynska on Decca. For piecemeal collection I enjoy Michelangeli DG recording of 10 Mazurkas, Prelude op45, Ballade op23 and Scherzo op31.
I agree: Ohlsson's complete Chopin is excellent! The thicker passages in Chopin's scores (the ones that usually sound overloaded to me, such as the louder Preludes) ring clear when Ohlsson plays them. He can make a bold overall sound without obscuring any details within it.
The best introduction to Chopin's world is a recital disc set (Ashkenazy/Double Decca).
Otherwise my "ideal" Chopin list would be:
Ballades: Zimerman
Barcarolle: Perlemuter
Études: Pollini
Impromptus: Cortot (you must include him on any Chopin list)
Mazurkas: Rubenstein (RCA)
Polonaises: François
Preludes: Argerich (DGG)
Scherzi: Arrau (Philips)
Sonata No.2: Horowitz (RCA)
Sonata No.3: Perahia
Waltzes: Lipatti
Thanks, David, for a fantastic video. I've been thinking about and playing Chopin for decades, and many of my feelings match your own. A couple random thoughts:
-- One of the really profound solo works not mentioned explicitly here is the Polonaise-Fantaisie, which is possibly the Chopin piece that "plays itself" the least!
-- Award for "hardest piece that doesn't sound that hard", perhaps among all the standard piano repertoire, is the Etude op.10/2. Sigh...
-- There's a video on TH-cam of Lucas Geniusas performing all 24 Chopin etudes live in Moscow from 2010. I'm not sure if this was ever released on disc, but it's one of the most poetic and touching renditions of these pieces, and I always come back to it. Highly recommended to all!
Timely video for me as I just bought a Time/Life Chopin collection CD (1988) at a thrift store for $1. It took me a bit to find Vladimir Ashkenazy's performing artist credit printed in tiny letters on the back cover. I get the focus of the mass market disc was on Chopin but you'd think Ashkenazy would get more pomp than a footnote. I'm fairly new to your channel, Dave but it's getting a lot of play this last month or so. Thank you.
Oh boy, this is gonna be a good 'un. Keeping my fingers crossed, hoping to here some of my favorite names mentioned - Garrick Ohlsson, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, etc.
Sonatas : Andsnes
Etudes : Gekic
Preludes :
Sokolov (I also like the Moravec, but prefer the Supraphon to the VAI)
Waltzes :
Rubinstein
Polonaises :
Cherkassky
Nocturnes :
Arrau
Mazurkas : Wasowski
Scherzi : Pogorelich
Ballades: Tipo (live, Ermitage)
Had to check Rubinstein with the Scherzi here. 3rd Scherzo really gorgious!!!
So hard to pick just one, or not to repeat artists!!
Sonatas 1-3: Dang Thai Son
A complete set, with all the desired large-scale drama, nobility, and virtuosity of these works.
Etudes Op. 10 & 25: Janina Fialkowska
A virtuosic, artistically personal interpretation, which is very refreshing for its risk-taking and spontaneity.
(Louis Lortie and Vladimir Ashkenazy are also fabulous.)
Ballades: Krystian Zimerman
A reference recording, including beautiful performances of the Fantasy and Barcarolle.
Nocturnes: Maria Joao Pires
Richly musical, equally satisfying for its dramatic elements, as for its natural lyricism - beautiful piano tone as well.
(Dang Thai Son is majesterial in these, also, on modern Steinway or period Erard.)
Mazurkas: Artur Rubinstein
"All natural. No additives. No preservatives. Wholesome."
Thanks a lot for this eye-opening series! Can we please have a video for a top-list of recommended pianists/recordings (not just one, but 2-3 suggestions) for each Chopin work? Similar to your videos on Beethoven sonatas and concertos.
Waltzes--Lipatti
Mazurkas--Wasowski
Impromptus--Tomsic
Ballades--Zimerman
Nocturnes--Moravec
Etudes--Pollini's earlier set (Testament)
Polonaises--Blechacz
Sonata 2--Rachmaninov!!
Sonata 3--Rubinstein
Preludes--Rana
Scherzos--Richter
From my narrow horizon I want to mention Cortot -wonderful in etudes, preludes and F minor concerto and a special mention of his Barcarolle -simply glorious. In the Mazurkas and Nocturnes I have found tremendous pleasure in the recordings of Samson François. The greatness of Arthur Rubinstein has yet to be unlocked for me. Where others hear magic simplicity I can only hear plain generalisation. I guess I have to give him another serious try sometime.
Richter is very good in the Scherzi, particularly number 4. And fantastic in the 4th Ballade! Then we have Sokolov in the preludes and Opus 25 Etudes -fabulous. Before the pandemic he regularly showed up in Stockholm on the last Sunday of October for many years to play his recital. He has the habit to play six encores, more often than not including some Chopin, typically a Mazurka. How wonderful! Finally I have to mention Horowitz. He hardly recorded any complete sets of Chopin, did he? But listen to some of the Mazurkas, Waltzes, Etudes and Ballades he did, wow! The Mazurka number 13 in A minor from “The last romantic” on DG, recorded in his early eighties, is out of this world.
Dear Maestro Hurwitz, once again many thanks for your informative and entertaining videos. I would like to add to yours and other commentators' suggestions the names of Adam Harasiewicz (another tragically underrated Chopin interpreter, IMHO) for the Ballades and of Andrzej Wąsowski for the Mazurkas. Wąsowski's Mazurkas are the most idiomatic, poetic, revelatory renditions of these pieces whose enormous interpretative difficulties you so aptly sketched.
"paaaiinfully beautiful"... That oxymoron I will memorize!
For the Etudes, Augustin Anievas is superb IMO.
Sonata 2 - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sonata 3 - Guiomar Novaes
Etudes - Gyorgy Cziffra
Preludes - Alfred Cortot
Waltzes - Dinu Lipatti
Polonaises - Arthur Rubinstein
Mazurkas - Maryla Jonas
Scherzos - Arthur Rubinstein (1949)
Ballades - Benno Moiseiwitsch
Fantasie - Solomon
Impromptus - Raoul Koczalski
Nocturnes - Ivan Moravec
Ho, I loooove this one!.... David you're such a scholar! And i love when you dwell on the specifics of performance
. So, selfishly, I make you a new suggestion. I will like you to make a series of videos, on a multiple wonderfull recordings (regardless of the composer or importance in the repertoire - a video for each one of these recordings). So a series on what make, according to you, each one of these recordings one of the greatest of all time for the performance or its historical significance. So it will be kind of "recordings you should own or listen (no 1,2,3, etc) series split in multiple videos.... series that you can perform sporadically over the weeks (like your series on the de bach cantatas). Regards.. I would like to listen for the first time or re-listen all of your choices. Having English as a fourth language, I'm hoping my thoughts were clearly translated.
Thank you. Your English is fine!
I can't narrow it down to a different pianist for each, so pardon the duplications. Ballades: Cortot, Waltzes: Lipatti, Polonaises: Malcuzynski, Mazurkas: Rubinstein from the 30's. I think they're a little freer than the later set. Impromptus: Perahia, Scherzos: Moravec, Sonatas: Rubinstein, Preludes: Argerich, Nocturnes: Moravec
The Perahia Impromtus CD you mention is beautiful! IMO Perahia (with Mehta) is also the champ with the Piano Concerto No.1 (1979 CBS/Sony).
Thankyou for this summary of the great Chopin cycles. The comments from your other listeners are enlightening, and I will revisit some of these. Some interpreters I like who you have not mentioned are Stefen Askenase, whose playing was just so elegant, Witold Malcuzynski who was especially good with the ballades, Tamas Vasary with the valses and the etudes (which
compare favourably with Pollini, though a little slower, and some old recordings of the mazurkas by Alexander Brailowsky. For sheer Chopin magic we cannot go past Rubinstein in the first movement of the second sonata, Rubinstein again in op 36 - nobody has matched the right hand runs and pulse of the left. Old recordings by Cortot, Rachmaninoff, Backhaus and others help us understand Chopin. Many of the modern interpretations are also just stunning. In music we cant have too much Chopin.
Nocturnes Moravec
Waltzes Anievas
Preludes Brailovsky
Etudes Ashkenazy
Mazurkas Magaloff
Sonatas Cliburn
Concerto 1 Zimerman
Concerto 2 Rubinstein
Barcarolle Moravex
Berceuse Rubinstein
Fantasy Rubinstein
Scherzos Horowitz
Ballades Zimerman
Thanks for your Chopin overview. I was especially pleased that you picked Lipatti's Waltzes and Rubinstein's Scherzi, both of which are indeed special. Regarding the Third Sonata, I urge people to consider Cliburn's recording. I know that there are many Cliburn recordings which are competent but not particularly memorable. But there are three Cliburn recording which belong in any serious collection: the Tchaikovsky First Concerto with Kondrashin, the live Carnegie Hall Rachmaninoff Third Concerto with Kondrashin, and the Chopin Third Sonata, which has a majesty and nobility that distinguish it. If only the coupled Second Sonata were as good. One other thing: I know the Arrau Nocturnes are highly regarded, but I find them too heavy. My preferred alternative is Tamas Vasary's, silver-toned (as opposed to Arrau's bronze) and intensely poetic.
I would add one other recording to your Cliburn list: the Barber Sonata.
Great overview! I could not even start by challenging your list. Wholeheartedly agree with Zimmerman for the ballades. He is a wonderful pianist, but, as you say, very picky and self critical. Why on earth did he withdraw his Brahms sonatas on DG shortly after release in 1980? Arrau for the nocturnes, also great suggestion. Your characterization of Rubinstein is spot on. I have a wonderful Decca box from Bolet. Indeed there are so many recordings. The only pianist I missed was Louis Lortie. Years ago I attended his sort of accidental Carnegie Hall premiere (replacement for Pollini). Lortie played Chopin’s ballades superbly, it was a fabulous concert.
Notably, besides winning the 1970 Chopin competition, Garrick Ohlsson also took first prize in performing the mazurkas at that competition. So the 1970 Chopin jury would endorse your choice here, David. I'd have chosen Pollini for the Etudes but can well understand choosing Earl Wild for these pieces.
I do a lot of Chopin at the piano. (I ain't very good.) So, I was thrilled to see you extoll his oeuvre and its various performance exemplars here on your MyTube, most of which I will be draining my wallet for. Particularly pleased that you didn't omit the Preludes, for which I could never disagree that they cry out for hearing complete if not necessarily in numbered sequence. A personal observation on #4: Is there any romantic classical piece which either while hearing or on the page appears to be so simple* yet also so achingly beautiful? I know of none. Even without the preparatory patina of knowing his situation at the time of composition (he knew he was dying) and his request that this piece be played at his funeral (it was), the attentive listener, first time or not, cannot fail to discern the exquisite musical balance and aptness of this Prelude.
I'm not fond of its appellation, "Suffocation", assigned by Hans von Bulow. Too one-note. My own view is a description rather than a title: "Great sadness with equal beauty, an act of faith against death." (Despite death, even comingled, what is beautiful, created beautiful, supersedes.)
One last interesting aside: The other Bernstein, great pianist Seymour, asserts that the "hairpin" symbols DO NOT indicate for (crescendo/diminuendo) dynamics, but for tempo & rubato. His 10-year search for manuscript, marginalia, and convincing anecdotal proof in some detail was met with success. (Searchable here on TH-cam.) His 96th birthday arrives this April 24th. May he live to be 111 in good (piano playing) health!
* Of course, not so simple. The piece itself is dead without a most attentive & extraordinary delivery of expression by the
performer.
Dave, know you don’t relish moldy oldies but listeners may want to savor some of these:
Ballades - Raoul Koczalski. This Mikuli student plays a pre-Liszt and Anton Rubinstein Chopin, less heroic but perhaps more lyrical. Also Vladimir de Pachmann doing the second half of the third Ballade.
Etudes Op.25 - Grigory Ginzburg. Best known in Russia and for his Liszt but for me these are incomparable, virtuosic, witty, poetic.
Impromptus - Cortot
Mazurkas - Maryla Jonas or pre-war Rubinstein, freer than the more subtle stereo set.
Nocturnes - Ignaz Friedman Op. 55 No. 2 Considered by some the most beautiful Chopin ever. Horowitz recorded this on his last album nearly as well.
Sonata 2 - Rachmaninoff
Sonata 3 - Percy Grainger
Waltz C sharp minor - Zofia Rabzowicz on TH-cam. Born in 1870. Mannered? By whose standard?
Cheers
Etudes I need to give the nod to Sokolov; Agree with the EMI Argerich - fantastic early album; Preludes I like Tharaud; Waltzes go to Harasiewicz; Scherzi to Rubinstein (we match); Ballades to Zimerman (we match again!!!!!); I viscerally hate the Pollini polonaises - the piano is so harsh sounding. In all fairness, my default Chopin is 1960s Rubinstein, so that is my litmus test. Zimerman is fussy with his piano, but it records so well. Back in my music store days, I recall fond memories of Horszowski mazurkas.
Ballades: Rubinstein
Preludes and Waltzes: Cortot
Etudes: Pollini
Polonaises: Harasiewicz and Brailowsky
Sonata n 2: Rachmaninov
Sonata n 3 : Pollini and Weissenberg
Concertos : Rubinstein and Arrau
Impromptus: Arrau
Mazurkas: ??????
Scherzos: Rubinstein
Nocturnes: Weissenberg
Barcarolle - Tatiana Shebanova, everything seems to be in balance with her, the Piu Mosso octave section in "recapitulation" isn't harsh or rushed like I've heard others do
Polonaises (pre-Op. 61) - Olejniczak
Polonaise-Fantaisie - Dmitri Ablogin
3rd Scherzo - Richter, it's not a race with him, and so he actually respects the "Primo Tempo" instruction in the coda
3rd Sonata - Heinrich Neuhaus, even tempi with a range of colour that's hard to beat
Thank you! Lipatti is so moving. Will you comment on the later Schubert piano sonatas one day?? Oh I also love Solomon playing the Berceuse and the early Pollini. Thank you again!
Absolutely!
Yes, yes, yes! Please do a video on the late Schubert sonatas.
Yes! Solomon in the Berceuse is astounding!
i have three choices for the box of music of chopin....alfred cortot (emi) ,claudio arrau,and nikita magaloff , and my 4 best choice...''berceuse'',alfred cortot (emi),...''preludes'',claudio arrau...(wow...!) .and nocturnes , samson francois....and finally waltz...jean-marc luisiada
I hope you won't be horrified, but I love Geza Anda's 24 Preludes--Grande Prix Du Disc in, I think, 1959. I got it on vinyl in the mid-70s and fell in love with it. The Polonaise on the same recording is unlike any I've heard. Happily, I have it on cd in a DG Anda set.
Why would I be horrified?
@@DavesClassicalGuide I had to cover my bases. When you posted a video on Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, I commented that I first heard it on an Angel disc featuring Karajan and the VPO. Your response was something like "Yeeech!" So I figured I'd better preface my comment on Anda's Chopin with something like an apology, just in case you hated his version. But I will say, although your response to the Karajan Missa made me listen to Klemperer (and, yes, you were right), I don't think anything is going to change my mind about Anda's Chopin. I own Ashkenazy's complete Chopin and have heard Arrau's Preludes--great stuff-- but Anda remains my preference.
I beforehand guessed you would choose Garrick Ohlsson for the Mazurkas.
Another great overview. Thanks. By the way you don’t mean “Cousin It” you mean “Thing”
The 4th ballade is my favorite piece of classical music.
My ideal list would be:
Waltzes-- Lipatti (EMI)
Mazurkas-- Luisada (DG)
Impromptus-- Bunin (DG)
Ballades-- Zimerman (DG) & Arrau (1953-EMI)
Nocturnes-- Arrau (Phillips)
Etudes-- Pollini (DG)
Polonaises-- Pollini (DG) Sorry, I had to repeat.
Sonata 2-- Pogorelich (DG)
Sonata 3-- Fiorentino (Brilliant Classics)
Preludes-- Cortot
Scherzos-- Pogorelich (DG)
Berceuse -- Benedetti Michelangeli
Fantasie -- Zimerman (DG)
Piano Concerto 1 -- Samson François + Cluytens
Piano Concerto 2 -- Rubinstein
The 4th Ballade is my favourite Chopin piece! Which versions do you have?
Thank you for your valuable comments . How about Rondos and other pieces ?
Who would you recommend for the complete solo piano works by one player? I am looking at Samson Francois, but I would appreciate any other performers you could suggest.
Other great recordings IMHO, I think not yet mentioned: Jean-Marie Darré (Waltzes), Brigitte Engerer (Nocturnes), and Friedrich Gulda (Preludes, live, 1955). And mentioned, but never enough of them for Chopin: Moravec and Juana Zayas. And Guiomar Novaes....
Another great video, Dave. Like you, I myself have all of the Chopin piano works done by different artists - Rubinstein for the Nocturnes, Pollini for the Etudes, Argerich and Pollini for the Preludes, Perahia for the Fantasie, Argerich and Ashkenazy for the concerti, etc. However, I would think that someone who is just beginning to listen to Chopin would not have the patience to slowly build a Chopin collection. Such a novice might want to initially buy a boxed set of all the Chopin piano works done by one artist, and later on "cherry pick" recordings of individual works by different artists. The trick is to find one very good pianist who 1) can perform all of the Chopin piano works well, and 2) has recorded all of the works in decent sound. The only artists that I can think of who meet both of these requirements are Vladimir Ashkenazy and Garrick Ohlsson. (Surprisingly, Rubinstein never recorded the Etudes, and he recorded the Preludes only in 1946.) Besides Ashkenazy and Ohlsson, can you think of any other "boxed set" pianists?
Idil Beret, for one, on Naxos, but there are a few other, lesser names on small labels.
Hello Dave - I just can agree to most things you said here, but I especially appreciated your
excellent comment on the 4th Ballade regarding playing rubato and playing "as it is written".
I think it is something that every pianist / musician should keep in mind! It makes me really to
respect your musicianship even more!
(I don´t agree with Moravec Preludes. To me he sounds too heavy and static. I prefer Martha
Argerich. Her playing is - for me - more poetic, dreamy - simply the Preludes should sound like preludes.
I don't think you stopped smiling all the way through, quite clearly music close to your heart. Any chance of a Rachmaninov 3rd when you have time?
There's a chance of everything if I live to do it!
Great review. I'd like to think you had been tempted to squeeze in Tamás Vásáry for the waltzes or perhaps the mazurkas, but I guess you can't have them all.
Next time!
Thanks for another wonderful discussion. I wanted to make a suggestion - when talking about piano works, why not give two recommendations, one for older generation pianists and one with young pianists who are still in their twenties or maybe thirties, like yuja wang or khatia buntashvilli or others? You make it seem like there aren't fine young pianists.
Also, can you do a discussion of recommended recordings of lizst sonata?
With exception of the Valses the Chopin recordings by Arrau are my favorite . When it comes to sonata 2 with Ashkenazy I prefer the live performances from 1972 “ Ashkenazy in concert “ .
For the preludes I love Sokolov! Gavrilov is very good in the etudes
What are your favourite recordings of the Allegro de Concert, the piano trio, and the cello sonata?
Speaking of Chopin, the pianist that come to my mind is Nikita Magaloff. Would you consider making a video of him? In terms of my personal favorite, it has to go to Ivan Moravec. I love all his recordings. I am a little disappoint that his latest "portrait" box is not a complete box. I was hoping to get rid of all my individual CDs of him to save some shelf space
That would have been nice, wouldn't it?
At 34:00, you mention that the Claudio Arrau Chopin pieces are "now on Decca". Please offer some tips and advice on how an ignorant consumer such as myself goes about finding the "Decca version" of the same Phillips recordings that you held in your hands and showed for this segment.
In today's marketplace, we are all on our own, sadly. Philips no longer exists; it is now Decca.. All I can suggest, if you are not interested in digital download or streaming services, is that you find a reputable retailer and see what they have to offer. I can only talk about performances; availability is a constantly changing situation.
Sonata 2 : Nelson Freire
Sonata 3 : Marc-Andre Hamelin
Etudes : Maurizio Pollini (his early recording done in his teen years, available now on Testament, not that his second recording on DG is not colossal )
Preludes : Håvard Gimse
Waltzes : Alice Sara Ott
Polonaises : Arthur Rubeinstein
Nocturnes : Brigitte Engerer
Mazurkas : William Kapell
Scherzi : Ivan Moravec
Ballades: Andrei Gavrilov
Impromptus : Angela Hewitt
Concerning the 2nd sonata’s first movement, I wonder why the score edition and the choice of repeating the exposition in Ashkenazy’s recording don’t seem to be an issue. This first movement has always been problematic due to the erroneous editions for decades. The “great old ones” just avoided the oddity of the repetition (which is harmonically awkward -a dominant resolving on a 6th degree- and an isolate in Chopin’s music), allowing a fluidity in soite of the more unbalanced proportion. The modern ones, well, they’re modern and don’t think or listen, only read. Then there was Uchida who finally gave us a version which is both intelligent and respectful in regard to Chopin’s manuscript, a balanced and understandable first movement. Pollini, for the last twenty years, has been playing the 2nd sonata this way, after having read Charles Rosen’s enlightening text on this matter (but not in his DG recording, much older).
Mr. Hurwitz, what do you think of Ignaz Friedman's Chopin recordings?
A topic for another time.
Why don’t you review Dang Thai Son, winner of 10th Chopin Competition, on your website or here?
Because we don't care who wins a competition.
I’ve tried and tried and tried to get into Chopin just doesn’t do anything for me. I’m not giving up.
Don't overthink it.
wonderful video - i learn so much from your great musical mind - and i love all your choices, except for Earl Wild who just rubs me the wrong way
Chopin a "family guy"??? He was a lifelong bachelor.
He was. He was extremely close to his family in Poland. I don't understand what about that statement is even mildly controversial.
Dear Dave why haven't you taken into consideration one Chopin's recording by Magaloff?
Because I'm a bad person, obviously. But seriously, why should I?
@@DavesClassicalGuide I was just asking your opinion. If you don't mind would please be so kind to explain the musical reasons of his exclusion?
@@michelangelomulieri5134 There is nothing to explain. I made a list. He wasn't on it. I ask you again: Why should he have been?
@@DavesClassicalGuide Because when he recorded his Chopin's cycle, in mid 70s, maybe he was, along with earl wild, one of the last figures of the golden age of piano sound. Therefore, being a hero of a lost era, I 'd have included him into the list.
@@michelangelomulieri5134 Well, I wouldn't have. There are more than enough great Chopin pianists, There is no significance to the fact that someone is not included.
Moravec’s Nocturnes were issued on VAI, which I have. Is this use one you are referring to?
Let me act as David´s assistant on this: That´s the recording, issued by Connoisseur Society (VAI issued the wonderful Connoisseur Society recordings, but I believe there´s no VAI edition of the complete Nocturnes). On CD, first edition was Elektra-Nonesuch, then Warner (I believe a twofer called "Ultima"), and finally Supraphon (2002). Best, J.
I meant, "there´s no VAI CD edition...."
Thanks for the help!
Dave -- there is only one thing wrong with all of these selections -- they are all played on filthy modern pianos -- usually the gross Steinway -- so the sound is nothing like that for which Chopin wrote. His Erard and Pleyel instruments had a wonderfully different touch and delicate tone with much variation across the registers. If you want different pianists for each of the groups of works, surely try 'The Real Chopin' box from the Chopin institute? The Warsaw Chopin competition now uses these Instruments too. Your thoughts please.
I think it's a pointless waste of time, and the "do it on Chopin's instruments" fad is irredeemably harmful in that it suggests to performers and listeners alike that the instrument is more important than the artist, which is total nonsense. The piano does not play the music, and your foolish comments regarding the tone of the modern Steinway bear eloquent witness to the unmusical, inartistic, illogical stupidity that passes for modern taste these days.
@@DavesClassicalGuide That, and besides, much of Chopin recordings on historical pianos that I've heard sound just horrible due to poor condition of these instruments. There are favorable exceptions of course. As for the mentioned "Real Chopin" box I know it - the pianos are not bad, I suppose, but the performances are very uneven. Some are really great, some are ok, some are very dull.
Problem with many of the performers, particularly on the Chopin Institute's "1849" Erard, is that they apply a "Steinway" touch (stuff such as too much upper arm weight) to these more delicate instruments. It's not just participants in the 2018 historical instrument 1st edition, it IMO extends to jury members such as Nelson Goerner
I think the concept of an IDEAL Chopin list does not make sense. While in most other repertoire, a beginner would easily settle for a single version of each work (only later to start exploring and look for other versions), in Chopin's solo piano music the difference between different interpretations is so huge (and there are so many different valid ways to play it), even the beginner would want multiple versions right away
Sorry, that sounds pretty illogical to me. A beginner begins at the beginning, and there is no single "right way" to start. I was a beginner once and if you had told me I can't begin to listen to Chopin unless I get multiple versions of everything I would have told you to go fly a kite (or something similar). Before being able to make useful comparisons between versions, you have to know the work, and that will most likely be from a single reference--the one that got you into the music in the first place. Everything else follows from that. I have never heard of anyone getting to know a work they have never heard before, which they have no idea if they will like or not, by purchasing multiple recordings of it at the outset. What a waste of time and money that would be, and I could never in good conscience recommend that approach.
This is going to sound blasphemous, being of Polish descent and having Chopin drilled into me since I was young, but I am not particularly fond of Chopin. I do enjoy his Polonaises by Pollini and the Scherzi by Rubinstein. Other than that, I find most of his music drawing room fluff. Again my opinion as of now. Who knows, maybe the music will reach out to me later in life as I smack my younger self for writing this blasphemy. Unfortunately, Chopin is viewed as the only main romantic Polish composer, but I find another Polish composer Xavier Scharwenka's music to be first rate. Give a listen to his sonatas, Polish dances, and piano concerti.
Give Ashkenazy's Etudes op. 10 a hear. You might catch a spark.
@@estel5335 I have the set. I enjoy certain ones but I generally can't stand the thin sound of Ashkenazy's piano.
@@wjlis79 Ashkenazy's thin sounding piano? Are you trolling? His Chopin set on Decca has terrific sound.
@@Don-md6wn no sorry. Didn't mean it that way. The sound quality is good. His piano I think is a bosendorfer and I'm not a big fan of that type of sound. I listened to Garrick Ohlssohn's on David's recommendation and I like that piano sound much better.
When I listen Chopin I m often surprised how modern his music is.