Customer Reviews

Chopin: Complete Mazurkas / Frederic Chiu

5 star:		(3)
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Most CD guides I have read recommend the Rubenstein traversal of the Mazurkas over most modern recordings. This recording should serve well to match or even supercede that "classic" set. The playing is undeniably lovely and poetic throughout, yet with a bit more fire in places than the Rubenstein performances. Some of Mr. Chiu's tempi seem a bit slow, but I have often wondered if most performers play some of the Mazurkas faster than Chopin intended. Many of them are marked "Lento" but are often played anything but. Not here. Yet Mr. Chiu never loses the spirit of the dance, and plays with passion and power in some of the louder passages. If you like your Chopin subdued and effeminate this may not be for you. The recorded sound is excellent.

Wow! I've heard many of the mazurkas performed countless times over the years, but they've never spoken to me like this. Chiu's renditions are played cleanly but with an almost magical flair for nuance that makes them sound downright jazzy at times. Chiu is a marvelous gift to the music of Chopin. Do yourself a favor and get this CD. Mine is only a week old and rarely finds itself not in use.

Chiu is the one to get. After all, there is more than one way to play a classical piece, right? Well, Frederic Chiu offers us an interesting alternative. You should give it a try, even if you have never heard of him.