I'm taking the liberty to expand the classical reviews section myself, since there's only an appalling 2 other classical reviews. I'm seriously in shock. I realize there's not that many young classical enthusiasts as myself or Mazeppa, but come on.
Anyway, this is my first review and I'm choosing piano works by my favorite composer of all time, Chopin. These works, I believe, are recorded by the great Vladimir Ashkenazy, who is one of the most prodigious classical piano recording artists around, which is definately saying somthing. (the reason I say "I believe" is because my tag editor may be off and if it is, oh well) This recording contains some of the greatest displays of technical virtuosity combined with some of the deepest emotions all blended into a single disc.
Some history on the composer, before I continue:
Born in Poland, little Frydryk Chopin grew up in Warsaw and took childhood music lessons from Wojciech Zywny and Jósef Elsner before entering the Music Conservatory in Poland. By this time he had performed in local salons and composed several rondos, polonaises and mazurkas and he decided to be a composer exclusively to piano. Public and critical acclaim increased when he gave concerts in Vienna and Warsaw, but his despair over the political repression in Poland, coupled with his musical ambitions, led him to move to Paris in 1831. He was introduced into a very high class society at that time and recieved praise from artists like Liszt, Fétis and Schumann. He quickly established himself as a private teacher and salon performer, his legendary artist's image being enhanced by frail health (he had tuberculosis), attractive looks, sensitive playing, a courteous manner and the piquancy attaching to self-exile. He gave few public concerts, though his playing was much praised, and he published much of his best music simultaneously in Paris, London and Leipzig. The breach with Sand was followed by a rapid deterioration in his health and a long visit to Britain. His funeral at the Madeleine was attended by nearly 3000 people.
Track by track:
1. Grande Polonaise Brillante- Starts out with a great arpeggiated chord and then the melody comes in. It contains a soaring melody throughout and a few short harmonized sixteenth runs. The melody in this song is it's strength. Gives visions of a slowly flowing river. Then another brighter melody is introduced giving it a spring day type feel. Great song. 5/5
2. Grande Polonaise Brillante- An orchestra introduces the peice and then the piano comes in. This is in more of a traditional polonaise style, as more of a march. It's ornamented melody breaks through the orchestra with no trouble and yet the orchestra still serves as almost a back bone for the song. The virtuosity is staggering. Another great song. 5/5
3. Ballade in G minor- Oh, the ballade. This is THE ballade. Trust me when I say this is the single greatest composition ever created by a human being. The beauty in this song alone suggests it's sent from somewhere up above. If you haven't heard this song, you haven't lived. The emotion is so great in this song that one can only struggle to fight back the tears if you really took the song in. The recording doesn't really take as much time in the beginning as others I've heard, but it's still sufficient. Best song ever, a million/5
4. Etude in C major- Etudes are a display and practice of a single technique throughout. That said, for etudes, Chopin's are very musical. This is a pretty fast one too. Stunning virtuosity. 4/5
5. Etude in A minor- You might have seen John Petrucci play this. This is a very cool technique and the song can't really be described as anything other than cool. 4/5
6. Etude in E flat minor- Interesting that etudes must be a technical practice. This is a very personal and emotional song actually. The technique that is practiced is actually somewhat hidden in the bass. Very deep. 5/5
7. Etude in C major Vivace- The technique practiced in this one is a very rhythmic one. It's not as active as the other ones but is an interesting technique nonetheless. Pretty cool song, original. 4/5
8. Etude in F major- More of a traditional etude in that it's supposed to be a practical peice rather that a display of art even though that aspect is picked up more at the end of the song. It's still a nice thing to listen to and Ashkenazy plays it very musically. 4/5
9 Etude in F minor- This is a very dark song. It's much more of a normal composition than a practice, much like the other etudes. Great clean playing in this one as well. Very emotional. 5/5
10. Etude in A flat major- This starts out with a cool harmony. The chord choices are very interesting and give a very distinct feeling. It stands out among the other etudes because it has a little more character. Very nicely played on this album. 5/5
11. Etude in E flat major- Finally the last of the etudes. This one has a cool rolling technique but gets a little tedious. Still a great composition. 3/5
12. Scherzo in B minor- This is an engaging display of technical piano work and yet there are slow passages that pull you in. The slow and fast passages alternate and the piece grabs you every with shift in emotion. This is probably one of the hardest songs to play for piano in general, yet it's still so emotional. So much to take in. This is the paragon of compositions striving to create a high register in both technicality and emotion. 5/5
13. Impromptu in A flat major- Nice ornamented melody to start. The recording quality on this song isn't as good as the other ones. It's a very nice song with great melodies and great chord progressions. 4/5
14. Impromptu in F sharp major- Slow melody with a very subtle bassline in the beginning. Then an alberti bass comes in with a lighter tone accompaning the melody. There's only a few scale runs in the first half, giving it a more humble feel that people never really associate to Chopin. Then here comes the 32nd notes. After the scale run passage, it goes to a humble slow melody. But at the very end there's an unexpected chord explosion to close this slow song. Very interesting. -4/5
15. Impromptu in G flat major- Very nice chords and clean playing. A slower section exposes itself and stops the pompous feeling. Stays slow for the rest of the song.
Pros- Everything is perfect
Great emotion.
Cons- The excess of etudes can get kind of tiring.
It's great to see some classical reviews, I'll contribute some of my own seeing as I've got lots of free time now.
