Can someone recommend...
...a good recording of Chopin's Nocturnes? The one's that I've heard were either too dry and rigid or went overboard with rubato - two extremes. I'm looking for a happy medium.
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Hmm. It's such a matter of taste and preference when it comes to Chopin's Nocturnes. I know everyone says "Arthur Rubinstein = Chopin", but I got an old recording of his Nocturnes and I *hated* them. I thought he butchered Chopin completely. Now, maybe this was a bad recording, but he played too fast and without any passion. I threw the cd out.
To this day, my personal favorite is Peter Schmalfuss. I have a cd of his Nocturnes 1-11 and I think he gets Chopin's quiet tone, appropriate color, and melancholy mood into the pieces. Next, I would have to say Dubravka Tomsic is decent. But actually, I have found some of the downloads over at www.pianosociety.com to be exquisite. I downloaded the Nocturne No. 21 post op in C# from some amateur pianist and I loved it. Same thing with the Nocturne No. 19 in E minor.
But if you want a cd, try Peter Schmalfuss. If that doesn't appeal, there's Abbey Simon and Ivan Moravec. I like Moravec's interpretations of Chopin. I haven't heard him do too many Nocturnes - the only thing to watch out for is he tends to make a lot of bodily noises when he plays, lol. He breathes hard, and makes grunts sometimes. It can be distracting, unless you're able to hear past it.
Maybe some other's can advise you. I haven't heard the "big boys" like Arrau, Ashkenazy, Pollini or even Brendel play Chopin's Nocturnes. Maybe they're good too. But anyway, look for the Point Classics "Chopin Nocturnes" by Peter Schmalfuss. It's cheap and it's good. It only has Nocturne's 1-12, though. -
I'm not sure if Pollini has a recording for the Nocturnes...I've been looking and I couldn't find any. Rubinstein and Arrau were two opposite extremes that I didn't really like.
[This message has been edited by Zhire (edited 07-17-2005).]Comment
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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...401331-5076922
That link is to a cd of Pollini's Nocturnes, but the cd only has a select few plus the first concerto, a ballade and a polonaise. I'm sure he's got a recording of them somewhere; it's the cream and crop of any pianist repertoire these days.Comment
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My favorite is Ashkenazy. I have his recordings of the complete Chopin solo piano works, and it is magnificent, in my opinion. When it comes to Ashkenazy playing Chopin, it seems he is either your favorite, or you don't like him much at all. You should see what you think.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=musicLink</a>Comment
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Hey, you know what...I have his [Ashkenazy] recording of Chopin's Sonatas and Etudes...and I really liked them a lot. I'll check it out ^_^Comment
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