Customer Reviews

Chopin: Four Scherzi

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thankfully I'm one of the few who hasn't read a word of professional criticism doing injustice to this unparalleled recording. It is, by any measure, undeserving of petty remarks about Mr. Pogorelich's unorthodox approach to these works. That is precisely what makes this CD so special: an unconventional interpretation paired with extraordinary technique whose result is awe-inspiring.

The B minor Scherzo is a performance of extreme contrasts, the outer sections being incredibly fast while the slow middle section is taken at a slow, rapturous pace. Even with the astounding Pogorelich playing as if he were possessed, one is able to revel in the depth of the tones brought forth. It's an experience to die for, but thankfully it can be had for a mere $15.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you passed up the opportunity to own this recording. It is a true marvel. Just remember to leave your preconceptions at the door.

Chopin has been played by any number of masters, virtuosos and technicians. Ivo Pogorelich outdoes most eveyone in this rendering. The clarity and sensitivity of interpretation in these performances brings a new sparkle to the old cherished notes. The audio quality of this recording is wonderful too. Highly recommend. Also, recommend his interpretation of the 2nd Piano Concerto (Chopin).

I doubt that any contemporary pianist comes close to Pogorelich for dividing criticism. He is adored and loathed in equal measure, and since I am (sort of) among the adoring, it saddens me that the carpers seem to have won. Not here at Amazon, where the fans turn out, but in concert, where apparently Pogo has gone as overboard as Mr. Tholin notes.

There are only a few infuriating things to cope with here. The worst is the banging that makes Scherzo #2 unlistenable for me. The first chord in Scherzo #1 is also migraine inducing. But Pogo is so original and mercurial, so intent on demanding that attention be paid, I am usually disarmed. He barely knows the meaning of a steady tempo, and on a whim he will rush recklessly ahead, only to stop on a dime. All of which I find delightful, with special praise for Scherzo #1, an abandoned reading no one will else even approximates.

So let's raise a glass of Champagne and two aspirin to this one-off musician, wherever he may reside in Cloud Cuckooland. I can't listen to his Chopin Scherzi too often, but when I do, I am grateful for his existence.

The term "scherzo" means something akin to whimsy, but these large-scale pieces by Chopin are richer than that term would imply. The Scherzos differ from the other large scale work of which Chopin wrote four -- the Ballades -- in part because a Ballade tends to open with a broad statement suggesting the beginning of an unfolding epic. The Scherzos open instead with something striking, furtive or a glancing blow, quickly making its point. A Chopin Scherzo then moves into contrasting sections before coming to a brilliant conclusion. The musical challenge with the Scherzos is to make each of these pieces hold together as a unified whole.

Pogorelich's recording highlights the "scherzo" part of these pieces. He brings an incisive touch and brilliant technique to bear on all the furtive parts of these pieces, yet he can also play with a hushed beautiful ethereal tone in the more melodic lullaby aspects of these pieces. The problem is that his performances sound sectional. The sense of sweep is lost. One is drawn to listen because of Pogorelich's astounding technique, but the dramatic shifts in tempo and character that occur between sections can sometimes be jarring.

Listening to this recording I find certain sections of the Scherzos to be particularly memorable. For example, I think Pogorelich gets the opening and the "waterfalls" parts of the middle of the 3rd Scherzo just right, and the incomparably beautiful middle section of the 4th Scherzo is captured to its fullest potential. Yet I come away feeling that these are not performances that I will return to, because none of the Scherzos hang together completely.

Still, the recorded sound is beautiful and if you are a Pogorelich fan this disc provides lots of material to enjoy his brand of pianism.

The new recording presented by Ivo Pogorelich brings a clear, sharp and impressive lesson of Piano Mastery. You may love him or hate him, but in any event, there's no doubt that his musical approach is phenomenal. From the many versions available, Pollini, Rubinstein, Zimerman and others have done a good work, but compared to Pogorelich, they simply fade away. Without any doubt, anyone willing to hear this wonderful piano pieces should buy this CD and will have granted pleasure for long, long time

Any pianist that can play at the speed of light with such clarity never fails to astonish. Pogorelich not only does that, but also adds his very personal and surprising nuances to the pieces he performs. That is precisely the reason why I think anyone new to Chopin's scherzi should listen to other pianists first, as they will allow the listener to have a more "traditional" reference. If dexterity and amazing velocity are still essential, I suggest to try Sviatoslav Richter's version. Richter can be demonically fast (even faster in some instances than Pogorelich) yet his melodic phrasing is more accessible. The recording is relatively old, but Richter's musicality compensates such shortcoming. By knowing these pieces better, it will be easier to see why Pogorelich's performances are often considered extremely original (opinions regarding his style are invariably divided). Perhaps those who know the scherzi either well or by heart may enjoy Pogorelich's version as much as I do. In my case, I consider Pogorelich performances as a sort of a new musical experience. On the downside, Deutsche Grammophon is pretty avaricious when you realize they could have included several more works on this CD. I wish Chopin wrote six scherzi instead of four!

Very few pianists are able to turn everything they touch into gold, especially not throughout their career. The young Pogorelich of the 1980s undoubtedly was one of the most dazzling and spectacular pianists the world has seen, and turned in some truly golden performances not since surpassed--the Prokofiev Sixth Sonata, Ravel's Gaspard, Schumann's Etudes, and Chopin's Preludes and Second Concerto. Alas, he became increasingly weird with age, and his outings in this century seem more struck by madness than genious. However, in the mid-1990s, right before things went overboard, he produced what may be his most extreme but singularly brilliant records--the coupling of Mussorgsky's Pictures and Ravel's Valses, where the former to me already is partially overboard but the latter is madly stunning (Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition / Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales), and Chopin's four Scherzos.

My recent review of Ohlsson's unique but somewhat overextended account of the Scherzos (Garrick Ohlsson - The Complete Chopin Piano Works Vol. 4 ~ Scherzi & Variations) listed ratings of rival versions from Biret and Richter at the bottom, via Katsaris and Szekely in the middle, through the rather good Pollini, Rubinstein, Demidenko and Ashkenazy. Pletnev attains near-excellence, save the somewhat excessive use of sudden rubato and dynamic surprises. However, not only is Pogorelich's Scherzos the greatest version on record, it also holds a prominent position on my list of greatest stereo-era piano records.

His overall timing is, as usual, on the slow side (41:23), but not overly so. What is interesting is that, which also isn't unusual for Pogorelich, his slow sections belong to the slowest ever, whereas parts his fast sections indeed are the fastest on record. Hence, the notion of 'extreme contrasts', which is very much inherent in the music, here becomes more emphasised than ever--what Robert L. Berkowitz describes as 'sectional' is solely virtue to these ears. Another Pogorelich trademark, which he occasionally milks (e.g. 2:52 in the Third), is his ability to play gorgeous legato phrases without using virtually any sustain pedal.

With a substantial margin, I would rank his First and Second Scherzos as the greatest on record: The outer sections of the First have never been dispatched with such effortless command and speed; the same goes for the E-major Trio 'Development' (4:46/6:47). At the same time, the slow parts of the Trio sections are at least as calm and relaxed as those of Ohlsson--in fact, the D-major part of the Second is almost trancelike (3:02/5:02), whereas the ensuing C-sharp-minor part is heartbreaking (4:14/6:16).

The Third and Fourth are about as brilliant, but at times I get the feeling Pogorelich is too aware of just how brilliantly he actually plays. Even if it's hard to blame him, there are occasional passages where just a slight arrogance shines through--e.g. the 'waterfalls' of the Third's Trio sections, which sounded a tad more organic on his 1981 debut recording (Chopin: Scherzos No3; Sonatas for piano No2). However, these are highly futile remarks--not least since Pogorelich gives us the most disarming and ravishing rendition of the Fourth's middle section imaginable.

For a change, DG's engineers manage to provide a sound that can match their remarkable pianist. No fillers? Well, with nearly 42 minutes of golden pianism, fillers are superfluous.

TIMINGS: Scherzos--10:53, 10:32, 8:00, 11:58

REFERENCES: Scherzos--This One, Pletnev (Pletnev Live at Carnegie Hall)

Many people raved about this album. The liner notes say that this is the last recording of Ivo Pogorelich during the lifetime of his teacher and wife Alice Kerzeradze.
At first listening, the disc is an ear opener. On repeated listenings, quite another story.
Just as Sviastoslav Richter clung to a 'formula' in his performances, so does Ivo Pogorelich, if you've listened to more of his recordings, all done more than one and a half decade ago.
The four Chopin Scherzi here turned up as if Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, especially the No. 3 Scherzo.
And the No. 1 and No. 3 are the most unconventional readings, both in terms of style and interpretation. You would scarcely recognise those pieces, let alone that they sound totally unlike the common Chopin. Indeed, they did not resemble the music on the score, either. However, if you'd lend your ears to the No. 2, a piece that Pogorelich did not manage to turn up a totally 'unconventional' reading, you'd immediately realise that this guy has been bluffing his way. Technique to burn, definitely. Musicality, less so.
No details, scan finesse, wayward tempi. All dressed up under a fantastic touching of varied colors without any definite purpose.
If that is romanticism, then many, am afraid, would rather count it out.

Thankfully I'm one of the few who hasn't read a word of professional criticism doing injustice to this unparalleled recording. It is, by any measure, undeserving of petty remarks about Mr. Pogorelich's unorthodox approach to these works. That is precisely what makes this CD so special: an unconventional interpretation paired with extraordinary technique whose result is awe-inspiring.

The B minor Scherzo is a performance of extreme contrasts, the outer sections being incredibly fast while the slow middle section is taken at a slow, rapturous pace. Even with the astounding Pogorelich playing as if he were possessed, one is able to revel in the depth of the tones brought forth. It's an experience to die for, but thankfully it can be had for a mere $15.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you passed up the opportunity to own this recording. It is a true marvel. Just remember to leave your preconceptions at the door.

Pogorelich's practice routine: First he takes a copy of the music and tippexs out all the dynamics, tempo markings and phrases. Then he draws in new phrases, elongates a note here and shortens one there and generally moves around all the furniture around in Chopin's scherzos. Well that's what it sounds like. Pogorelich uses these pieces as exhibitions for his remarkable technique and one can only marvel at his command of touch and balance. He is a stuntman of the highest order. Yet if Chopin himself listened to these recordings he would pale and take a hammer to the speakers. Those who find pogorelichisms interesting and enlightening then what delights lie within this rather short CD (42 mins)! But those who prefer to stick to classical interpretations of pieces should give this a wide berth. The 5 stars are for playing quality.