BaL 30.11.13 - Chopin: 4 Ballades

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am
Building a Library:
Jessica Duchen with a personal recommendation from recordings of Chopin's Four Ballades.

Available versions:

Alessandra Ammara
Claudio Arrau
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Bernard d'Ascoli
Emanuel Ax

Jean-Sebastien Bardon
Idel Biret
Jorge Bolet
Felipe Browne

Alfred Cortot
Sequeira Costa

Bella Davidovich
Nokolai Demidenko
Francois-Rene Duchable

Serge Edelmann

Vladimir Feltsman

Bernd Glemser
Nelson Goerner (1848 Pleyel)
Gary Graffman
Friedrich Gulda

Adam Harasaiewicz
Etsuko Hirose
Stephen Hough

Amie Katz
Anne Kauppi
Freddy Kempf
Kevin Kenner
Evgeny Kisson
Paul Komen
Pawel Kowalski

Hyekyung Lee
Louis Lortie
Jean-Marc Luisada

Witold Malcuzynski
Eugene Mursky
Hamish Milne
Benno Moiseiwitsch
Istvan Moravec
Jean Muller

Alexander Paley
Murray Perahia
Vanessa Perez
Vlado Perlemuter
Nikolai Petrov
Maurizio Pollini
Vassily Primakov

Sviatoslav Richter
Jerome Rose
Arthur Rubinstein

Lise de al Salle
Nima Sarkechik
Staffan Scheja
Arthur Schoonderwoerd (1836 Pleyel)
Yuan Sheng (1845 Pleyel)
Wojciech Swutala (2 versions: 1848 Pleyel & Steinway)
Istvan Szekely

Cedric Tiberghein
Valerie Tryon
Helene Tysman

Tamas Vasary

Nicolas Wickham-Irving
Earl Wild

Krystian Zimerman
Gerrit Zitterbart

[gradus]

I got to to know these pieces through Vasary's recording. Several pianists listed are unknown to me and I'm looking forward to the review.

[Nick Armstrong]

Vasary

Big fan of Perahia in these, too.

Love these pieces, among the best of Chopin for me....

Should be a good BAL, though if only Stephen Plaistow or David Owen-Norris were the reviewer

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If you only want no. 4, there are many more...

[Andrew Preview]

Big fan of Perahia in these, too.

Ditto.

[LeMartinPecheur]

What a very long list, with so many pianists I've never heard of!

Do I need another 'complete set'? I invested as a student in the Ashkenazy Decca LP and have added a BBC MM Vasary CD and an Arrau, plus a good number of single performances. Not very much space left on the shelves (my wife would say less than none), so I reckon something will have to be very special to tempt me

[BBMmk2]

Be quite a good BaL this! Hmm pity Argerich didn't record these. I have Ashkenazy. Great to see Murray Perahia in the winning sloot here.

[slarty]

I have Bolet commercial and Live, Gulda, Pollini and Wild. no one plays no 1 better than michelangeli.
With a host of other singles, I don't know if I would want another, but I will enjoy hearing the review.

[Don Petter]

What a very long list, with so many pianists I've never heard of!

I thought the current Malcuzynski Icon box included the Ballades? Not in Alp's list.

Another set I have, but I suspect nla, is the French Sony issue with Casadesus.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I thought the current Malcuzynski Icon box included the Ballades? Not in Alp's list.

To quote Kenneth Wolstenholme, "It is now."

[Alison]

Didn't Manny Ax win last time ? David Owen-Norris I think.

[Sir Velo]

Much as I love these pieces, why are the Ballades coming round again, when there is so much repertory out there which hasn't been featured?

Spare me DON, by the way - far too idiosyncratic! Let's give Jessica Duchen a chance. I remember being quietly impressed by her review of the Faure Cello Sonatas.

[Nick Armstrong]

quietly impressed

That made me smile. (Not sure why!)

No problem giving her a chance - I just love SP or DON (SP in preference) talking about piano music, is all. I'd rather hear Jessica on something else.

When were the Ballades last on, anyone know?

[amateur51]

That made me smile. (Not sure why!)

No problem giving her a chance - I just love SP or DON (SP in preference) talking about piano music, is all. I'd rather hear Jessica on something else.

When were the Ballades last on, anyone know?

I'm not convinced of the logic of comparing umpteen recordings of four very different pieces by the same composer. They seem to be so different from each other. The most obvious conclusion if the pieces were dealt with separately would be, for example, Rubenstein in no 1, Perahia in 2, Arrau in 3 and Hanae Kakajima in 4

One pianist in all four might be possible but is it desirable? She might end up choosing the least bad or most satisfactory (far fetched I agree, but I hope that you see my point).

It'll be interesting to see how Jessica Duchen arrives at a convincing modus operandi.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yes a tough challenge for the reviewer, only really listened to Perahia and very curious so anticipating eagerly [especially as it is not Britten ]