Customer Reviews

Chopin: Nocturnes

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Nocturnes occupy a special place in Chopin's oeuvre. Their composition spans most of his creative career, with the first set, Op. 9, begun when the composer was still in his teens, and his last piece, the E minor, probably completed in his final year and published posthumously as Op. 72. More importantly, Chopin transformed the genre of the `night-piece' - conceived by the Irish pianist John Field mostly as gentle and lyrical - into a far more intimate and psychologically vivid experience.

Although each of Chopin's pieces develops in its own magnificent way, all seem to depict a nocturnal realm from which the glaring world of objects and affairs has withdrawn into shadow, laying bare the soul. Typically, one senses oneself in the midst of some sort of repose - a tranquil reflection, ethereal waltz, evening stroll or narcotic dreamscape - whereupon some powerful inner force comes to be aroused and must play itself out, tugging the heart back and forth between passion and placidity. The evening's calm is interrupted by many kinds of energies - erotic, religious, anguished, patriotic - but usually returns by the end, transfigured. It is almost as if Chopin has found a way to render his, and our, most private, inward conflicts in the soundworld of the piano, and apply to them the balm of his most healing resolutions.

Although the nocturnes are far from the most technically challenging of Chopin's works, their innermost truths have eluded all but the most masterful and fully realized of pianists. There are a handful of distinguished recordings of the set, some including two other posthumous nocturnes attributed to the composer, others not. Each of these sets - by Arrau, Moravec, and Rubinstein in the `30's, as well as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Biret, and Pires - is impeccably felt and performed, if not perfectly recorded, and manages to capture much of Chopin's spirit. In particular, Ivan Moravec's group, performed on a plummy Bosendorfer, are uniquely expansive and magical.

That said, Maurizio Pollini's extraordinary new recording of the nocturnes is almost beyond words. Now 64, the Italian pianist's playing has arrived at a sublime convergence of technical command, wisdom, and open-heartedness, to a degree that I sense is unprecedented in the history of the instrument. Pollini's performances go so much deeper, reveal so much more than any of the others that, even after just two or three listenings, you may never be able to hear these pieces any other way. Alone among interpreters, Pollini plunges without the slightest digital or emotional hesitation into the often disorienting contrasts that Chopin has written into these pieces, recognizing that their psychological counterparts are just as intense and mercurial. At the same time, no other pianist is more tender (listen to Op. 62, #1, for example), humbly devotional (Op. 48, #3), or creates a more hypnotically dream-like atmosphere (Op. 27, #1).

As always, Pollini's sovereign qualities are abundantly evident: utter clarity, directness, lucidity, digital independence and evenness of attack. The DG tonmeisters have produced a superbly lifelike aural image of Pollini's majestic Hamburg Steinway (perhaps a little too lifelike - in a few cuts the pianist's breathing is distinctly audible). But by far the most compelling aspect of these performances is the intuitive way he captures their fantasy-like qualities. His emotional, intellectual and spiritual commitment is total, suggesting that the nocturnes' inner world can only emerge to the extent that the pianist has opened himself to us. One feels as if one is hearing them for the first time, and that within most of these miniatures is an epic journey into the unconscious and back.

Like Pollini's recent recordings of Schumann's Davidbundlertanze and the Diabelli Variations of Beethoven, this set is a treasure - the kind of marvel only possible in the hands and heart of a master at the peak of his powers. I cherish it!

After seeing the 5 star rating and 'Other worldly' description, you're probably waiting for me to gush about this double CD set. Well yes however, it didn't start that way. Please allow me to explain:

I have heard and am thoroughly familiar with the Barenboim, Ashkenazy and Claudio Arrau interpretations of these Nocturnes (and occasional versions by other pianists). So, I was curious to hear Pollini's version of these beautiful piano pieces. My first listens were, to say the least, unexpected bordering on uncomfortable. The interpretations sounded 'alien' as if Pollini was almost playing the wrong music or at least, the 'wrong way'. It was jarring to listen to and I was rather taken aback and upset that my money was wasted.

However, I decided to persist. To make a fair evaluation, my first dozen or so listens were without the music score and without comparison to any other pianist. And even with about a dozen listens, I had only warmed slightly towards his interpretations. At this juncture, I thought the time was right to compare him with other pianists....

Well, this is where the tide turned (and rather drammatically at that!!). I started listening to various other pianists and it dawned on me why I found Pollini's set so jarring. Thru generations of pianists, I had been conditioned to listening to the Nocturnes a certain way. Give or take a little, most pianists seem to play the Nocturnes in a similar type manner and that is, with layer upon layer of varnish and rubato which has become so ingrained, that we've partially lost the sight of the music that lays at its core. I was so conditioned to listening to the music this way that I didn't think there was any other way to play them.

Well, there is! Pollini has stripped away most of the excessive layers of 'varnish' to reveal the essence of the music again (and, as it was meant to be played!). And comparisons with other pianists, scream this difference! The overly exaggerated turns and phrasing and rubatos of other pianists are like eating candy floss - yummy at first but sickening by the end. This is brought home further when you read the musical score with Pollini's version and then the other pianists. Pollini takes very few liberties (if at all) and if so, rather subtly and discreetly. He aims to convey the musicality and essence of the piece without the pianist distorting it to his own ends.

Pollini has a knack of making his versions of music the standard of reference (take his versions of the Chopin etudes and Prokofief's seventh sonata)....and guess what, he's done it with these pieces as well.

Pls note the recording is excellent but a little forward which sometimes may accentuate some notes as sounding a little 'severe'. An Amazon reviewer has mentioned ' background noises' like someone is brushing on the microphone. I know the noises he is referring to but they are only of Pollini's breathing. He is inhaling/exhaling in a slightly exaggerated manner often at climactic points of the pieces. I personally don't feel they are intrusive and they don't happen that often. However, I can't understand why they weren't filtered out (esp. considering technical know how these days)

If you buy this set, I implore you to give it many listens (preferably without comparison otherwise you will go back to those interpretations you know well). Once you have thoroughly familiarised yourself with Pollini's version, then go back to the ones you know...do side by side comparisons.

And let me say, I'm not dismissing those other versions, they will always have a place in my heart but for something 'otherworldly', Pollini's set of Chopin Nocturnes will be the ones I return to!

When I first purchased this recording, the rather austere interpretations disappointed me. I had been listening to the Pires earlier, and her much more traditional, romantic approach had made a deep impression(still a great accomplishment, better than almost all who precede her recording). However, after a few listenings, Pollini's incredible intellectual command and spiritual interpretation became evident. If someone has listened more romantic playing of these pieces such as Arrau's, then Pollini's may seem at first without any beauty or understanding of Chopin's intent because the doesn't linger of phrases, manipulate the tempo by rushing or slowing down in a dreamlike trance. Instead, Pollini finds the true essence in his perfect pianism and his visionary effort here. The sound of the recording is exemplary- I do wish they could have placed the microphones so as not to hear Pollini's occaisional and momentary gutteral utterances and breathing , but a small price to pay to hear Chopin's Nocturnes played with such insight, technique, and understanding. I rank this cd with his playing of the etudes, ballades, and preludes...all of the highest order.

An ambitious second-year piano student can negotiate several of Chopin's Nocturnes, which eschew formal and technical complexity, giving us pure mood and melody. Simplicty can be the greatest artistic challenge, and that proves true for the Nocturnes, where success depends on an intuitive communion with the composser--his apparently careless improvisation must become yours. Studied performances fail, as does "personal" styling from a celebrity pianist.

Pollini manages to thread the needle and find a way to solve the mystery. The eloquent reviews below say a great deal about what makes this recording almost beyond praise. Yet strangely enough, the usually reliable Bryce Morrison in the Gramophone was tartly dismissive, finding these readings cold, testy, an act of duty instead of love. Pollini told a New York Times interviewer that his love of Chopin grows more intense every year, and I think that's the key: here is intense love communicated by the most emotionally reserved of pianists. All the intensity is masked, and yet we feel it anyway. Supported by Pollini's incomparable ability to balance chords and phrase with liquid simplicity, this set of Nocturnes will become one of the legendary ones. By comparison, a fine set like the one by Pires seems all thumbs and halting stabs. I heard Pollini play four Nocturns in Carnegie Hall last week (the highlight being the Op. 48 pair), and it's a joy now to have all the rest. Pollini playing Chopin is hte convergence of two mysteries that years of listening will never fully comprehend. (The recorded sound of the piano, by the way, is marvellously full and natural--by far the best of any Pollini Chopin disc.)

Maurizio Pollini adds further luster to his worldwide recognition by many music critics and fans alike as our foremost interpreter of Chopin's piano scores in this spellbinding recording of 19 of Chopin's nocturnes. This two CD set recently issued by Deutsche Grammophon includes all 18 nocturnes published during Chopin's tragically short life, and one more that was published posthumously. Arranged in order by opus number, these nocturnes are a fascinating exploration of Chopin's genius as one of the 19th Century's foremost composers, demonstrating the extensive emotional and technical range covered in this music, and providing an intriguing, brilliant survey of its evolution from terse, almost impressionist, melodies, to technically demanding works which rival in miniature, the late sonatas of Beethoven. The liner notes included in this CD set describe not only the early history of the nocturne, but more importantly, Pollini's artistic rationale for making these long-overdue recordings. His playing is replete with the technical precision and dramatic flair he's been acclaimed for, but more importantly, here he manages to turn even the most mundane measures into those of epic proportions, without wallowing in excessive drama while forsaking brilliant technique. It's hard for me to compare these recordings of Chopin's nocturnes with those by such distinguished Chopin interpreters like Artur Rubinstein and Claudio Arrau; here, at last, Pollini is in a class all by himself, in heart-felt, intellectually probing performances that must be regarded as definitive. Of course, the sound quality is absolutely superb, demonstrating once more the excellence of Deutsche Grammophon's current band of sound engineers.

These recordings represent something of a return to form for Pollini, whose recordings in recent years have often sounded as if the score had been programmed into that hi-tech Yamaha player piano. Here one senses a sophisticated musical intelligence constantly making judgments and decisions. And, of course, his technique is still highly impressive. His articulation is a thing of wonder and his structural sense is a real asset in these pieces which can often seem diffuse. Still, the performances often seem defined by what is NOT done rather than any individual touches. Rubato is at a minimum and agogics nonexistent. They are very "come scritto" in what might be considered the Toscanini tradition. As such, they would be an excellent introduction to this music for new listeners.

A number of recent recordings could be considered more individual and detailed - Ciccolini, D'Ascoli, Ohlsson, even Hewitt. Not to mention the older recordings of Arrau, Francois and the wonderfully mannered Moravec.

A note on the recording: I found is surprisingly substandard for DG - shallow and muffled. Pollini deserves better.

I've listened to almost every set of Nocturnes on the market (Moravec, Arrau, Pires, Barenboim, Ohlsson, Rubinstein, plus a few miscellaneous sets) but must say without a hesitation that Pollini's is by far the greatest of them all.

He makes each piece sound like an endless sea, a mighty ever-reaching oak...monuments of wonder! I'm flabergasted that he makes these famous pieces sound so fresh, intruiging, profound, stimulating, revelatory...almost prophetic! This man is a genius and a creates wonders with Chopin's Nocturnes.

I have read the previous reviewers who have problems with his breathing thoughout, but this is only noticible when listening with headphones or earbuds...it's a bit reminiscent of being a part of a live performance... but I couldn't hear it when I put it on my system. As for his so-called "coldness", I couldn't disagree more...I am IMMEDIATELY ENTHRALLED and CAPTIVATED by his interpretations and playing. His love for Chopin is immensely present and I find that he brings the most warmth in these pieces I've heard since Arrau or Ohlsson.

The DG sound on the recording is vivid and has wonderful depth (typically called a "wet" recording), you get the feeling that you are no longer listening to a piano, I don't know what kind of magic is going on there but it's like listening to POETRY ITSELF!

The only thing about this set is the price. DG really should have issued this at a reasonable price considering the track timings of about 45min per disc. If you can get it used, it would be more worthwhile.

Amazing and a deep constant joy!

According to the DG website, this set was supposed to be released in Novemeber of 2005 -- and it came out 7 months later! What an awful, miserable wait... I wish Pollini weren't on their back-burner, I think he's the best thing they have! This set is ridiculously good, amazing, excellent.

These pieces have always been special and important to me. As a result I've bought many complete performances (Arrau, Moravec, Rubinstein, Rev, Pires, Barenboim, Vasary, Francois) and quite a few partial performances...

I am mad that I had to wait so long to get these discs. But that's the greed in me speaking. I would pay anything for these discs, wait any amount of time. I am glad and grateful to have them.

As for the performances, I don't really know what to say... Pollini has evolved and developed SO much as an artist. He could always terrify and excite me, take my breath away, but he rarely made me cry. Here, me makes me cry again and again. These aren't necessarily the most sentimental pieces, and they're anything but "soft." It's just that his touch has become so delicate, so sensitive -- and his technique is all still there. So detailed, soaring, I'd go so far as to say visionary... I hope Pollini lives forever! I can't wait, can't want, must-force-myself-to-wait for his forthcoming Bach!

I had previously owned Chopin's nocturnes, but Pollini blows everyone else away with his elegant and touching performance. I totally recommend this for anyone interested in classical music.

I heard Chopin's nocturnes many years ago while attempting to master the piano. That mastery never happened but my memories of the nocturnes are as fresh and new as they were then. I especially wanted the # 4 in F, op 15, no 1. and with a stroke of serendipity I found Pollini and his interpretation of the nocturnes. His playing is as extraordinary as the Chopin compositions are themselves, extraordinary. The number 4 in F is everything I could ever have wanted and I have played it over and over, again and again. What great luck for me.