Search - Frederic Chopin, Cécile Ousset :: Chopin: Piano Sonatas #2 & 3, Ballades, Op. 23,38,47 & 52, Scherzi Op. 20, 31, 39 & 54; Cecile Ousset

Frederic Chopin, Cécile Ousset
Chopin: Piano Sonatas #2 & 3, Ballades, Op. 23,38,47 & 52, Scherzi Op. 20, 31, 39 & 54; Cecile Ousset
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
1. I. Grave
2. II. Scherzo
3. III. Marche Funebre
4. IV. Presto
5. Presto Con Fuoco
6. Presto
7. Presto Con Fuoco
8. Presto
Track Listings (8) - Disc #2
1. I. Allegro Maestoso
2. II. Scherzo
3. III. Largo
4. IV. Finale: Presto
5. No. 1 - Largo
6. No. 2 - Andantino
7. No. 3 - Allegretto
8. No. 4 - Andante Con Moto

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CD Details

All Artists: Frederic Chopin, Cécile Ousset
Title: Chopin: Piano Sonatas #2 & 3, Ballades, Op. 23,38,47 & 52, Scherzi Op. 20, 31, 39 & 54; Cecile Ousset
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: EMI Classics
Release Date: 6/1/2004
Album Type: Original recording remastered
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Forms & Genres, Ballads, Sonatas, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Romantic (c.1820-1910)
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPCs: 724358551129, 724358551150

Synopsis

Amazon.com

This 2-CD set presents some of Chopin's most beloved masterpieces--the two great Sonatas and the complete Scherzi and Ballades--in splendid performances. Perhaps the most immediately striking characteristic of Cécile Ousset's playing, apart from her consummate mastery of the instrument, is its extraordinary clarity and transparency, no matter how full the texture. She must use the pedal very sparingly. Her passage-work is brilliant, her runs are like chains of flawless pearls, no matter how fast the tempo. Even the Presto Finales of the two sonatas are crystal clear. Every line stands out, and the balance between her hands is perfect. Musically, her most immediately striking characteristic is her uninhibited, surging romanticism. She has the courage to follow the dictates of her heart, pushing forward and pulling back with the ebb and flow of the music; she also freely changes the tempo along with its changing moods, but her transitions are always poised and controlled, and there is plenty of time to enjoy and caress melodic and harmonic details. Above all, she brings out all of Chopin's mercurial emotions, from inward reverie and melancholy, mysteriousness, elfin delicacy, majestic grandeur and solemnity, poetry, ardor, humor, to soaring ecstasy and serene resignation. Unfortunately, she is badly served by the recorded sound, which is harsh, clangorous and tinny; though she obviously commands a large range of colors and nuances, they must be surmised rather than being actually heard. The recordings were originally made in 1987 and 1988, this compilation dates from 2003; surely the beauty of the music and the high quality of the playing deserve better technological results. --Edith Eisler

CD Reviews

A Noteworthy Set...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 07/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Recordings made in London, 1987. Sound is good.

.

Ousset has a very smooth-fluid technique; her touch is light but stable.

Timing is good overall: she doesn't rush things, nor does she drag.

She has a nice sense also of rhythm and dynamics, contrast and continuity.

In the lento Marche funèbre, for example, Ousset catches very nicely the dreamy lyrical middle section, and she doesn't plod the March (as some do!): this makes for a very pleasing reading.

Ousset has a good vision of Chopin's architectonics.

She plays with excellent rhythm, but without an offensively aggressive attack.

In the No. 4 Scherzo, for example, she gets a nice spring and bounce without being cloyingly impish: a very good balance.

Ousset has good control with the Ballades in neither letting them get too weepy nor maniacally heroic; her reading of the Third Sonata is VERY compelling.

A noteworthy contribution to the Chopin discography.

.

Comparative timings for Chopin's Third Sonata:

Cécile Ousset (1987):

I. [11'48"]

II. [02'43"]

III. [09'34"]

IV. [05'01"]

Maria João Pires (2008):

I. [13'42"]

II. [02'43"]

III. [10'23"]

IV. [05'48"]

Glenn Gould (1970):

I. [10'01"]

II. [02'18"]

III. [08'34"]

IV. [04'58"]

Tamás Vásáry (1963):

I. [08'53"]

II. [02'51"]

III. [09'22"]

IV. [05'09"]

Wilhelm Kempff (1958):

I. [08'51"]

II. [02'40"]

III. [08'32"]

IV. [05'22"]

Cyprien Katsaris (1991):

I. [13'28"]

II. [03'06"]

III. [10'13"]

IV. [05'03"]

Chopin

Glenn Gould Edition: Chopin / Mendelssohn / Scriabin / Prokofiev

Chopin: Piano Works [Etudes - Impromptus - Sonatas - Concertos - Mazurkas - Polonaise - Berceuse]

Wilhelm Kempff plays Chopin

Chopin: The Three Piano Sonatas

.

Chopin: Ballades Nos. 1-4; Scherzos Nos. 1-4

Chopin: 4 Ballades/Barcarolle, Op.60/Fantasie in F

Chopin: 4 Scherzi/Berceuse/Barcarolle

."

Sound fine on original

HB | Fort Mill, SC | 06/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have the original CD of the 3rd Sonata and the Ballades. The sound is great on that CD and like Edith Eisler said, the performances are superb. At the super low price, this double CD is an absolute bargain."