Maurizio Pollini

This 9-disc set pulls together Chopin recordings made between 1972 and 2008 by Maurizio Pollini. Works included are the etudes, the two familiar sonatas, the ballades, the scherzi, the preludes, the polonaises, and the nocturnes. Please note that this is far from a complete set of Chopin's piano works - missing are the concertos, most of the waltzes, most of the mazurkas, and most of the impromptus.

Maurizio Pollini continues to complete his cycle of recordings of all of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. This is the second to last disc before Pollini completes the Beethoven Sonatas Cycle. One of the greatest pianists of our time presents his own unique and individual survey of giants of the piano repertoire. Recorded at the KKL Luzern and the Herkulessaal (Residence) in Munich. A special album from a special pianist – and one with appeal beyond the world of piano aficionados. Maurizio Pollini is one of Deutsche Grammophon’s icons, having been exclusively with the company for over four decades.

¤ Ever since winning first prize at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1960 Maurizio Pollini has been considered as one of the world’s finest Chopin interpreters

¤ Along with Chopin’s two piano concertos, Pollini has recorded many other Chopin's compositions exclusively for DG. These include: Complete Etudes and Préludes, Scherzi, Polonaises, Sonatas No. 1 & 2. The most recent Chopin disc, released in 1999, included the four ballads, the Fantasia op. 49 and the Prélude in C sharp minor op. 45

¤ At present Pollini has recorded all Nocturnes by Frédéric Chopin which were published during the composer's lifetime. The Nocturnes demonstrate a great diversity and difficulty of Chopin’s art, and this recording highlights many a refinement of Pollini’s playing.

¤ Pollini described his ability to play Chopin with more freedom than before with the following: “After I won the First Prize of the Chopin Composition in Warsaw, Chopin became an important part of my life.” This recording inextricably marks a milestone in the history of Chopin’s Nocturnes.

Maurizio Pollini's late 1970s film recordings of Beethoven Piano Concertos 3 and 5; Mozart Piano Concertos 19 and 23; and Brahms Piano Concerto 2 have it all: great pianism, beautiful playing by the Vienna Philharmonic, magnificent conducting by Karl Bohm (Beethoven, Mozart) and Claudio Abbado (Brahms), all adding up to one thing: a beautiful experience. These DVDs are a feast for the ears: great audio, and the eyes: great video. The 1970s Unitel films used in this DG release have held up very well in the vaults: there are no glitches or imperfections in the picture. The camera work is also excellent, and serves the music being performed.
There is no audience, and the recording venue: Vienna's Musikvereien, has wonderful acoustics - one of the best concert halls in the civilized world. It was worth alot to me to see Karl Bohm smile at Maurizio Pollini at the beginning of I, of Mozart's Piano Concerto 19 with it's humorous, scherzo like theme which begins the concerto. Highly recommended!

The great Italian legend of the piano Maurizio Pollini sadly passed-away earlier this year, on 23rdMarch 2024. This album recorded together with his son Daniele, is dedicated to three different aspects of Schubert's piano oeuvre covering: the sonatas, the collections of short pieces, and music for four hands. The first time that both musicians performed a piano work for four hands: Schubert's great F minor Fantasy. The release is accompanied by a 16-page booklet with an essay by Maurizio Pollini's long-time companion Paolo Petazzi.

There's nothing at all wrong with Maurizio Pollini's 2009 performance of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. The Italian pianist's intellectual lucidity, interpretive clarity, and technical virtuosity are apparent in every prelude and fugue, and his probing insights and penetrating analysis inform every note. However, there is almost nothing right with the sound quality of the recording. The piano sounds too distant, making it hard to hear precisely what Pollini is doing, but oddly, the ambient sound is too present, making every extraneous noise too loud. One should not hear the pedals being pressed and lifted, much less the clatter of the hammers and the twanging of the strings above the sound of the music. Worse yet, one can hear what sounds like every breath Pollini takes nearly as loudly as every note he plays. These are all grievous flaws that should have been eliminated, and their presence fatally undermines the brilliance of Pollini's performances. A reengineered version of these performances would be most welcome, but the present recording is so flawed that it virtually destroys Pollini's playing.

Maurizio Pollini’s Beethoven Sonatas cycle has reached completion after nearly 40 years. We celebrate this major event with a handsome 8-CD capbox that provides a fitting testimonial to a great artistic partnership between pianist and record label. The final recordings in the cycle (opp. 31 & 49) are being released simultaneously as a single CD.