Search - Frederic Chopin, György Cziffra :: Chopin: Waltzes / Impromptus

Wonder

Mauro Guzzo Decca | São Paulo, Brazil. | 03/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wonder if the guys who reviewed this item for the penguin guide heard the same record as me. It's kind of ironic that one's willing to heap criticism on the sound quality of this recording while raving about Lipatti's classic account, the sound quality of which is actually far worse and does scant justice to both the interpreter and the composer. Truth to be told, however, it all boils down to the fact that Cziffra is and has always been a criminally neglected and underrated musician. His account is fresh, exciting, elegant and in no way inferior to Lipatti's. In fact, he holds his own against any competition as far as the waltzes are concerned. One is tempted to actually dance to his reading of, say, the grand valse brillante, thereby reminding us of why these pieces were held by the composer to be waltzes, and not soothing lullabies. It should be strongly recommended for anyone interested in Chopin's music."

CZIFFRA - a great individualist's Chopin

arffizc | LONDON | 02/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cziffra first recorded Chopin's Waltzes 1-14 along with his electrifying account of the Etudes Op.10 & 25 (now on EMI's recent CZIFFRA plays CHOPIN 5 CD box set 5 85012 2) when he moved from EMI to Philips in 1962. This recording for EMI which includes the additional five posthumous Waltzes, was recorded in 1977/78. In many ways Cziffra's account reflects the style of the so called `Golden Age' of piano playing in that he sometimes plays the left hand slightly before the right to emphasise the melody, adds extra tonic chords at the end of a piece, and plays with some personal rubato, especially in the slower Waltzes such as Op.69 No.1 (L'Adieu), C sharp minor Op.64 No.2, and the A minor (Lento) Op.34 No.2). As you would expect with Cziffra, he is brilliant in the faster Waltzes such as the famous `Minute' Waltz and A flat Op.42 while he captures the tears and wistful sadness behind the simple Waltz steps of the final Op. posth. From 1967 Cziffra used a bright toned Yamaha piano - that and the over close miking makes for a rather hard tone at times but this can be remedied if you adjust your graphic equalizer settings. This is also true to a lesser extent of the four Impromptus recorded in 1975. Here Cziffra is on top form and the improvisatory nature of the pieces suit him much better than the rather confined aristocratic style of the Waltzes. The first Impromptu flows with effortless clarity and brilliance as do the scintillating scale passages in the F sharp major. The latter piece also offers some beautiful lyrical playing as does the exquisite No.3 in G flat while the final Fantasy-Impromptus rippling semiquaver passages fairly sparkle providing an effective contrast to the beautifully `sung' heaven sent melody of the middle section. The Impromptus are certainly one of Cziffra's finest Chopin performances.

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Great price for a complete set of Chopin's waltzes and impro

Amy | 08/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Waltzes by Chopin are not a very popular series of pieces to listeners, and there are much fewer recordings of them than Chopin's when compared with the Etudes or Nocturnes. Chopin's waltzes, composed during the waltz craze in the late eighteenth century, transformed the dance music into something more delicate and gentle in accordance to his music style. The Waltzes express ideas that range from boisterous dance movements to lyrical and smooth flowing music. Yet with such a disparity, underlying these pieces is a strict waltz tempo and a concentration on the beat and meter which are perhaps not found in Chopin's other works. The CD begins with the Valse Brillante that comes in with repeated attacks of a single key before the waltz starts proper. The Waltzes in Op.34 of A Flat and F Major, among several others, are also in the same category, each of them exhilarating dance music that truly belongs in the dance hall. Georges Cziffra plays them in a direct and sensitive way. Then there are the charming waltzes such as the Minute Walt and the Waltz in A Flat Major of Op.43. Playful in nature, they sound very spontaneous to me, as though they were meant to be improvised pieces. In fact, they remind me very much of the Preludes. Here on, the music can technically be called a waltz, but it does not sound like music that can be danced to, certainly more like abstract musical pieces in their own right. The rest of the waltzes are the ones that sound most like the Chopin we know. These are intimate pieces that belong more to the atmosphere of the salon and not to the ballroom. In a way, you can say that Chopin has deviated from the form and intention of the waltz to express himself in the way he does in his nocturnes. I prefer to think that he has exercised his ingenuity to explore the possibilities that the waltz form can be taken to, to make it into something more beautiful and inspired. In the C Sharp Minor Waltz in Op.64, there is tenderness in the music, and the expressive playing is reminiscent of the Nocturnes. The Grande Valse Brillante in A Minor of Op.34 conveys a wistful and melancholic mood throughout and the frequent use of rubato in the piece makes one forget easily that the piece is supposed to be a waltz. Also in meditative mood is the short introspective Valse in E Flat Major. With these pieces Chopin seems to be more at home. By reinventing much of waltz music, the waltzes he wrote is in this form with that touch of lyrical element in the music rather than the extroverted Valse Brillante type of waltz. Having the complete Inpromptus is a nice added touch to conclude the cd. Cziffra plays with a fine legato and sense of rubato to draw the listener into the intimate atmosphere of the salon, giving the music a very personal touch with his attention to the nuances of these pieces.



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