Barere

Des enregistrements historiques fabuleux qui auront marqué l'évolution du piano, de l'enregistrement et de la lecture de chopin. Des interprétations globalement bonnes en ce qui concerne l'intégrale et, surtout, une classification qui permet d'ordonner aisément le répertoire de Chopin. Alors, bien sûr, il existe des interprétationsplus brillantes, plus prestigieuses mais ne dit-on pas aussi qu'il y a une certaine forme de subjectivité qui détermine un jugement? Ce coffret est un bon reflet de l'oeuvre de Chopin, honnêtement interprétée.

The master of the piano must surely be Frédéric Chopin. Every one of his compositions includes the piano in some form, yet within his oeuvre there is still an exciting variety of music to be found. Chopin made the solo piano form into an art, extensively developing various styles – including the piano sonata, waltz, polonaise and impromptu – and heavily popularising others for the first time, such as the Polish mazurka, the form he often chose to express his nationalism.

Eduard Nápravník is hardly a household name, but he was one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century Russian music. As conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre—one of the finest opera houses in Europe, which became the Kirov Theatre—he worked with many of the most important composers of the day, including Tchaikovsky and ‘The Five’. He composed four operas, and many works in a range of genres, including four symphonies and the two works for piano and orchestra on this disc. His A minor Piano Concerto (1877) begins with a striking reference to the ‘Dies irae’ of Verdi’s Requiem, and is a work of tremendous energy and lyricism, with a nocturne-like slow movement and a dance-like finale. "Fantaisie russe (1881) is based on three Russian folk tunes, and is infectious in its melodic richness and thrilling in its virtuosity.

This lesser-known set, released by several Japanese labels including a 1991 CD issue by Denon, features flugelhornist Art Farmer with pianist Masahiko Satoh (doubling on electric piano), bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette and a 14-piece string section arranged and conducted by Satoh. Despite its initial release in Japan, the music was actually recorded in New York City. Farmer is in excellent form on the seven modern jazz originals, most of which are given fresh treatments. The arrangements are fine, and Farmer is up to the task of carrying the main load on such songs as "Nica's Dream," "Blue In Green," "Maiden Voyage" and "Naima".