Customer Reviews

Chopin: The Piano Works [Box Set]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, I would like to state that I believe Vladimir Ashkenazy is the premier Chopin interpreter, and I own--or have listened to--virtually all the music collected in this set. And while I think that this CD collection is the genuine Chopin article, there are some areas where, sadly, Ashkenazy comes up short.

To start with, those mediums that are Ashkenazy's and no one else's: Nocturnes, Polonaises, Mazurkas, Ballades, Scherzos, Waltzes.

I've heard various recordings of the Nocturnes, mostly by Rubinstein (who I've never enjoyed, really), but nobody can light a candle to Ashkenazy's emotionally-gripping Nocturnes, for every one of these gentle mood pieces will reach into you and gently caress your reflective soul. The Polonaises, under Ashkenazy, resound like the echos of cannon-fire, played (attacked?) with battering-ram force. I almost shiver under the power of the Op. 44 Polonaise! The Polonaise-Fantasie, every time I listen to it, throws me into an unbelievable world of mystery and wonder because, like the Third Sonata, this has to express some of the most sincere human emotions I've ever found in music; it searches for meaning through deep introspection, swimming through the mysteries of the human psyche. The Ballades, Scherzos, and Waltzes come through with never-before-seen grandeur, never leaving any room for you to question its worth or its power.

Now, those mediums which are best found through other pianists: Preludes, Etudes, Sonatas, and select miscellaneous works by Chopin.

For the Preludes, Etudes, and Sonatas, I strongly recommend Maurizio Pollini. Ashkenazy's Etudes, I'm sorry to say, I found utterly deplorable. I seem to be the only one who thinks so, but the Etudes under Ashkenazy were far too controlled and in no way as passionate and emotional as they could and/or should have been. I have listened to his Etudes repeatedly, and each time have tried to like them, but I simply cannot, because there is no free-falling passion, no starkly raging emotion--just flat and too tightly controlled notes with no life of their own. That, you see, is the beauty of Chopin's music--that each piece, no matter how long or short, contains its own little miniature world, and in Ashkenazy's Etudes, his super-tight control of each piece has wrecked, I think, the unfathomable, beautuous spirit of these piano miniatures. For a more alive, tempestuous, and in-your-face recording of the Etudes, go with Pollini, because Pollini delivers.

The Preludes are a different story. I tend to steer more in the direction of the aforesaid Pollini, but Ashkenazy does offer a rather curious and intriguing mood to some of the Preludes. There are some times, however, where I feel like he's trying too hard to adapt the music to his own musical style--at the expense of the Prelude, I might add, because Ashkenazy is taking away some of the more emotional and eye-catching elements in the process; in essence, he is taking away Chopin's voice and instead inserting his own. Take, for example, the Prelude No. 24 in D minor, which is very passionate and aggressive. Under Pollini's hands, this Prelude sounds at all times on the verge of losing control of the pent-up anger (shown through the raging tempo and boxing left-hand accompaniment), which adds lustrous flair and fire to the piece. Under Ashkenazy, however, the tempo is slowed and too much control is placed on the angry ride, thus resulting in a rather flat and uninteresting Prelude.

The Op. 45 Prelude, however, as with the Three Etudes, op. post., belongs solely to Ashkenazy. The Op. 45 Prelude, in particular, is almost visual in its tender brushstrokes, painting a scene of a lonely, lachrymose sunset.

The Sonatas of Pollini come highly recommended, too. That CD only offers the Second (Funeral March) and Third Sonatas, but they're well worth it. You can feel the mournful repose of the Funeral March from Pollini, shed with pure heart and without any undue exuberance. The Third Sonata, Op. 58, is actually a favorite of mine, because it conveys the most honest and sincere form of human expression throughout the work. While the Second Sonata makes you feel like part of a charted journey, the Third Sonata feels more in touch with human spirit, longing inner voices, and a melancholy that touches your innermost emotional chord.

The Impromptus, in my opinion, are a bit of a question mark, solely because I have yet to hear a truly standalone recording of them. I own an Impromptus CD by Murray Perahia, who executes them admirably well. In this recording you will also get the Barcarolle, the Berceuse, and the Op. 49 Fantasie. Out of all the music on the Perahia CD, though, the one which outshines all the rest is the Op. 49 Fantasie, which is a passionate hurricane under Perahia's hands.

But back to Ashkenazy's set, for I'm digressing again. The additional (smaller) pieces in this set are quite charming. I always seem to visualize a fiery dance whenever I hear the Tarantelle, and the Allegro de Concert continues to enthrall me with its larger-than-life complexities. I must give kudos to Ashkenazy for the Allegro de Concert, though, because you can hear through the music the extreme technical demands on the pianist, and I continually marvel at how Ashkenazy seems to rip through them with such remarkable splendor and ease. The Berceuse was very dreamy and delightful, like watching a night-dream though a smoky haze (equal in caliber, I'd say, to Perahia's recording), but the magic and grandeur of Ashkenazy's Barcarolle was lost by an overly quick tempo. Here, I would have to take Perahia's Barcarolle over Ashkenazy's, but truly, the most captivating and provocative Barcarolle I've ever heard came from Van Cliburn . . . and I can't find that anywhere on CD!

All told, though, this Chopin set is still the genuine article, and comes with my highest recommendations. But don't limit yourself to just these recordings, because there are numerous others out there that are just as good.

Lovers of Chopin and admirers of Ashkenazy will find much to enjoy in these 13 CDs, and need not hesitate to buy. Be warned, however, that the recordings span ten years from 1974 to 1984 and although the piano sound is well captured in typical Decca fashion, with the percussive character of the instrument to the fore, there is considerable variation in the quality of the venues used. The booklet gives a venue listing, but identifies neither the dates nor the venues of individual items. We are told, however, which items are DDD and which are ADD. In general, the ADD items fare better: here, the worst you have to contend with is the occasional birdsong realistically captured along with the performance in hand. Several of the DDD items are marred by excessive background noise in the form of low-frequency rumble from what sounds like an air-conditioning system. ADD and DDD items are somewhat indiscriminately mixed, too (although the sounds are usually very well matched, and you will not always be aware of the change from one to the other). For example, if you are familiar with, and love, the analogue recordings of the Ballades and Scherzos, you may be disappointed to find that Ballades 1 and 4 and Scherzos 1 and 4 are new digital recordings. And, to make matters worse, Ballade No.4 is one of the DDD recordings plagued by the low-frequency background noise, and in this case the noise is allowed to continue after the performance is over, right through the pause and into the first chord of Scherzo No.1, where, quite audibly, it stops. Crazy editing policy, Decca!

Despite these complaints, I greatly enjoyed listening to Ashkenazy's Chopin throughout the 13 CDs, and the set will remain in my collection, frequently visited.

I have listened to the works of a number of composers, but Chopin always stands out with his remarkable ability to translate raw human emotion into musical tones from the piano. In my opinion, what other composers might have sought to accomplish with the variety of voices in the orchestra, Chopin was able to do with one instrument. To replicate this is no easy task, and Ashkenazy does a fantastic job in this set of CDs.
The music of Chopin contains so much pure poetic beauty, but I think his true genius comes through in pieces written in the minor keys. Chopin was a truly great blues composer of his time. I suppose that the most common vehicle for expressing "blues" or "tragedy" in that era was the opera. But Chopin could accomplish it without the need for words. He knew how to express human pain and angst. Take the Nocturne in E minor, for example (Opus 72 #1). If you can appreciate the blues, then I'm sure you'd have no trouble hearing the pathos in that piece played by Ashkenazy. To understand, appreciate, and especially to play the blues, one must be able to feel the blues. And again, to express this musically is no easy task. For the piano, it requires subtle technique with dynamics and license in meter (which Chopin was occasionally criticized for) to truly translate the emotion. Ashkenazy does this quite well.

I'm no expert in judging the electronic quality of a recorded CD, but I detected no flaws in that respect. I am an appreciator of the music. And in that light, I definitely recommend this CD set.

Most of us have heard the great Chopin interpreters, including Cortot, Rubinstein, Arrau, Gilels. Certainly Ashkenazy belongs in the top echelon of Chopin performers. After his success at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw (actually, he received 2nd prize to the disdain of a certain Michelangeli, who refused to sign the final juror's decision), Ashkenazy has recorded the complete mainstream piano repertoire (with a few exceptions).

He is particularly great with the Scherzi and Ballades (the fourth Scherzo was one of his war-horse pieces for quite some time). His technique is one of the most incredible ever to surface in the world of pianists (for those of you who don't believe me, listen to the octave jump towards the end of his recording of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz!). He also has a very musical mind suited to Chopin.

A downside to Ashkenazy's recording output is that he sometimes records "too" much, and therefore the quality is sacrificed (this is apparent with other composers, though not so much with Chopin). In addition, this is not the entirety of Chopin's solo piano output. There are a few notable exceptions (there is a solo version of a work written for orchestra and piano which is omitted, which I believe Mr. Ashkenazy later recorded, though I have been unable to find a copy as of yet). In addition, Ashkenazy sometimes has a tendency to play quite vertically and therefore has an edgy sound (this is more apparent if you listen to his Rachmaninoff recordings...the later ones, as the edgy quality is not so apparent in his earlier recordings).

Otherwise, this is great collection to own. The recording/sound quality is quite good and one can never tire of such wonderful music.

I got to know Chopin from listening to a couple performances on a scratched up CD I rented from the ugly library. I looked around for a box set containing all of Chopin's works and found this. I was a little distressed about the price, considering it was expectedly high, and I earn weak pay checks from working at a dinky Burger King establishment. When I finally purchased it after scraping up some bucks (over a month's time), I listened to it (the second I ripped it out from it's packaged box). From the quality of the sound and performance, I listened to the contents of all fourteen of these CDs with my eyes comfortably closed and a smile across my face. It is pure comfort listening to Chopin's solo piano works being accurately translated to anyone's liking and comfort. I must say it was well worth the money I paid for it! I was afraid that I may have purchased the wrong set. But I'm sticking with this because I don't need anything else. It's perfect. And I love the cute little box it comes in! Very stylish!

I can't say exactly how much I enjoy this box set. All Chopin's piano music played by one of the best, if not the overall best Chopin expert. This music is so beautiful, so perfect, so complete, so full, so emotional that each time I put one of the cd's of this box in my player I immediatly feel happy, calm, relaxed, amazed. Just sit down in front of your stereo system, closed your eyes and that's it. When I do it my bad days change completly. I'm so happy I did buy this box. I know it is an investment for life. I will listen to this music for ever and never will be tired of. 13 cd's of pure delight without a single weak moment. Pure art.

Vladimir Ashkenazy's technique and performance on the piano is absolutely the finest and most unriveled. He has done Frederic Chopin justice. All of his works, including the more famouse ones, are collected in a stylish, glorious cd. If you are a true and hardcore fan of Chopin's piano music, then this is the cd for you. Here are his masterpieces for the piano, interpreted to perfection by the pianist Ashkenazy. There are many who argue that there are other pianists who can do a good Chopin piece. This is true. But Ashkenazy gives a terrific performance. The great works are here- the waltzes, the etudes, the nocturnes, mazurkas, ballades, polonnaises and sonatas. The "Minute Waltz" you will find no greater rendition, "the Military Polonnaise" the beautifully romantic Nocturne No. 2 in E flat opus 9, a beautiful musical depiction of the Seine river in Paris and of course the Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, the famous "Funeral March" whose third movement is the highlight- that ominous, dark passage in minor key followed by a breathtaking and beautiful pianissimo change from fortissimo. It is to me, a piece describing a death, followed by the hope of heaven, or peace, then a return to the inevitable death theme. Chopin's piano music revolutionized romantic works for piano, and together with Franz Lizst created a movement that would be followed by other geniuses of the instrument. A must have for fans of piano and Romanticism

In my opinion, this is the apex of classical music. You will not find a better CD for Chopin or any piano recordings. There may be plenty of comparable CDs, but nothing can claim to surpass this.

Although some pieces are not as good as those by other artists, Ashkenazy's interpretations of Chopin are the best I've ever heard. Add in his amazing technical performance and you've got some sublime music.

Listening to these pieces have immensely helped my own Chopin reportoire. I don't play to mimic Ashkenazy, but I use his insights and apply my own style over that and end up with something exponentially better than what I could produce on my own.

The price is something you have to seriously consider. A hundred bucks. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but that's 48 cents per song. And you'll listen to these songs dozens of times, at least, I guarantee. Plus it's a great deal... if you were to get all the Ashkenazy-Chopin CDs available on Amazon, overlapping pieces as little as possible, you'd pay $30 more and still not have everything.

This is an investment for life and will definitely remain one of my favorite CD sets for decades. Decades. A hundred bucks for decades of amazing music. This stuff is larger than today, larger than life.. music this good is something you can't afford to pass up because of temporary financial difficulties.

I am not a classical music expert but I am an expert when it comes to a great product. I have listened to the works of rubenstein and Horowitz, but nothing is comparable to this great collection of polands favorite son. The nocturnes are dreamy and romantic. The other pieces though not as mesmerizing have plenty of depth and feeling. This is a collection that you will listen to over and over again. Although this music is great anytime, it's especially meaningful during a light rainfall. Go ahead and make this investment. It's only $100.00. For the next 100 days save a dollar and you will have it paid for. I promise you won't be sorry. Excellent! Excellent!

If one uses the word "artist" in the strictest, highest sense, Ashkenazy is that - an artist above most artists. Some performers specialize, and they record the complete piano works of Beethoven, or Mozart, etc. What a marvelous feat. Ashkenazy, however, has gone a long way toward recording the complete works for piano! One might think the man is a machine, but he is not. Every recording of his is a truly new, quite original approach, and his readings always make wonderful sense. Ashkenazy never uses his lightning, ultra-precise technique to show what he can do, but he will use it aplenty if he must (the Rachmaninoff Etude Tableaux), but in many pieces where performers zip through a passage, Ashkenazy will sometimes play that passsage slower than we've ever heard. For him, the music, the artistry of a work is the goal. I have only one question. Why did the producer (and the artist) use that piano in the Chopin Etudes! The instrument's hammers are in dire need of voicing (very metallic), and it's out of tune. In the "Winter Wind" introduction, for example, the sound is painful. The playing of the etudes (one of the pillars of the piano repertoire) is superior to all other recordings. It just seemed so strange that the piano's poor condition would be overlooked. Ashkenazy is one of a small group of transcendent pianists of the last 150 years. There have not been many like him. Hopefully he will keep playing for a long, long time.