A Century of Romantic Chopin

An inherent dilemma in purchasing any recorded set of Chopin piano works - be it Waltzes, Mazurkas or Polonaises - is finding a pianist who performs them all to perfection. Seasoned pianophiles may wax orgasmic over a rendition of the second Ballade, only to find the third by the same performer cold and uninspiring. In an effort to alleviate this problem, master recording engineer and CD mogul Ward Marston has just issued a 4-CD set entitled A Century of Romantic Chopin.

For this project, his collaborator was noted piano scholar Gregor Benko, who utilized his vast knowledge and extensive library of rare piano records to assemble a collection of the greatest Chopin recordings ever committed to disc. They are grouped numerically by genre, from the Etudes to the Nocturnes. Naturally, a four-disc set could not encompass the complete Chopin, and there are a few lamentable omissions, such as the glorious Andante Spianato, with or without the succeeding Grande Polonaise. However, most of the composer's favorites are included, played by the best-known keyboard artists of the past century. There are also several, towering performances by artists whose names have been totally obscured over time. And, yes, even a few living pianists are represented!

Solid Romantic interpretations

Disc One contains the Op. 10 & 25 Etudes performed by several different pianists. Solid Romantic interpretations by the likes of Backhaus, Cortot, Arrau, Solomon and Josef Lhevinne were hardly surprises; but Geza Anda's unusually graceful rendering of Op. 25, #5 proves an unexpected treat. Legendary Russian conductor/pianist Evgeny Svetlanov constructed a marvelously lyric reading of the expansive "Cello" etude. By contrast, Simon Barere's superhuman rendition of the "Impromptu #1, one of the recordings that fills out the end of the disc, is absolutely dazzling.

Yet, with respect to unabashed virtuosity, unknown pianist Sidney Forest is the big surprise of the first disc. He generates enough pianistic fire to warrant a "highly flammable" warning on the box cover. Rubinstein fanciers will be delighted by two Etudes extracted from a live 1974 New York recital. The renowned Chopin specialist was obviously in excellent form. The disc concludes with one of Chopin's most enthralling works, the ethereal Berceuse. On paper, Mozart/Beethoven pianist Walter Gieseking seemed like an odd choice to interpret such a rapturous, Romantic vehicle; but his 1938 commercial recording is highly nuanced, and truly gorgeous.

More substantial works

Featuring some of the composer's more substantial works, such as the Scherzi and Sonatas, Disc Two opens with an unusually tender Ballade #1 performed by the indomitable Earl Wild, who died earlier this year at age 94. The Ballade #4 receives a thrilling performance by Jorge Bolet. Like the Wild recording, and the stylish Cherkassky "Tarantella "which follows, this selection is taken from a live recital. The most interesting of the Scherzi recordings is that of first, in b minor.

Natan Brand, the Israeli pianist who suffered a premature death at age 46, gives an unorthodox but fascinating rendition. The great Mischa Levitzki and the amiable Brazilian pianist Guiomar Novaes share the honors in selections from the Op. 28 Preludes. Movements from the two major piano sonatas in historic recordings, performed by legends such as Leopold Godowsky and Ignaz Friedman, bring the second disc to an impressive finale.

20th century’s greatest pianist?

The first band on Disc Three is, quite literally, the centerpiece of the new set. If contains an historically important recorded document: the Larghetto of the Chopin Concerto #2, from a live 1936 performance conducted by John Barbirolli, (presumably with the New York Philharmonic.) The soloist is Josef Hofmann, considered by many to be the greatest pianist of the 20th century. As part of his "Complete Josef Hofmann Edition," Marston previously issued a Larghetto with Hoffmann from a 1945 Bell Telephone Hour radio broadcast. Yet this earlier performance has the advantages of a serenely beautiful accompaniment from Barbirolli, and Hofmann playing in his prime. The astounding, seamless runs, broad dynamic palette, and peerless tone are clearly evident in this remarkable recording. The Barcarolle, one of Chopin's more extensive solo works, is given an equally impressive performance in an unpublished 1939 HMV recording featuring the great Benno Moiseivitsch. Striking a subtle balance of poetry and drama, Moiseivitsch's interpretation is arguably the finest ever committed to disc. The Mazurkas and Polonaises include pianists running the gamut from Americans William Kapell and Joseph Villa, to the Russians, Sofronitsky and Feinberg. Friedman's 1927 Columbia record of the "Heroic" Polonaise is yet another "blueprint" performance included in the set.

As solid as they are, the live Waltz recordings of Rubinstein and Horowitz, lack the sheer brilliance and imagination of those by Jan Smeterlin and Arthur Loesser. - not to mention the miraculous readings of two versions of the "Minute Waltz" by the Busoni pupil, Michael von Zadora, and the wonderful, but virtually unknown Cecile Staub Genhart. The elegant rubato employed by Walter Morse Rummel in the Op. 70, #1 is of the manner born.

Ravishing interpretations

The final disc of the compilation is dedicated to the Nocturnes, and includes some ravishing interpretations. Contemporary Italian pianist Francesco Libetta provides a breathtaking Op. 27, #2. An unpublished 1932 Nocturne recording of Alicia de Larrocha displays the enormous talents of a nine year old prodigy who was to become one of the great pianists of her age. Recorded five years earlier, Vladimir de Pachmann's ethereal reading of Op. 72, #1 is hardly the earliest cut on this disc, which concludes with eight historic Chopin recordings that date as far back as 1895. Two composer/pianists of the early 20th century, Bartok and Busoni are featured in rare recordings of Nocturnes. Another illustrious composer, Sergei Rachmaninov displays his staggering, piano technique on a recording of a waltz, as does famed Polish piano pedagogue Alexander Michalowski. Both were cut in the first decades of the 20th century, and exhibit an unearthly virtuosity that hearkens directly back to the age of Chopin and Liszt. Actual cylinders from the last decade of the 19th century hardly prove an audiophile experience, but provide a haunting, first-hand glimpse into the musical world of another era.

"A Century of Romantic Chopin" contains five hours of music packed onto its four CDs, and, as one would expect from Marston, all of the recordings are presented in the best possible transfers. The new collection is accompanied by a well-annotated booklet with detailed recording information on all of the cuts, biographical blurbs on the dozens of pianists included, and an erudite essay on Chopin interpretation by the fine pianist Frank Cooper. The set will prove indispensable to avid keyboard historians. It is definitely not designed for the average music lover whose tastes run to a more scholarly, antiseptic pianistic approach; but music lovers who prefer a full-blooded, Romantic Chopin will hardly be disappointed.