Frederic Chopin: Piano Works

During these even more than usual turbulent times, immersion in the amazing sound world of Frederic Chopin is a badly needed balm and tonic and this six-disc set by the British label Nimbus Records provided six hours of enjoyment and escape.  There are some less-than-flattering reviews out there concerning the quality of the recordings compared to others made with Vlado Perlemuter (1904-2002).

Amazingly, these performances were set down between 1974 and 1992, when the Lithuania-born pianist was between 70 and 88 years old, but, to these untrained ears, they don't sound like the work of someone whose technique or abilities diminished much if at all.  Incredibly, his concert career stretched through three-quarters of a century and, while his earliest recordings were in 1939, he didn't work much in the studio until the mid-Fifties, but did so consistently, including sets for Nimbus of works by Beethoven, Fauré, Liszt, Ravel and others.

An obituary in The Guardian observed that Perlemuter's renderings of Chopin were "more unique and inimitable" than those he did of Ravel, which others prefer, and that his efforts were "simple and conceived of structurally," while "he put line before detail, large patterns before small."  The point seemed to be that the pianist was less concerned with the virtuosity in performing Chopin's works rather than evoking the structural brilliance of the composer and that he prized the left-hand work to reveal the underpinnings of the music.

Another reviewer remarked on the directness of Perlemuter's approach, with clarity and the tonal color employed also of note, while excessive ornamentation was largely eschewed, though some might view this as a colder, more clinical approach to Chopin's work, which many view as requiring an emotive approach.  For this listener, there are qualitative differences between the types of works in terms of what differentiates the Nocturnes from the Mazurkas or the sonatas from the Preludes, these last being some of the earliest Chopin works heard, so they have more memorable resonance.  

In terms of discerning the finer points of performance (touch, tone, tempo, dynamics, etc.) or studio recording quality, none of this substantially determined the enjoyment of the set.  Listening through these six discs several times in the last couple of weeks, Chopin's compositional wonders and Perlemuter's beautiful playing, even if more understated and conservative than other masters shine through, especially with all of negativity in the world right now.