I can't find any board here that is for asking about
specific recordings etc so I thought I try it here.
Pls pardon me if posting in wrong board.

I want to get a really great recoding of ALL Chopin
etudes, can anyone recommend ?

Thanks

What do you like? Wild and crazy, or more conservative?

for the former, try Cziffra .

for the latter, Ashkenazy 's pretty good, too.

(neither of those includes the 3 Nouvelles Etudes, but they both include Op. 10 and Op. 25)

thanks sam, I think I will stick with Ashkenazy
style out of the two since I have his other works.
8-)

OTOH, has anyone had any opinon on the V. Lisitsa
etude dvd performance? Manage to get a glimpse of
a few on youtube.

That's a fine recording, though I marginally prefer his earlier Melodiya recording.

I'm no great admirer of Pollini (at least pre Bartok), but his recording of the Etudes is quite spectacular.

Rubinstein´s Moscow recital. He plays 4 etudes.

Perahia's set by Sony is another popular recommended set. The playing is typical of Perahia's extremely polished and scholarly, though if you are looking for fiery or passionate performances Cziffra's set is undoubtedly the one to get. Sokolov recorded complete Op 25 in a CD coupled with the 2nd sonata, I think it is the best Op 25 in the market now. Richter recorded some selections of the etudes in his Richter in Praque set, which are also worth listening.

If you can find a re=print of Agustin Anievas' set on Seraphim--his debut cd--quite wonderful.

I have only two etudes posted on YouTube recently:
Op 25, no. 5 and Op 10, no. 4 if you type my last name in the search box. Perhaps someday I should record all, if asked by a company to do so.

My favorites in order are:

Anievas
Polinni
Browning

I also like Anievas.
Also add Abbey Simon and Tamas Vasary.

Browning's 25/1 is by far the finest I've ever heard.

Worth the price of the whole CD just for that one track.

Mel

My choice:

Pollini
Ashkenazy (Melodya-his 1st traversal)
Louis Lortie
Gavrilov
Anievas

and a few others. The above, stand out for me.

thank u everyone for your replies!!! I will go shopping now 8-)

Accept no imitations .

-Michael B.

i always like Pollini's.

I have the DVD - it is excellent IMO

I am also relieved to know that there is at least one other soccer loving piano player in the world. I thought I was the only one

My two cents: Edward Kilenyi and Guiomar Novaes and Alexander Jenner! There are a number of good recordings, as to be expected, so it sort of depends on the type of playing you prefer, also mentioned above.

Regards!

Ralph

Juana Zayas got the vote fot the best recording in an extensive review of all the recorded perfomances of these works in International Piano magazine some years ago. I haven't heard her recorded performance but I did hear her play them all at Klavierhaus in NYC several years ago.

I was quite disappointed(for starters, she seemed to be struggling a lot technically) in her performance consdering her review in IPQ. But perhaps, she was having a bad day. I would assume that to play all these Etudes well in one performance you have to be at the top of your game.

I'm curious if anyone else has heard her play live or on recordings.

Thanks for Private Messages at my email--well, if I can get around to recording the 24 etudes, I should. In teaching them often enough, they should be getting ready.

I very much like the Anievas recording of the Etudes; I grew up on the original vinyl issue. It's been re-issued on two CDs, along with the four Ballades and 19 of the Waltzes : EMI Classics 7243 5 74290 2 3. It's well-worth trying to find.

Available used from Amazon.com

Anievas: Chopin Etudes, etc

Regards,

My favorite is Perahia-- and while some list Cziffra as a passionate counterexample, I certainly hear as deep a feeling in Perahia's recording as anywhere else-- he's just not so flamboyant.

I have Zayas Chopin recordings. Her Etudes recording is clean, delicate and fluid. I don't feel that's best of the lot. I heard once again today that her live performance of the Etudes was poor. Maybe the recording was spliced significantly?

Originally posted by Shosti:
I like the Perahia recording but I do not like the playing of 12/1 in C Major. He plays the accents too heavily coming down - giving the effect that he is slamming down the semiquavers in groups of four.

Probably Pollini has it for me overall. I like the versions by Berezovsky on the CHopin/Godowsky disc, but of course this is not the complete set.

Berezovsky does have a recording of the complete Opp 10 and 25 and the Trois Nouvelles Études, Op. Posth. : Teldec, 9031-73129-2 © 1991. It's quite a fine set.

Click Here


Regards,

It has to be Perahia's version for me. Agree with Dreamaurora. His readings are typically very tasteful and deeply felt - never drawing the listener to the performer or the performance but rather to let the music speak for itself. I'm probably not making much sense here but some of you who have heard him or his recordings may get the drift.

Pollini's is also one of my favourites notwithstanding that parts of it can be quite clinical.

Lhevinne recorded a few of them, which are musts, old sound and all.

Those are my models--even though he played them not as fast live as the rolls reproduced--still must haves. He taught my teacher, so I'm partial.

I like Perahia too.

As for older versions do not miss Cortot.

Hello,

I like POLLINI for the power and purity and Tamas VASARY for his sonority.
Why not Samson François ? It's appassionata.
For me, the performance of CORTOT is magic and one legend.

Christophe

Yes I was and still am a fanatics for soccer
especially the WC. Played it when I was kids and
just love it. Too old now to even run 100m 8-)
so just watch it when I get the chance!

Guys ... thanks for your opinion. I have seen many
of the mentioned available in local CD store.
However, no one seems to mention Arrau 8-).... any
opinion on him ?

I haven't made up my mind after seeing so many
recommendations ... I've heard couple Ashkenazy
and I like his interpretation so I guess I will go
to my CD store musicstation to try a few.

I guess the question is who has got the most
"authentic" interpretation ... if that's the right
word to use ? 8-)