Review of Chopin: 51 Mazurkas

This is my favorite recording of the Mazurkas.
Wasowski, a Polish expatriate, recorded these pieces after a lifetime of consideration.Trained to dance the mazurka, and with a mind to express the odd and personal rhythms of the dance, Wasowski here is aided by a very attractive recording to transport listeners directly to a Parisian salon of wistful emigres.
This recording deserves wide respect as one of the best, most personal and most authentic of Chopin's mazurkas.Beyond that, it is a musical intoxicant that will leave you spellbound.

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Review of Chopin: Mazurkas

A fully satisfying rendition of Chopin's mazurkas.Ashkenazy, a Russian, reminds us that these are first and foremost Polish folk dances, and are only secondarily French salon pieces (hence, he avoids the temptation to play these like dreamy, oozing, cloudy, nebulous bits of musical cotton candy, a treatment to which so many artists joy in subjecting poor Frederic's music.)Also, don't miss Ashkenazy's wonderfully introspective recordings of Shostakovich's supremely introspective preludes and fugues. A revelation.

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Review of Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 27 [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Arthur Rubinstein made three recordings of Chopin's 51 Mazurkas, this second set being made in 1952-1953. As with most everything he made multiple recordings of, the three sets of Mazurkas (along with three Mazurkas he recorded separately in 1932) make for fascinating comparisons. There is a gradual metamorphosis from the more exciting, brilliant, and episodic performances of the 1930s toward the more sober, reflective, structurally cohesive approach of the 1960s recordings.
Rubinstein considered the stereo version of the mazurkas (Volume 50) one of the finest recordings he had ever made. But in my opinion, his earlier versions of the mazurkas are superior. In the 1930s set (volume 6), he more effectively captures the "swing" of this Polish peasant dance, where the 1960s version tends to sound metrically stricter. This 1950s version (Volume 27) melds the youthful and mature approaches. Rubinstein also uses a wider tonal pallette in this second set.
There are many valid approaches to these elusive gems. In addition to this set, collectors would do well to aquire the 29 Mazurkas William Kapell recorded before his early death, and the scattered Mazurkas recorded by Horowitz.
The mono sound is a bit dry, with little sense of space round the piano, but acceptable.

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Review of Jehan Alain: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 1

I had the privilege of interviewing the performer on this CD, Marie-Claire Alain, brother of the composer Jehan Alain, in November 1999 while she was presenting workshops at the University of Kansas, just a month after she had recorded this CD.She explained to us that, while she had already recorded the (then known) complete Alain works in the 1970s, she had decided to record them again, not only because of previously-unknown works which have come to light since that recording was made, but because she wanted to document the sound of this music on the organs for which they were originally conceived.
Volume 1 of this series features the organ of the Basilica of St-Ferjeux in Besançon, built with two manuals by J. B. Ghys in 1899, and expanded to three manuals by Bossier in 1930, under the guidance of Jehan Alain.Alain not only played the inaugural concert on the rebuilt organ, but spent many long hours on it afterwards, composing, and performing his works for friends.After the organ's scrupulous restoration by Cicchero in 1988, Marie-Claire Alain found that indeed, many registrations in the manuscripts of his works made perfect sense and ultimately came fully alive on this organ, which enjoys a particularly fine acoustical setting.Thus she was eager to share these discoveries with listeners.
The sound engineering captures the organ and its acoustic quite well.Marie-Claire's playing reflects the latest research on this music, supplemented by her personal acquaintance with the composer and her memories of his own playing.It also has a certain "off-the-cuff" quality, sometimes with inexplicably fast tempi and occasionally questionable note-accuracy... and yet, this album is of such documentary importance that all lovers of Alain's music, and indeed, of all 20th-century French organ music, will want this disc.

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Review of Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 6 [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Complete recorded editions of Classical music were almost unheard of in the 1930s.Artur Schnabel was making a complete version of Beethoven's 32 Sonatas, but many "musicians" didn't consider Chopin's music worthy of such attention--he was just a salon composer, after all.Arthur Rubinstein, of course, didn't believe any of that nonsense about Chopin.His respect for that composer informed both his interpretation of his music, and his decision to record his Scherzos and Mazurkas.
Rubinstein made three complete versions of Chopin's Scherzos, with this first set dating from 1932.All three versions by Rubinstein are exciting, and offer testament to the pianist's solid technique, innate virtuosity, and natural sense of musical architecture.Tempos are breathtakingly faster in these earlier performances than in the later ones.Considering the fact that editing was impossible during this era, and his considerable risk taking, Rubinstein's very few inconsequential mistakes are understandable.
As with the Scherzos, Rubinstein recorded three versions of the Mazurkas.This first version (from 1938-1939) is markedly freer, more compelling, and more poetic than his later remakes.The pianist's use of rubato is more pronounced, as is his greater emphasis on inner voices, which Rubinstein later banished.
These recordings originate from 78RPM discs.Despite the slight surface noise, and occasional tubbiness in the piano tone, Rubinstein's eternally fresh interpretations come through loud & clear.

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Review of Chopin: Mazurkas, Vol. 2

Idel Biret's complete set of Chopin on Naxos has been so widely and justly acclaimed that I am surprised there are relatively few reviews of her performances on Amazon. This CD is the second of a set of two of the Chopin Mazurkas. The CD includes 25 works, beginning with three mazurkas of opus 41, composed in 1838-1840 and concluding with Chopin's final efforts in this form, opus 68 no. 4 and opus 67 no 1, written just before his death, together with some of his early works.

The mazurka is a Polish dance in 3/4 time.Chopin turned a simple dance form into works of great variety and deep introspection. The mazurkas are generally short, and in many of them the music, the performer, and the instrument effectively fuse together as one. The mazurkas cover a wide emotional compass from the meditative to the resolute. They are full of harmonic daring and sudden changes in key and mood.Chopin also makes great use of counterpoint -- generally in creating an echo effect -- in the mazurkas.Here as elsewhere he was much more influenced by J.S. Bach than is often realized.

Biret offers a beautiful performance of virtually all these works with subtle rubato and clear voicing of the melodic lines.Her playing is simple and restrained as she avoids calling attention to herself or her technique. Her recordings of the mazurkas offer an excellent opportunity for the listener or pianist who wants to get to know these works to listen to them in detail.This is music that demands multiple hearings.

In approaching the mazurkas on this CD to highlight in this review, I turned to the valuable guidebook, "Music for the Piano" by James Friskin and Irvin Freundlich, a still-useful guide to the literature for the instrument available from Dover Press. They identify the following mazurkas included on this CD as having "outstanding features" (the comments that follow are a combination of the authors's comments and my own): Mazurka in C-sharp minor opus 50 no 3 (a melancholy work that makes large use of counterpoint with a contrasting middle theme); Mazurka in B major, opus 56 no. 1 (a quiet lyrical work with many subtle harmonic touches and changes of key); Mazurka in A minor, Opus 59 No. 1 (a haunting work with much counterpoint and a chorale-like middle section);Mazurka in A-flat major, opus 59 no. 2 (upbeat, lively melody with a great deal of chromaticism);Mazurka in F-sharp minor, opus, 59 no 3 (highly distinctive rhythms, a frilly theme, and much use of counterpoint); Mazurka in F minor, opus 68, no. 4 (Chopin's last composition, sad and melancholy, full of harmonic changes).

Listeners new to the mazurkas might begin by hearing the works identified above. I also make the following suggestions of my own: Mazurka in F major, opus 68 no. 3, (an early work that Chopin published late with a simple march-like theme and a quick middle section in the high register of the instruments -- long a favorite of mine); Mazurka in G minor opus 67 no. 2 and Mazurka in A minor opus 67 no 4 (two late works, readily recognizable that will be familiar to many listeners);Mazurka in C sharp minor, opus 63 no 3 (a waltz-like work full of ornaments and trills.)With repeated hearings, every listener will form his or her own favorites.

This CD and its companion volume (which includes the earlier mazurkas) are ideal ways to get to know and love these short jewel-like pieces for the piano.

Robin Friedman

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Review of William Kapell Edition [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

This is one of the most remarkable classical CD collections ever released, and is an absolute must-have for piano afficionados.Many CD boxed sets claim to be historically important; this one most assuredly is.Kapell wasAmerica's first great pianist, and remains at the pinnacle, almost 50 yearsafter his tragic death at age 31.As a previous reviewer noted, there istoo much material on these CDs to comment on in-depth, but I'll just saythat most of the recordings here are definitive, which is quite remarkable,considering that many of these works have been recorded by scores ofpianists, including greats such as Horowitz, Rubinstein, and others. Precious in this collection are Kapell's recordings of Bach and Schubertmade in his last year.These show him as a pianist who, while capable ofdazzling a stadium-sized crowd with stunning, instrument-damagingpyrotechnics, could also play with a crystalline and intimate purity,heart-to-heart, as if there were only one listener in the room.Highly,highly recommended.

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Review of Chopin: Mazurkas [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

William Kappell was, in a way, the Dennis Brain of the piano.Brain had a meteoric career playing the French horn, which was cut short by his early death -- and cognoscenti have been seeking out his old monaural records and CD's for decades.Kappell also had a tragically short career which accounts for the only deficiency of this CD.It was recorded with old monaural equipment.I predict that you won't notice that at all, because the genius of William Kappell shines through in these pieces.I think I would describe his Mazurkas as both very 'clean' and also 'lush.' He is playing carefully and bringing out the subtle beauty of these odd little dances.Chopin's Mazurkas always seem to have a "sweet and sour" character, often with a lyrical major theme at the start and finish, and a discordant minor gypsy-style theme in the middle.In Kappell's hands you hear other layers, and some of the pieces even have a sort of tango-like feel.Anyway, it's hard to describe what is so good about this CD, but buy it.You will listen to it again and again.

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Review of Griffes: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) was, like Schubert, taken from this world way to early.His impressionist style compositions are a match for, while not necessarily mimicking, Debussy, and his Sonata is an extraordinary piece of unique, forward-looking music. He was also something of a rarity in his time - an American composer of highlyoriginal talent.Michael Lewin performs Griffes' music with sensitivityand energy.Naxos produces, when one considers the price,some of the highest quality cds money can buy.I highly recommend this selection to all interested in 20th century piano music.

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Review of Moszkowski: Piano Music 3 [IMPORT] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Hyperion, for their Helios series, presents us with a welcome re-release of Seta Tanyel's traversals of the Scharwenka and Moszkowski series originally released by Collins. I snapped up vol. 3 quite arbitrarily to sample the latter composer. Turns out to be (as expected) entertaining but eventually not very memorable music.

Moszkowski surely knew how to write for the piano, but was unfortunately short on substance (at least that is the unequivocal impression from this volume). Best here are the Barcarolle (a surprisingly good piece) and the irresistibly charming 3 Morceaux. The rest is worth a listen, but probably not more. Tanyel plays them fluently though maybe lacking the last ounce of vigour and panache this music needs to come fully alive. The recording is excellent.

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