Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 50: Chopin: 51 Mazurkas

Angela Hewitt is not only a great interpreter of Bach’s music. She numbers among the most distinguished pianists of our time. She specializes in the music of J. S. Bach, but few remember that already in 1980 at the Chopin Competition she revealed her uncommon talent and, though she did not win a prize, she certainly did figure among the most interesting artistic personalities. Unfortunately, almost “no one at the time, among the jury, the critics or the audience, stood up for this brilliant pianist… One thing, however, is certain: her competition performances of Chopin’s works, despite the technical glitches, are impressive for their maturity and their individual stamp. The 22-year-old Angela Hewitt has a perfect grasp of the sense of Chopin’s rubato, creates subtle phrasing and employs a refined, rounded sound, although perhaps of limited amplitude…” (press from the 1980 competition). Her competition recordings are being brought back by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in its Blue Series which reminds listeners of the most interesting performances of the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition.

14 VALSES

For the fourth instalment of his Schubert+ series, Can cakmur focuses on the genre of the impromptu, aiming to identify historical predecessors for Schubert's piano writing as well as gain an insight into the evolution of free-standing poetic keyboard compositions. Placing Franz Schubert's famous set of 4 Impromptus, D 899, at the heart of this recording, cakmur also presents two Impromptus by Jan Vaclav Vorisek, a composer who was praised by Beethoven and seems to herald Schubert. Four works by Chopin and two by Scriabin complete the programme and bear witness to composers' fondness for this free form, capable of expressing romantically a moment, a feeling or a mood. Designed to place Schubert's major piano works alongside works by other composers, Can cakmur's Schubert+ series has so far earned the highest praise: 'With Can cakmur you are returned to your first sense of wonder and revelation at discovering Schubert's genius' (International Piano), 'cakmur [is] remarkable from start to finish, with irresistible colours, refined nuances and a clear tone' (Crescendo), 'cakmur's phrasing and his use of dynamics and colours are overwhelming' (Pizzicato).

Classical Music

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PIANIST SOUNDTRACK

CHOPIN: INTRODUCTION & POLONAI

PIANO CONCERTOS 1 & 2

Having won a special prize for the best Mazurka interpretations during the 1955 International Warsaw Chopin Competition, it's no surprise that pianist Fou Ts'ong has a long-standing reputation for playing--guess what?--Chopin Mazurkas! I've never heard Fou's all-Mazurka Westminster LP, but his complete Mazurka cycle issued in 1993 by Sony Essential Classics now gains reissue thanks to Arkivmusic.com's on-demand reprint program.

Fou's forceful, creative Mazurka style commands attention. He dishes out lots of rubato and elongated beats, together with wide dynamic extremes and outsized accents. Yet somehow the interpretations rarely sound fragmented, and no matter how far out things get, you almost always can discern the Mazurka rhythm. What is more, Fou is not afraid to blur the pedal for coloristic and expressive purposes.

He's also fond of subjecting repeated phrases to subtle variations in nuance and touch (Op. 6 No. 1's main theme; Op. 7 No. 1's trills; Op. 63 No. 3's intense canonic dialogue; Op. 30 No. 4's dramatically contoured inner voices). Only occasionally does Fou's approach produce cloying results (Op. 17 No. 4 and Op. 68 No. 4).

The pianist also makes the most of transitional passages, be it a single, solitary upbeat or a quick succession of chords; Op. 24 No. 4, Op. 56 No. 3, and Op. 41 No. 2 are particularly striking in this regard. You easily can listen past the strident, harsh engineering, albeit not for long periods of time. That's just as well, since it's wisest to absorb Fou's multi-layered, hyper-detailed Mazurking in small doses.

Incidentally, Fou presents the Mazurkas in near-chronological order rather than according to opus, as is so often done. While Rubinstein's stereo and Ohlsson's digital Mazurka cycles remain safer, sonically superior versions of reference, Fou Ts'ong certainly casts individual and thought-provoking light on this repertoire.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
reviewing the complete set of Mazurkas recorded by Fou Ts'ong, Sony 53246

Feltsman sweeps through the 24 Preludes with genuine poetic bravura. ...[T]here is a daring and Romantic fire in the playing which only add to the agony of his plight...

-- Allan Ulrich, Los Angeles Times [7/27/1986]

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Perahia's playing is wonderfully poetic, the rubato so natural, so unmannered, so poised.

This is just the performance for anyone who normally criticizes Chopin's youthful E minor Concerto as vapid note-spinning. What struck me first was the strength of Murray Perahia's characterization throughout, realized with fingers as strong as they are fluid and gleaming. On the HMV/Pollini/Kletzki version the customary Allegro maestoso heading to the first movement is followed by the word risoluto, and it is that quality, i.e. resolution, that I think Perahia emphasizes even more than Pollini or Zimerman (DG), not least in the strongly accented and ardently urgent development section (incidentally so much speed is gained in the excitement that there is an uncomfortably abrupt gear-change at the orchestral start to the recapitulation). That said, let me hasten to add that the first movement's lyricism, like that of the central Romanze (an orchestrally accompanied nocturne), is wonderfully poetic too. The rubato is so natural, so unmannered, so poised. The finale's teasing charm is conveyed without a trace of archness. Its coda, like that to the first movement, is bursting with brio.

– Joan Chissell, Gramophone [6/1981], reviewing the concerto on LP

Chopin: Waltzes & Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 53

Chopin: Etudes