Search - Frederic Chopin, Wilhelm Backhaus :: Chopin: Piano Works

The Winter Wind

Anton Zimmerling | Moscow, Russia | 03/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best Chopin albums all the way round, though the pianist is neither Slavic nor East European. That the name of Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) is not always associated with Chopin, is mainly a problem of music critics: he excelled in Chopin from the beginning of his long career and was credited the first complete recording of Études Opp. 10 & 25 (1927). Here, in 1950 and 1952 studio Decca sessions, the old lion is in an astonishingly good shape. Moreover, his playing of Chopin is marked with an exceptional dramatic force - features sometimes lacking from his Olympic Beethoven and Brahms recordings. And his unique timbre and a superhuman left hand are here!

You have learned from some cult figures (e.g. Ignaz Friedman or Thomas Mann) that Chopin's harmonies forebode Wagner? Here you may hear it - try Backhaus's rendition of Chopin's B flat minor sonata, Op. 35 (rec. July, 1950): try the opening bars of the first movement or triumphant chords in its conclusion. I am not claiming it is the *best* version - I still love Rachmaninov's (1930 Rachmaninoff Plays Chopin) and Godowsky's (1929 Godowsky: The Pianists' Pianist) accounts, but is one of the most original and uncompromising versions. The author of the liner notes to this CD blames Backhaus for understating the 2nd subject of the first movement. That's it!! It is the absence of the contrast of the two subjects that makes this piece of music so integrated in Backhaus's reading. The following Scherzo is in the same vein. The funeral march is more conventional but the final presto is again a stunner. At first, the piano figurations sound subdued and quiet, but the final B flat minor chord is tremendous - can make cemetery shadows shiver...

On this CD Backhaus also plays 13 Études - 5 from Op. 10 (Nos. 2, 5, 8 & 3) and 8 from Op. 25 (Nos. 1-3, 6-9 & 11). All these, except for Op. 10, No. 3 rec. in 1950, were recorded in October, 1952. He played 7 of them (Op. 25, Nos. 1-3, 6, 8 & 9, Op. 10, No. 5) a year later at the famous live recital in Lugano on June 11, 1953 (available on different labels, for instance on (ANDROMEDA ANDRCD 5043). It is tempting to compare Backhaus's great 1927 complete version (available on Centurion 2013 Wilhelm Backhaus) with these late remakes but I won't do it here. My personal favorites are two slow Études - Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor and Op. 10 No. 3 in E -performed in a very strict and constructive manner, and a fabulous `Winter wind' (Op. 25 No. 11 in A minor). I am not touching the technical aspect - 68 yrs old Backhaus still could blow down most 20 years old virtuosi (this piano monster was not selfish and kept practicing in his late years). What is astonishing is that Backhaus outclassed his 1927 version and produced a grandiose account which bears a comparison with Josef Lhevinne (available on NAXOS -see my review on amazon,com Lhevinne: The Complete Recordings). Coincidence or not, but Backhaus 1952 reminds more of Lhevinne 1935 than Backhaus 1927. Neither Lhevinne nor Backhaus 1952 try to soften and `trim' this study. Lhevinne rushes with full force from the start, while Backhaus begins in an ascetic manner and then gradually increases the tension to a thundering climax. A tour de force.

A minor disappointment is Chopin's 1st Ballad, but the Mazurkas are very fine, the best Backhaus's achievement in them being Op.24 No. 4 in B flat minor (did he train this tonality specially? Who knows..). Certainly, it is not the most passionate reading - try Friedman (Naxos, vol. 3 - see my review) and not the most `ethereal' one - try Michelangeli or his imitators. But it is beautiful.

To conclude: this CD shows a great pianist who had stamina to play most challenging pieces of Chopin with brio and a great musician who had important things to tell.

If you are preoccupied with puristic ideas or want your Chopin to be small-scaled and sweet, don't buy this CD. If you like great music-making and great pianism, you will treasure this CD.

A final remark for record collectors. The same Chopin recital with Backhaus is issued on Archipel (ARPCD 0333). The Archipel CD sounds more LP-like, which has its nice moments. But Testament transfers on the reviewed CD are better.



Anton Zimmerling

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