You have to hear these Chopin recordings: Barcarolle, Berceuse, Fantaisie
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Chopin Foundation: chopin.org
The Chopin Podcast: chopinpodcast.com
Listen to Episode 9:
Apple: podcasts.apple...
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
0:11 Chopin's most cherished compositions
1:03 Solomon's time-tested Fantaisie
3:20 Arrau's Beethovenian Fantaisie
5:01 Perahia's reference Berceuse
6:34 Kempff's mesmerizing Berceuse
7:56 Rubinstein's unparalleled Barcarolle
11:53 Pöntinen's poetic Barcarolle
Solomon's Fantaisie: • Solomon plays Chopin F...
Arrau's Fantaisie: • Chopin: Fantaisie in F...
Perahia's Berceuse: • Berceuse in D-Flat Maj...
Kempff's Berceuse: • Chopin: Berceuse in D-...
Rubinstein's Barcarolle: • Rubinstein plays Chopi...
Pöntinen's Barcarolle: • Barcarolle in F-Sharp ...
Thanks to Jed Distler for sharing his years of careful listening.
Follow Distler's podcast "The Piano Maven": @jdistler2
Created and hosted by Ben Laude.
This video is part of my partnership with the Chopin Foundation of the United States, which presents the National Chopin Competition every 5 years. The partnership was forged on the eve of the 11th National Chopin Competition, to be held in Miami in January 2025.
Reserve your seats for earlier rounds and purchase your tickets to the final round of the National Chopin Competition: www.chopin.org...
The Chopin Foundation is a national non-profit organization founded by its President, Blanka A. Rosenstiel in 1977, and inspired by the first US Chopin Competition she presented in Miami in 1975.
Support the Chopin Foundation: chopin.org/donate
Steinway & Sons is the National Chopin Piano Competition's Preferred Piano Partner.
Access uncut interviews with Garrick Ohlsson and other guests:
/ benlaude
/ chopinpodcast
/ benlawdy
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here are links to the full recordings recommended in this video:
Solomon's Fantaisie: ua-cam.com/video/ZGJsvG1QVVM/v-deo.html
Arrau's Fantaisie: ua-cam.com/video/_SahHKU4sx8/v-deo.html
Perahia's Berceuse: ua-cam.com/video/OizkT4wRjdo/v-deo.html
Kempff's Berceuse: ua-cam.com/video/LDWgR0tAkDA/v-deo.html
Rubinstein's Barcarolle: ua-cam.com/video/3hTIzGlfOJ0/v-deo.html
Pöntinen's Barcarolle: ua-cam.com/video/GQKgok39lKk/v-deo.html
The National Chopin Competition is right around the corner, January 4-12, and I'll be in Miami hosting the livestreams for the Chopin Foundation UA-cam channel. To follow along, make sure you're subscribed and have notifications enabled: www.youtube.com/@chopinfoundationoftheunite8079
It's going to be lots of fun! I'll see you in the live chat...
Awesome to hear Kate Liu is going to make an appearance in the next episode! Her interpretation of the op.61 polonaise-fantasisie and op.62 no.1 nocturne were just breathtaking and remain my favourite interpretations of these works.
I grew up so to speak with these three pieces played by Vlado Perlemuter. One of my uncles gave away an old record player. This was the first one in my family at the beginning seventies. Two records came with it, which I listened to over and over again until I started to buy my own ones. If somebody doesn't know him, it's worth looking up on YT. He studied with Cortot and Ravel. 🥰
I have to come back to this video again and say how much I enjoyed Jed's recommended recordings. I just acquired the CD's and am completely blown away. by Rubinstein's "Barcarrolle" is the perfect blending of rubato and dynamics. (UA-cam doesn't do them justice!) I now know what a true rubato sounds like-to me at least.. I will live with this for the rest of my life whilst doing my best to come close to this performance. Also I must say, Solomon's recording of the "Fantasie" is the first one that made any sense to my ears and now I feel compelled to learn it.
Wilhelm Kempf's Barcarolle recorded in 1958 is also absolutely amazing. It was my first exposure to the masterpiece that I've enjoyed for decades and still play on my own piano. Thank you for such excellent coverage of all of the supreme compositions.
Not mentioning Dinu Lipatti's rendition of the Barcarolle is criminal in my opinion. It is the most sublime perfomance of the work, literally could hear the stars twinkling ..
@@nickcy27 This is what the comments are for, to stop crime. Also, there will be a big Lipatti love fest in the waltzes episode and the barcarolle is at least mentioned there
Both Lipatti and Rubinstein seem to be aware that Chopin himself played the last page P where he wrote F in one of his performances. I would even dare to say that Lipatti was influenced by Rubinstein's recording. I also like Cortot and Alexandra Swigut (in a period Erard from Chopin's period piano competition).
As much as I do admire Lipatti's Barcarolle, I tried to be inclusive, and, as such, reserved Lipatti for my complete Waltzes recommendation. And I personally think that the live Rubinstein Moscow Barcarolle digs deeper. Call me a criminal, but I stand by my recommendations here!
@@jdistler2 I believe this makes us partners in crime
@@benlawdy I honestly don't think you guys are criminals at all. You just don't know sh@t from shinola, that's allXD
Don't worry though, I'm here to guide you through these challenging waters.
It's quite simple really: inclusivity has jack to do with jack. If Lipatti has recorded it, as of now (cos hey, you never know if someone who plays the piano properly might show up again) it is the best recording of that piece. Simples.
And the reason why this is a fact (and not a matter of opinion) is found in the analysis of the waveform of his recordings. I used to have a book about him which had this explained in detail showing a clear difference in the control of sound (aka hammer velocity) between him and other pianists. Alas this book has disappeared and I cannot find anywhere to buy another copy! In any case, all this indicated that he had actual full control of his craft/instrument, as a professional should.
I'd love to hear anyone else do just that one simple thing, especially live. We can leave all subjectivity out of it. Just start from there and if you can meet this one criteria you can say that you are as good as or better than Lipatti. However, if you can't do that (and no one I've heard so far can) than frankly you're not a professional pianist in comparison and all you are is a talented amateur at best - hoping against hope that your imagined musicality will capture the audience for the entire duration of a piece (let alone a recital!) despite the fact that your playing is completely disjointed because, frankly, you simply can't play the damned thing!
Which is precisely the relationship between Lipatti and all other recorded pianists: Lipatti is a professional pianist and the rest are objectively not.
So when you go ahead and suggest someone else as an example above Lipatti you're simply showing that what I said in my second sentence here is indeed fact. And there's no need to get your knickers in a twist over someone pointing that out:)
EDIT; Having said all that, unlike nickcy27, I most definitely wouldn't advocate either of you being imprisoned for this. That would be completely wrong.....although undoubtedly very, very funny:D
Josef Hoffmann’s Berceuse is otherworldly. His musicality and dexterity always struck me as something else.
i love michalowski even maybe more than hofmann in that one but yes, that one is one of the only few i can tolerate of the piece.
🎯🎯🎯
Pianistically it's fascinating, but too many "tricks" for my taste, especially in the 1937 "Golden Jubilee" rendition.
Rubinstein said that the barcarolle was very close to his ❤. And you can feel that. Great episode
Very happy Jed shouted out Solomon's Fantaisie as it is also my favourite. Solomon had a stroke at the height of his career and part way through his journey to record Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas in 1956. There is a broadcast recording of the Fantaisie a few months before this stroke and I prefer this recording to Solomon's 1932 despite him being in possibly lesser form because he has so much more drive and vitality there compared to the earlier recording. What I admire so much about Solomon is that he can play with great drive and ferocity when needed but can also play with such breadth, tenderness, and spaciousness. Solomon's Berceuse is also my favourite as it is so hypnotic, dreamy, and peaceful, a stark contrast to the blasts of falling bombs outside of Abbey Road that apparently can be heard on the original master.
One of my favorite version is Nelson Freire . Of course, Arthur Rubinstein is my love
Sofronitsky’s Barcarolle is sublime!
As is all of his output!
Happy New Year! The channel is amazing! Thank you!
Gosh I would have thought Arthur was just slowing down because he was getting tired and/or getting payed by the minute by the soviets. ;-) This was fascinating. I thought I was the last one on earth aware of these lesser-known Chopin pieces. And my first thought at the first notes of the Fantaisie was indeed "wow, that sounds like Chop-hoven". Thanks for sharing this.
Hearing these wonderful recordings brings to mind the idea of "half-pedaling". This is a subject no one talks about--let alone where to use it. I find myself continually experimenting with it. I suspect the total silence on this subject is because one needs to have a piano capable of doing it.
I made this video for tonebase a couple years back. It goes into half pedaling, and much more! ua-cam.com/video/p0YI_qMW9R8/v-deo.html
@@benlawdy Thanks for this, Ben!
Like finding the sweet spot friction point on a clutch pedal?
I discovered so many recordings thanks to you. Wonderful, thank you!
My pleasure, thanks for listening!
There’s one detail in the Barcarolle that I often come back to. The opening three measures before the half measure rest indicates a diminuendo, yet I’ve never seen any slowdown or broadening indication in the score. There is only one recording that I’ve heard that observes this. To do it this way renders the rest more effective and creates a greater suspense as to what follows. Of coarse it must be done artfully!
Rubinstein's Moscow Barcarolle (the entire recital, I'd argue) is one for the ages--no question. But two other performances have equally stunned me over the years, the first being light years away from Rubinstein's nobility and naturalness of expression: Fou Ts'ong on Sony. From the first bar it announces itself as a dramatic and personal interpretation, given to those characteristic dynamic and coloristic & tempo shifts in some of his other Chopin. It's a performance in which every measure is an event of some kind, and therefore perhaps not for everyday listening; but the rubato, inflected phrases, the dynamic variety and overall richness seem very musical and not simply wayward or appliqued gestures. I was rapt listening that first time. I had a similar shock & awe reaction when I heard Garrick Ohlsson play it, maybe 25 years ago, on (I think) St. Paul Sunday with Bill McGlaughlin. It was simply a HUGE performance, even over the radio. When he'd finished he confessed to Bill (breathing rather noticeably) "I see this as a big piece and I play it that way." Did he ever! I'd never quite heard that side of it brought out before. This was no gentle rocking boat song but something else: passionate, with gigantic climaxes bumping up against the most gorgeously caressed filigree, full-throated as well as whispered melodies. I'd never recognized the sheer scope of it before: the power and the poetry. I'd love to hear it again, if only to compare it to his much later Rockport Festival performance, which is now my reference recording of the work: so achingly beautiful and so wise, full of passion but of all-passion-spent too, like the distillation of a lifetime. Few recordings have moved me so much. Grateful for this series for the opportunity to really revel in the recorded legacy of these pieces.
Ohlsson loves the Barcarolle, he's talked about it on this channel before! He plays it really well.
I can't wait for the Polonaise Fantasie recommendations!
The best is, and will always be Kate Liu for me.
Nelson Goerner
The mono recording of the Barcarolle from the 1950s by Claudio Arrau is surely one of the best ever.
Agreed! Much better than his Philips remake.
Playing the Barcarolle myself, I tend to be more and more critical. Cortot and Horowitz are disappointing. Stefan Askenase and Alicia de Larrocha's are both immaculate and may be an alternative to Arrau. @@jdistler2
But the Philips sound on vinyl is superb--on Arrau's entire cycle.
Horowitz Chopin a rare experience 😊
that perahia berceuse does sound amazing in the excerpt. zimerman's barcarolle i thought was beautiful. any trifonov fans out there? i like nearly all of his chopin.
Every one of these podcasts is a marvel. They deserve their own boxed set.
Josef Hofmann's performances of the Berceuse make Perahia and others, to this listener, sound like hamhanded, prosaic clodhoppers. No one else ever has played the right hand figuration like a coruscating celestial string of pearls the way Hofmann does. Despite a relatively brisk tempo Hofmann makes it sound dreamy, somnolent, and ethereal. The pianissimists and tone color magicians of the grand manner era were better suited to this piece than the moderns, although Michelangeli in his 1962 video gives a "straighter" version of it that is still magical in its extraordinary nuance of touch.
Happy New Year! Thanks for this wonderful channel.
Krystian Zimerman fot the Barcarolle and Fantasy
Benedetti Michelangeli for the Berceuse
Did Arrau ever record the Berceuse? I don't think so...
Warm wishes from Switzerland
Idk man Lipatti Barcarolle is pretty breathtaking
@@aidan4624 yeah I thought that’s what Jed was going to say when he started talking about there being ”only one” sublime recording
Its absolutely criminal that its not mentioned!!
I agreed with mr Distler on many performances (funny to see he also shared my love for the Friedman nocturne, which is indeed incredible (Hear the perfect dribbl at the beginning which speeds and ends just perfectly!).
But, the barcarolle Goes to Lipatti, no doubt…
The supreme Berceuse for me is Michelangeli. It’s devastatingly beautiful in a kind of Zen way.
Great video as usual, Ben!- may I also recommend Seymour Bernstein for nocturne no. 1, pletnev for nocturne no 20, young Horowitz for polonaise no. 6, middle aged Horowitz for no 5, Hoffman for concerto 1, Laude for scherzo 2, poon for nocturne in d flat maj. Me for my Chopin pastiches. All on yt. Argerich for Andante Spianato. Or me.
You should also listem to the magnificent rendition of the Berceuse by the amazing Guiomar Novaes.
Not a fan of that Rubinstein performance of Barcarolle, though Mr. Distler is spot on that his coda is really lovely. Alicia de Larrocha’s is probably my favorite interpretation.
I think Jed indicated that the Rubinstein Barcarolle was not part of the Rubinstein box set, but I show it as Vol. 62 Recital in Moscow...Just FYI. I'll need to track down the Pontinen recording.
Let me clarify: The Moscow Concert was indeed included in the multi-volume complete Rubinstein edition from the late 1990s. However, when Sony/BMG brought out their Complete Rubinstein Album Collection original jacket edition in 2011, it did not include the Moscow Concert.
A very recent recording of the Barcarolle that I think deserves attention is the one by Yulianna Avdeeva on her recent recording from this past year. I heard her perform it live at Carnegie Hall recently, and it was just as, if not more, special!
Hey Ben. Considering Chopin is a big topic on the channel, have you ever considered reaching out to Cyprien Katsaris? I found that nearly every single Chopin recording he made (*especially* Sonata 3, the Scherzi and Ballades), was so profoundly unique with voicing, etc. Would be great!
@@maraldus i did reach out but I think I bungled the invitation, which he politely declined. I will try again some day.
@ aw, shame he did. Hopefully he will in the future, that would be amazing!! Thanks
@@benlawdy Cyprien's Chopin Preludes Op. 28 on Sony Classical are totally insane and utterly wonderful!
If you started out with Solomon, Arrau, and Rubinstein you could save yourself a lot of listening comparison time.
Zimmerman barcarolle is noteworthy also
I think Zimerman's Fantasie op. 49 is as good as it gets. I got to know this piece with that recording and it still moves me like no other.
@@Chopin1995 Nobody phrases the Fantasy like Zimerman does
@@armandodelromero9968 I find it funny how all 3 of us (including Ben) spell this piece differently. So I'll add the Polish word to the mix - Fantazja. Enough of this bad humour, I agree with your point.
Is it available on disc?
My favorite Berceuse is by the underrated Thierry de Brunhoff.
His complete Nocturnes is the best I’ve heard
Not one minute had passed when I was subjected to an ad AND a 30 second survey without the option of clicking away. I will not click on another video from Mr Laude again
@@marksmith3947 you need to understand how UA-cam works. This video was demonetized for me and the ads imposed because I’m sampling copyrighted recordings, with ad revenue paid to them. If you don’t want ads on UA-cam, pay the small monthly fee to get Premium.
Best Barcarolle is Cliburn followed by Mclionhead
Sorry but ua-cam.com/video/QO9VYfDrcqM/v-deo.htmlsi=arfGHN-dMLOAxFxK remains the gold standard. I do not at all agree with this guy’s recommendation. Luckily, we are still entitled to our own opinions.
Everyone needs to hear Benno Moiseiwitsch’s Barcarolle
Another keeper, indeed!
YES!! Agree to 100%, very sensitive, also nice inner voicing before the dolce sfogato, very clear left hand melody in bar 3-4 from end - and a surprising end bar! ua-cam.com/video/XVex_EPTUUU/v-deo.html
I highly recommend the late Gabriel Tacchino's performance of the F minor Fantasy ua-cam.com/video/c43pTO5BNqM/v-deo.htmlsi=49JzGGxW6W2_CbDu
Polonaise fantasie when?
Nobody beats Ashkenazy's Barcarolle
ua-cam.com/video/f5G_8JHbEck/v-deo.htmlsi=UHTE0BYphwNUKbyT
This is my personal favorite Barcarolle. It makes me weep when I listen to it - especially the second climax. The bass is earth shattering and almost unbelievable.
"Rubinstein spielt Chopins Barcarole mit restloser Vollendung" ("Rubinstein plays Chopin's Barcarolle to utter perfection") -- Heinrich Schenker, diary entry, 1933
Rubinstein's Barcarolle is undoubtedly beautiful. But I think he oversimplified the counterpoint in the coda. Cortot's early recording or historical pianists sounds more contrapuntal and clever. There is a serenity in Rubinstein's emotion, which is beautiful though. But I don't think Rubinstein got Chopin's counterpoint right. Rubinstein changing things for the sake of "simplicity" and "neatness". His changes offer a simplified counterpoint. I didn't like this.
Who can play Chopin Impromptu no.3 or Trois Nouvelles études no.1 better than Alfred Cortot?
A list of uninteresting pianists. Far greater pianists recorded these works. For example the berceuse Hofmann, Gieseking, Cortot, Michelangeli.
Thank you for enriching my understanding of great music; I am.broadrned and blessed by the podcast.
ua-cam.com/video/NyBLGnSMZ-s/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Lucas does well, some think very well: ua-cam.com/video/CXjYRAHVsUA/v-deo.html
Moscow, not Moskau😂
Rubinstein's Barcarolle makes me seasick with his many unwarranted ritardandos. For some reason he changes the opening bar, as if he knew better than Chopin himself. The piu mosso parts are too slow, and bars 107 - 109 are played very slow and soft - the opposite of what they should sound like (funny to hear that Jed Distler finds this violation of Chopin's intentions the best part of Rubinstein's interpretation). Once more I wonder where the myth that Rubinstein is such a great Chopin player comes from. For the most part I find his Chopin too dry, unlyrical, and without passion (some people call this kind of playing 'aristocratic').
Agreed, AR is totally overrated generally but especially in Chopin. The only recordings i find competitive are the Waltzes and Nocturnes, but even there, they don’t stand up to Lipatti (Watzes) or Moravec (Nocturnes).
I do agree about Perahia’s playing as poetic and sublime.
@@jimkost2002 Yes, Lipatti is far superior to Rubinstein in every way. Certainly in the Barcarolle.
I respectfully disagree
I also respectfully disagree. His Chopin has few peers.
It is a height of pomposity and arrogance to declare that one performance is superior or that a performer’s judgment was in error. “I prefer” is quite reasonable, an judging something as an error just highlights one’s ignorance.
5:00 il dit n'importe quoi ce monsieur décidément...