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Sa Chen's samples of the two Chopin Piano concerti seem pretty promising.
My first exposure was Bella Davidovitch on Philips, which I think was a lucky start. She really knew how to spin Chopin's exquisite melodies, esp. the two lyrical stretches of the 1st mov't of PC 1.
I've tried others, including the standard rec's Zimerman/Giulini/LSO (fussy) and Zimerman's later mega-raved DGG recording, (mega- laughably fussy). Argerich IMOH is too feverish.
Chen--shockingly--just plays the damn octave melodies (return of the B theme)
with just the right amount of rubato. Reminds me of my fav: Sokolov Eurodisc which--annoyingly--I can't download in America. I'm surprised at how such simple, elegant music trips up so many pianists.
Surely you own this?
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I do not own Sa Chen's Chopin Concertos album. I used to have the Harmonia Mundi release of her Cliburn performances, but I did not keep it.
As is so often the case, we have quite an opposite estimation of some of the other performances you mention: I found Bella Davidovitch's disc somewhat cautious - but it's been ages since I heard it and I might appreciate it more if I heard it now. (I saw her live in recital, where I got a similar feeling that she was "playing safe" - but that was ages ago too.) My main memory of that recording is that there was just a bit too much circumspection in it for me.
I found the Zimerman/Giulini recording good in terms of the performances (really, I think his technical command verges on the perfect!), but poorly recorded (DG Tonmeisters at their multi-microphoning worst, although I haven't heard the "Originals" remastering). The later Zimerman recording (where he plays and conducts) I found absolutely amazing, even mesmerizing, not least for the ability of the orchestra to feel every phrase precisely with Zimerman - it's a one-of-a-kind performance which risks a lot in its interpretive gestures (i.e., rubato, dynamics - both extreme and subtle, agogic accents, etc.), and I can understand its not being appreciated by everyone. But, geez, the performances of both concertos are like no others and I have tremendous respect and love for them. (DG's recording efforts are a bit better this time around too!)
I also think that the Argerich performance(s) deserve their critical accolades - both the DG with Abbado and Rostropovich, and the EMI with Dutoit. I guess feverish to you is brilliant to me in this instance, and I also find Martha quite imaginative and sensitive in the slower sections.
I haven't heard the Sokolov performance yet - it should be available at hdtracks (link below)? Others I've liked are Bachauer/Dorati, Gilels/Ormandy, Rubinstein/Skrowaczewski, and (surprisingly good) Weissenberg/Skrowaczewski. Another surprisingly good set of performances (in hi-rez too - I have them on blu-ray audio, but the multi-channel tracks don't play correctly, so I've heard it only in 2-channel) is the Eldar Nebolsin / Antoni Wit albums on Naxos.
At some point, I'd also like to hear the Lugansky/Vedernikov album too!
would be forbidden on other download sites as well. (How I wish HD Classics would break up the Maazel Sibelius set.
I'll give you your money back if you don't like it! I would like to see his Mozart and Schumann PC's re-released someday too.
My appreciation for Davidovitch revolved around the 2nd mov't of the 2nd--the way she handles those pearly runs every time the main theme comes back.
The exquisite lyrical stretches of the 1st mov't of the 1st seem to tempt pianists into experimenting with phrasing, etc., when personally I prefer steadiness and delicacy. Rubinstein would be the exemplar here, Earl Wild too, IMHO (and if you find the famous RCA recording a little coarse in the strings, Wild's on Reader's Digest is far better recorded). Sokolov, IIRC never breaks the spell with "imaginative touches" either.
That would be the Haskil/Markevitch No. 2 on Philips. One of the interesting features of this recording is that the Cortot re-orchestration is used - it's pretty wild in places!
They don't get much better, IMNSHO.
You don't have to convince me about Sokolov - I'm a BIG fan too (even if he can be a bit erratic sometimes), and I do plan to download that Eurodisc Chopin album.
BTW, I'm sorry that Ivan Moravec never recorded either of the Chopin concertos. In his early-80's master class I was in, he played a couple of parts of the E-minor Concerto, but I guess he never played it in public (?).
will measure up to the Zimerman above.
He gets just about everything right, even the things he does different seem suddenly right.
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there are a ton of pieces of music that I have an imprinted version in my mind where hearing one small note played a slightly different way will jar me but it soon passes and I can enjoy an entirely different interpretation of a piece I dearly love.
Good example is above. Everyone loves a Gershwin tune, even Vaclav Neumann!
My new favorite Concerto in F.
I love that recording, even though it's getting a bit long in the tooth sonically.
Of course, it was OK to do the Cuban Overture at that time, since Cuba was a fraternal socialist nation! ;-)
Just about every measure. I listened a couples times in an effort to acclimate, but no luck. The orchestral intro to the 2nd movt of the 2nd is really slow, Bruckner slow.
. . . some listeners might consider that second Zimerman DG recording mannered, but I'm just astonished by the perfection and unity of expression between soloist and orchestra. No other recording comes close in that regard. That of course doesn't mean that other (entirely legitimate and more conventional) interpretive approaches aren't also possible.
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"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
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