Search - Frederic Chopin, Maurizio Pollini :: Chopin: Nocturnes

Visionary performances that move the heart...and open the mi

Nimitta | Boston, MA | 04/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Nocturnes occupy a special place in Chopin's oeuvre. Their composition spans most of his creative career, with the first set, Op. 9, begun when the composer was still in his teens, and his last piece, the E minor, probably completed in his final year and published posthumously as Op. 72. More importantly, Chopin transformed the genre of the `night-piece' - conceived by the Irish pianist John Field mostly as gentle and lyrical - into a far more intimate and psychologically vivid experience.



Although each of Chopin's pieces develops in its own magnificent way, all seem to depict a nocturnal realm from which the glaring world of objects and affairs has withdrawn into shadow, laying bare the soul. Typically, one senses oneself in the midst of some sort of repose - a tranquil reflection, ethereal waltz, evening stroll or narcotic dreamscape - whereupon some powerful inner force comes to be aroused and must play itself out, tugging the heart back and forth between passion and placidity. The evening's calm is interrupted by many kinds of energies - erotic, religious, anguished, patriotic - but usually returns by the end, transfigured. It is almost as if Chopin has found a way to render his, and our, most private, inward conflicts in the soundworld of the piano, and apply to them the balm of his most healing resolutions.



Although the nocturnes are far from the most technically challenging of Chopin's works, their innermost truths have eluded all but the most masterful and fully realized of pianists. There are a handful of distinguished recordings of the set, some including two other posthumous nocturnes attributed to the composer, others not. Each of these sets - by Arrau, Moravec, and Rubinstein in the `30's, as well as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Biret, and Pires - is impeccably felt and performed, if not perfectly recorded, and manages to capture much of Chopin's spirit. In particular, Ivan Moravec's group, performed on a plummy Bosendorfer, are uniquely expansive and magical.



That said, Maurizio Pollini's extraordinary new recording of the nocturnes is almost beyond words. Now 64, the Italian pianist's playing has arrived at a sublime convergence of technical command, wisdom, and open-heartedness, to a degree that I sense is unprecedented in the history of the instrument. Pollini's performances go so much deeper, reveal so much more than any of the others that, even after just two or three listenings, you may never be able to hear these pieces any other way. Alone among interpreters, Pollini plunges without the slightest digital or emotional hesitation into the often disorienting contrasts that Chopin has written into these pieces, recognizing that their psychological counterparts are just as intense and mercurial. At the same time, no other pianist is more tender (listen to Op. 62, #1, for example), humbly devotional (Op. 48, #3), or creates a more hypnotically dream-like atmosphere (Op. 27, #1).



As always, Pollini's sovereign qualities are abundantly evident: utter clarity, directness, lucidity, digital independence and evenness of attack. The DG tonmeisters have produced a superbly lifelike aural image of Pollini's majestic Hamburg Steinway (perhaps a little too lifelike - in a few cuts the pianist's breathing is distinctly audible). But by far the most compelling aspect of these performances is the intuitive way he captures their fantasy-like qualities. His emotional, intellectual and spiritual commitment is total, suggesting that the nocturnes' inner world can only emerge to the extent that the pianist has opened himself to us. One feels as if one is hearing them for the first time, and that within most of these miniatures is an epic journey into the unconscious and back.



Like Pollini's recent recordings of Schumann's Davidbundlertanze and the Diabelli Variations of Beethoven, this set is a treasure - the kind of marvel only possible in the hands and heart of a master at the peak of his powers. I cherish it!"

Other worldly

Lunablu | Australia | 05/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After seeing the 5 star rating and 'Other worldly' description, you're probably waiting for me to gush about this double CD set. Well yes however, it didn't start that way. Please allow me to explain:



I have heard and am thoroughly familiar with the Barenboim, Ashkenazy and Claudio Arrau interpretations of these Nocturnes (and occasional versions by other pianists). So, I was curious to hear Pollini's version of these beautiful piano pieces. My first listens were, to say the least, unexpected bordering on uncomfortable. The interpretations sounded 'alien' as if Pollini was almost playing the wrong music or at least, the 'wrong way'. It was jarring to listen to and I was rather taken aback and upset that my money was wasted.



However, I decided to persist. To make a fair evaluation, my first dozen or so listens were without the music score and without comparison to any other pianist. And even with about a dozen listens, I had only warmed slightly towards his interpretations. At this juncture, I thought the time was right to compare him with other pianists....



Well, this is where the tide turned (and rather drammatically at that!!). I started listening to various other pianists and it dawned on me why I found Pollini's set so jarring. Thru generations of pianists, I had been conditioned to listening to the Nocturnes a certain way. Give or take a little, most pianists seem to play the Nocturnes in a similar type manner and that is, with layer upon layer of varnish and rubato which has become so ingrained, that we've partially lost the sight of the music that lays at its core. I was so conditioned to listening to the music this way that I didn't think there was any other way to play them.



Well, there is! Pollini has stripped away most of the excessive layers of 'varnish' to reveal the essence of the music again (and, as it was meant to be played!). And comparisons with other pianists, scream this difference! The overly exaggerated turns and phrasing and rubatos of other pianists are like eating candy floss - yummy at first but sickening by the end. This is brought home further when you read the musical score with Pollini's version and then the other pianists. Pollini takes very few liberties (if at all) and if so, rather subtly and discreetly. He aims to convey the musicality and essence of the piece without the pianist distorting it to his own ends.



Pollini has a knack of making his versions of music the standard of reference (take his versions of the Chopin etudes and Prokofief's seventh sonata)....and guess what, he's done it with these pieces as well.



Pls note the recording is excellent but a little forward which sometimes may accentuate some notes as sounding a little 'severe'. An Amazon reviewer has mentioned ' background noises' like someone is brushing on the microphone. I know the noises he is referring to but they are only of Pollini's breathing. He is inhaling/exhaling in a slightly exaggerated manner often at climactic points of the pieces. I personally don't feel they are intrusive and they don't happen that often. However, I can't understand why they weren't filtered out (esp. considering technical know how these days)



If you buy this set, I implore you to give it many listens (preferably without comparison otherwise you will go back to those interpretations you know well). Once you have thoroughly familiarised yourself with Pollini's version, then go back to the ones you know...do side by side comparisons.



And let me say, I'm not dismissing those other versions, they will always have a place in my heart but for something 'otherworldly', Pollini's set of Chopin Nocturnes will be the ones I return to!"

A Visionary performance

James Peyton | columbia, sc United States | 06/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first purchased this recording, the rather austere interpretations disappointed me. I had been listening to the Pires earlier, and her much more traditional, romantic approach had made a deep impression(still a great accomplishment, better than almost all who precede her recording). However, after a few listenings, Pollini's incredible intellectual command and spiritual interpretation became evident. If someone has listened more romantic playing of these pieces such as Arrau's, then Pollini's may seem at first without any beauty or understanding of Chopin's intent because the doesn't linger of phrases, manipulate the tempo by rushing or slowing down in a dreamlike trance. Instead, Pollini finds the true essence in his perfect pianism and his visionary effort here. The sound of the recording is exemplary- I do wish they could have placed the microphones so as not to hear Pollini's occaisional and momentary gutteral utterances and breathing , but a small price to pay to hear Chopin's Nocturnes played with such insight, technique, and understanding. I rank this cd with his playing of the etudes, ballades, and preludes...all of the highest order."