Search - Friedrich Gulda :: Gulda Plays Chopin

Four stars (-) for some of the choices.

A. F. S. Mui | HK | 03/17/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a dual-CD historical live recording of F. Gulda's Chopin performances.

The susbtantial bits include the full set of Preludes Op. 24 and the No. 1 Piano Concerto (conducted by Adrian Boult), as well as the four Ballades.

The No. 1 Concerto is very finely played. Gulda as a virtuoso really had no qualms with the technical demands of the piece, and stylistically his Chopin is full-fledgedly authentic and original. The only 'minus' issue is the tutti section, as the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian selected the Balakirev version that is much more brassy and far less romantic. May be the 'jazzy' Gulda loved this, too. But to most ears accustomed to the original Chopin version, this can be a real issue.

As for the four Ballades, I love the last three but less so the No. 1. It is largely a matter of taste, I suppose.

But the real reservations of this set is the Preludes. In the liner notes, the 'producer' Paul Gulda informed us that in his collection of his dad's live performances of Chopin, there are two sets of Preludes from two different concerts played on two pianofortes, one Steinway and the other Borsendofer. What Paul did here is to take bits from one and bits from the other. Needless to say, having got used to listening to this set of compositions as a composite whole, I find this 'treatment' utterly unsatisfying. May be Paul had real difficulties in choosing between the two sets, and wish to present the best of both in this collection. However, I regret to say that this has misfired.

The jazzy compilation at CD 2 is very lovely, though, and arguably the best bit of this album."