Search - Frederic Chopin, Vladimir Ashkenazy :: Chopin: The Piano Works [Box Set]

The genius of Chopin via the mastery of Ashkenazy

Gregory J. Hrivnak | Totowa, NJ United States | 10/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have listened to the works of a number of composers, but Chopin always stands out with his remarkable ability to translate raw human emotion into musical tones from the piano. In my opinion, what other composers might have sought to accomplish with the variety of voices in the orchestra, Chopin was able to do with one instrument. To replicate this is no easy task, and Ashkenazy does a fantastic job in this set of CDs.
The music of Chopin contains so much pure poetic beauty, but I think his true genius comes through in pieces written in the minor keys. Chopin was a truly great blues composer of his time. I suppose that the most common vehicle for expressing "blues" or "tragedy" in that era was the opera. But Chopin could accomplish it without the need for words. He knew how to express human pain and angst. Take the Nocturne in E minor, for example (Opus 72 #1). If you can appreciate the blues, then I'm sure you'd have no trouble hearing the pathos in that piece played by Ashkenazy. To understand, appreciate, and especially to play the blues, one must be able to feel the blues. And again, to express this musically is no easy task. For the piano, it requires subtle technique with dynamics and license in meter (which Chopin was occasionally criticized for) to truly translate the emotion. Ashkenazy does this quite well. I'm no expert in judging the electronic quality of a recorded CD, but I detected no flaws in that respect. I am an appreciator of the music. And in that light, I definitely recommend this CD set."

Great Music...Great Performer (not complete Chopin)

Elias-Axel Pettersson | Maryland | 05/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Most of us have heard the great Chopin interpreters, including Cortot, Rubinstein, Arrau, Gilels. Certainly Ashkenazy belongs in the top echelon of Chopin performers. After his success at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw (actually, he received 2nd prize to the disdain of a certain Michelangeli, who refused to sign the final juror's decision), Ashkenazy has recorded the complete mainstream piano repertoire (with a few exceptions).



He is particularly great with the Scherzi and Ballades (the fourth Scherzo was one of his war-horse pieces for quite some time). His technique is one of the most incredible ever to surface in the world of pianists (for those of you who don't believe me, listen to the octave jump towards the end of his recording of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz!). He also has a very musical mind suited to Chopin.



A downside to Ashkenazy's recording output is that he sometimes records "too" much, and therefore the quality is sacrificed (this is apparent with other composers, though not so much with Chopin). In addition, this is not the entirety of Chopin's solo piano output. There are a few notable exceptions (there is a solo version of a work written for orchestra and piano which is omitted, which I believe Mr. Ashkenazy later recorded, though I have been unable to find a copy as of yet). In addition, Ashkenazy sometimes has a tendency to play quite vertically and therefore has an edgy sound (this is more apparent if you listen to his Rachmaninoff recordings...the later ones, as the edgy quality is not so apparent in his earlier recordings).



Otherwise, this is great collection to own. The recording/sound quality is quite good and one can never tire of such wonderful music."

Great experience

Ray Hoole | Brandeston, Suffolk, UK | 01/11/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lovers of Chopin and admirers of Ashkenazy will find much to enjoy in these 13 CDs, and need not hesitate to buy. Be warned, however, that the recordings span ten years from 1974 to 1984 and although the piano sound is well captured in typical Decca fashion, with the percussive character of the instrument to the fore, there is considerable variation in the quality of the venues used. The booklet gives a venue listing, but identifies neither the dates nor the venues of individual items. We are told, however, which items are DDD and which are ADD. In general, the ADD items fare better: here, the worst you have to contend with is the occasional birdsong realistically captured along with the performance in hand. Several of the DDD items are marred by excessive background noise in the form of low-frequency rumble from what sounds like an air-conditioning system. ADD and DDD items are somewhat indiscriminately mixed, too (although the sounds are usually very well matched, and you will not always be aware of the change from one to the other). For example, if you are familiar with, and love, the analogue recordings of the Ballades and Scherzos, you may be disappointed to find that Ballades 1 and 4 and Scherzos 1 and 4 are new digital recordings. And, to make matters worse, Ballade No.4 is one of the DDD recordings plagued by the low-frequency background noise, and in this case the noise is allowed to continue after the performance is over, right through the pause and into the first chord of Scherzo No.1, where, quite audibly, it stops. Crazy editing policy, Decca! Despite these complaints, I greatly enjoyed listening to Ashkenazy's Chopin throughout the 13 CDs, and the set will remain in my collection, frequently visited."