Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Chopin Concertos March 27, 2010
Mr. Ronald Harbach (England)
Excellent performance and recording. I presented the Chopin Piano Concerto No 1 at a recent Music Society meeting and everyone was thrilled.
 Mixed feelings January 21, 2010
abidoful (Finland)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was a recording i remember wating for, of which i heard lots of praise. And when i finally got hold of it, i rushed to buy it. I remember well, how i heard people talking about it (it was released on the 150th anniversary of Chopins death); how it would be "something quite special", something "extraordinary".- And, in a way it IS special!- Not just the way i quite hoped...
It is queer, strange, leaving many questions behind; is THIS really the definite intrepetation of these concertos? And still, it HAS so many values! I was left irritated; thankful and charmed at one side,and on the other, irritated, frustrated. Even somewhat--- angry!
Among the wonderful things are those many delicate details which Zimerman and his musicians reveal us.Those small little subleties which lay in the score and have previously been left ignored by many. These include many touches in the orchestration in the final movement of the earlier, f-minor one. Here Zimerman and his orchestra have a new refreshing look of the interplay between the soloist and ensemble in the first part of the movement. And in the middlle part we arrive- in my opinion- to the best part of these recordings. I have never heard it so robustly, yet charmingly executed, the bourdon fifths in the cellos which start this section, sounded really terrific! And in the continuation Zimerman and his ensemble reveal Chopins delicious scoring for the french horn, and later for the first violins which are playing "wrong" grace notes properly at downbeat!
There are many such similar subleties to be found. In the first movement of the e-minor concerto they play few previously omitted bars from the final tutti(nevertheless i must say i did not find these bars in my full orchestral score, edited by Paderewski. Maybe Zimerman has another source...).
Nevertheless, they dont follow these features consistently through. We are still left by many passages that unfortunately dont get much attention. One of them is the development section of the e-minor concerto, which is simply disappointing. Here Chopin allows the thematic development wander through the whole orchestra, from instrument to instrument, and
well,THAT definately would have been a passage one was hoping to hear! And they just simply overkooked it... All you can hear, is the pianist playing the passagework! A much more better job has been done here by the young Argerich with Abbado in their early recording, which is the most gratifying rendering of this passage up to date.
What is also questionable, is their treatment of the tuttis. The first tutti of the e-minor concerto has no "risoluto" or "maestoso" in it (specificly indicated by the composer),but all the more of a feeling of a languid romance- or a "chanson"! Also, i would call the excessive use of glissandi as upright "cheesy"; what are they aiming by all of this!? It is all "different" to be sure, but also very questionable...!
So in the end, i find these intrepetations many ways unconformable. On the one hand we HAVE some wonderful reading of some of the ensembles, but on the other, many of them have been- as i said- overlooked. Moreover, their handling of the tempis is similarly baffling. Especially their numerous ritartandis which are heavily overemphasised; they sound little pretentious.
Zimerman IS one of the great pianists of our time. He has made, for instance a wonderful recording of the violin sonatas by R.Strauss and Ottorini Respighi with Kyung Wa Chung, and here in these concertos his playing is very polished. Polished to an excess. As a result being emotionally cool...
Would I recommend these renderings of these concertos by Zimerman and his Polish Festival Orchestra? Well- if you are a total "Chopin fanatic"- perhaps i would, since they shed light to SOME of the delicious features of these early masterworks. And they do contain much excellent playing by Zimerman and his ensemble. But- since they also contain much that is troublesome-i would advise you to turn to an early recording made by the young Martha Argerich (with Claudio Abbado- of the e-minor) and the other by Murray Perahia (with Zubin Mehta-both of them). The former being the most emotional one-and containing such an amount of heartfelt drama making it difficult ever to be surpassed- and the latter one the most congenial and most refreshing.
In a way, this recording remains a curiosity, by the famous pianist here mislead!
Delightful Listening November 24, 2009
I. A. Abbott
I had only recently heard Chopin's Concerto No 1 in a BBC Radio 3 broadcast and badly wanted to hear it again.I am truly thrilled with this recording. The verve and delicacy of the piano and the contrast and body provided by the orchestra make this quite addictive but I do not intend to make it so familiar that I loose the magic.
Lush August 10, 2009
Mr. J. P. Pryor
Chopin is a master of musical beauty.
It's a shame that he's not more popular.
These are two of the most beautiful piano concertos written.
Relax with Chopin August 2, 2009
Elsa Alice
This Album is just so beautiful and relaxing. It is a must have for anyone that loves Classical Music. Nearly an hour and a half of perfect peace. Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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