Chopin – Nocturnes Complete recording - Maria João Pires (2LP)
Frédéric Chopin - Nocturnes N°1 to 21
Maria João Pires, piano
2LPs, gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g Virgin vinyl
Record color : Black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Pallas (Germany)
Label : Analogphonic
Original label : Deutsche Grammophon
Recorded in January 1995, January 1996 and April 1996 at Musikhochschule Munich, and in June 1996 at Henry Wood Hall, London
Engineered by Reinhild Schmidt, Wolf-Dieter Karwatky
Mastered by Maarten de Boer
Produced by Helmut Burk
Originally released in 1996
Reissued in 2016
Tracks :
Side A :
- No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1: Larghetto
- No. 2 In E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2: Andante
- No. 3 In B Major, Op. 9 No. 3: Allegretto
- No. 4 In F Major, Op. 15 No. 1: Andante Cantabile
- No. 5 In F Sharp Major, Op. 15 No. 2: Larghetto
- No. 6 In G Minor, Op. 15 No. 3: Lento
Side B :
- No. 7 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 1: Larghetto
- No. 8 In D Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2 : Lento Sostenuto
- No. 9 In B Major, Op 32 No. 1: Andante Sostenuto
- No. 10 In A Flat Major, Op. 32 No. 2: Lento
- No. 11 In G Minor, Op. 37 No. 1: Andante Sostenuto
Side C :
- No. 12 In G Major, Op. 37 No. 2: Andantino
- No. 13 In C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1: Lento
- No. 14 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 48 No. 2: Andantino
- No. 15 In F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1: Andante
Side D :
- No. 16 In E Flat Major, Op. 55 No. 2: Lento Sostenuto
- No. 17 In B Major, Op. 62 No. 1: Andante
- No. 18 In E Major, Op. 62 No. 2: Lento
- No. 19 In E Minor, Op. Post. 72 No. 1: Andante
- No. 20 In C Sharp Minor, Op. Post.: Lento Con Gran Espressione
- No. 21 In C Minor, Op. Post. 2:48
Reviews:
“Passion rather than insouciance is Pires's keynote. Here is an intensity and drama that scorn all complacent salon or drawing-room expectations. How she relishes Chopin's central storms, creating a vivid and spectacular yet unhistrionic contrast with all surrounding serenity or 'embalmed darkness'. The con fuoco of Op 15 No 1 erupts in a fine fury and in the first Nocturne, Op 9 No 1, Pires's sharp observance of Chopin's appassionato marking comes like a prophecy of the coda's sudden blaze. Chopin, she informs us in no uncertain terms, was no sentimentalist. More intimately, in Op-15 No 3 (where the music's wavering sense of irresolution led to the sobriquet 'the Hamlet Nocturne') Pires makes you hang on to every note in the coda's curious, echoing chimes, and in the dolcissimo conclusion to No 8 (Op 27 No 2) there's an unforgettable sense of 'all passion spent', of gradually ebbing emotion. Pires with her burning clarity has reinforced our sense of Chopin's stature and created a new range of possibilities (showing us that there's life after Rubinstein). Naturally, Rubinstein's legendary cycles possess a graciousness, an ease and elegance reflecting, perhaps, a long-vanished belle époque. Yet moving ahead, one has no hesitation in declaring Maria João Pires among the most eloquent master- musicians of our time.” The Gramophone Magazine
Ratings:
Discogs : 4.74 / 5