Customer Reviews

Chopin: Polonaise brilliante; Cello Sonata; Piano Trio

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

 

 

Most composers of the 19th century wrote music for the many genres: symphony, concerto, chamber, songs, opera, church and solo piano. Yet, Chopin is known almost exclusively for solo piano as the vast majority of his compostions were for the piano exclusively. Maybe one shouldn't be critical of this fact as the dozens of compositions he crafted are among the most timeless, faultless and deeply satisfying musical utterances we have.

The pieces on this CD are just about all the chamber output of Chopin. Given his preference for the salon versus large concert hall, you would think Chopin would have written more. But, as in nearly every composition he wrote, these pieces are equisitely crafted and are well worth any Chopin or chamber music lover.

Also hard to critique are the three superlative musicians here performing. Yo Yo Ma's cello is always a delight to behold and finds the right romantic flavors in these pieces. He is well teamed with Emaunel Ax - a pianist not known for great pyro-technics or List-like flair but just good-old, solid, satisfying, poised Chopin pianism. Last, violinist Pamela Frank is a master of her craft and always turns in lovely, thoughtful and deeply wrought performances. The balance of the three is ideal and blend harmoniously to illuminate these marvelous pieces - which are not very widely know but should be more. The final Polonaise Brilliante for piano by Eva Osinska is an extra treat to behold with an interesting history explained in the liner notes.

The Sony sound quality is quite good with nothing to fault. A great disc to listen to often. Compositions - 4 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound - 5 stars.

It would be difficult to imagine having to live without ever hearing this piece. It's really too bad that the Chopin trio does not receive the recognition it deserves. It is an original, whimsical...truly magical piece. Each movement is unique and profoundly beautiful - as one would expect from Chopin.

Buy this CD! Or at least find some other way to hear this masterpiece! Don't let it go unappreciated any longer!

I've been searching the web (ptp) and stores for this and it is really the absolute most beautifull performance one can find, the balance in play, volume between these instruments is more then perfect, you can clearly hear every single detail Chopin wrote. The cd also contains the piano solo version of the Polonaise brillante in C Major op. 3 performed by Eva Osinka and that one is breathtaking too. Its an hommage to this genius composer Chopin he deserves.

I bought this cd a few months ago and still listen to it frequently. Ma, Ax, and Frank give the best performance of the trio that i have ever heard. Up until the time i bought this selection I had never heard of any of the performers (hard to believe). But once i listened to them play i immediately began to add more of their works into my music library. The choice of songs and artists on this cd makes it imperative to buy.

This cd inholds two milestones of the chamber-music-output of Frederic Chopin; the TRIO, an early master work and the CELLO SONATA, one of the Great Romantic Cello Sonatas. This cd DOES NOT cover all the chamber works he composed. He wrote also music for TWO PIANOS, for PIANO FOUR-HANDS, and music for FLUTE and PIANO- as well as a joint composition with August Franchomme (the dedicatee of the Cellos Sonata) for CELLO and PIANO.

I must say i really dont like much this recording of the Cello Sonata, it sounds expressionistic, even aggressive and somewhat strained and heavy. The sound is also sort of dark. I have never liked the sound of Ma's cello, it really is not not very beautiful...
The Trio is fairly well played and i agree with the other reviewer that the sound-quality is very good. The only thing is the intrepation itself and it is the style which i find lacking in elegance and grace, even in balance. Especially in the outer movements where the piano figurations are played way too heavy- and the deliciuos polyphony of the finale is lost. Also,the tempo is actually sort of incorrect in the Scherzo; way too slow- since the scherzi of Chopin should have a beat by bar, not three! It should be much quicker and lighter (just check the the metronome-markings Chopin gave). Also, for some reason they dont play the magnifiscent and exhilarating final stretta indicated by Chopin which goes ever quicker and quicker leaving the the listener in a dizzy state...! Therefore i recommend a classic recording of this work by the legendary Trio Oistrakh (though it has inferior sound-quality; by far it is the best rendition of this precious and in a way very fragile work.

They have here an interesting solo piano version of the polonaise brillante, op. 3 but in the original cello-piano version they dont play the original cello-part but a revised one by Emanuel Feuermann.

A good cd, but not perfect.

You never know when you are at the end of things, consequently you never know how the arc of your creative efforts will be discussed. This is Late Chopin. There are beautiful themes. Complicated piano themes and variations and beautiful cello playing. If you like Chopin and who doesn't - this album will not disappoint.

'Jankiewicz" well that is Polish. I guess I am a little biased but we have a composer who is Polish, a pianist who is Polish and a listener who is Polish. OOps I forgot the cellist. Not Polish but definately good. I have Mr. Axe's perfomances of the Chopin piano concerti with period ensemble and that lead me to these recordings. Not period ensemble but a pleasure to listen to none-the-less. Now we know Ma can play baroque cello so what could he do here?

The recording of Chopin's works is excellent. That is to say the musicians bring a wonderful energy and depth to the pieces. It's just that my favorite composer, Frederic, seems almost awkward in the creation of these sonatas, both piano and cello. Each has a kind of shallow quality not found in the composer's brilliant ballads, scherzos, short piano pieces and concerti. Still, his sonatas, remain far more substantial, in my mind, than the ponderous "sturm und drang" chamber music of Brahms and the "ride 'em cowboy, 19th Century Dvorak. However, chamber music remains magical in the canons of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Debussy, whose late and delicately magnificent chamber music seems almost too good for people.