Master Classes

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Have you ever wished to be present as a great instrumentalist teaches gifted pupils? Sony's set of Alfred Cortot's Master Classes can satisfy that fantasy, as well as provide insightful performances of works (and excerpts of works) including some Cortot never recorded, and hearing him expound on them from a performer's point of view. It's possible thanks to an engineering student who taped many of Cortot's classes in the late 1950s and Murray Perahia, who tracked down the tapes and produced this invaluable set. Don't understand French? Not to worry--French texts and English translations of Cortot's remarks are provided. We also hear Cortot playing with spontaneity and captivating spur-of-the-moment impetuousness, if also with rather more wrong notes than the fastidious would like. The inevitable frustration of wanting him to play an entire lengthy work soon gives way to appreciation for his insights and the beauties of the excerpts he's highlighting. Those insights include technical points like pedaling, rhythm, and touch. But more often he’s teaching a work's expressive content. He'll relate a Beethoven Sonata to a love story or the way Chopin's Ballades reflect the Adam Mieckicwicz poems said to inspire them. There's Bach, Mozart, and Schumann here too. Cortot's main point, the lesson that pervades these discs, is one all aspiring artists need to absorb: "Technique can never really be separated from musical expression." This set is must for pianophiles, students, and admirers of one of the last century's greatest artists. --Dan Davis

Tracks:

I. Praeludium
II. Allemande
III. Corrente
IV. Sarabande
V. Menuet I & II
VI. Giga
Adagio. Allegro.Andantino. Piu Allegr. Tempo I
I. Tema. Andante Grazioso E Variazioni
II. Menuetto-Trio
III. (Rondo) Alla Turca. Allegretto
I. Allegro Maestoso
II. Andante Cantabile Con Espressione
III. Presto
I. Das Lebewohl. Adagio-Allegro
II. Abweswnheit (L'Absence). Andante Espressivo
III. Das Wiedersehn (Le Retour). Vivacissimamente
I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit Und Durchaus Mit Empfindung Und Ausdruck
II. Nicht Zu Geschwind Und Sehr Singbar Vorgetragen
I. Etwas Lebhaft, Und Mit Der Innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto Ma Non Troppo
II. Lebhaft, Marschmassig. Vivace Alla Marcia
III. Langsam Und Sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio Ma Non Tropo, Con Affettuo
IV. Geschwind, Doch Nicht Zu Sehr Und Mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro

Tracks:

I. Vivace, Ma Non Troppo
II. Prestissimo
III. Andante Molto Cantabile Ed Espressivo. Variations I-IV
I. Moderato Cantabile Molto Espressivo
II. Allegro Molto
III. Adagio Ma Non Troppo
VI. Fuga. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II. Andantino
I. Durchaus Phantastisch Und Leideschaftlich Vorzutragen
Introductory Remarks To Sonata No.2 - Murray Perahia
I. Grave-Doppio Movimento
II. Scherzo
III. Marche Funebre. Lento
IV. Presto
Introductory Remarks To Sonata No.3 - Murray Perahia
I. Allegro Maestoso
II. Scherzo. Molto Vivace
III. Largo
IV. Finale. Presto Non Tanto

Tracks:

Introductory Remarks To Ballade No.1 - Murray Perahia
Ballade No.1 In G Minor, Op.23
Introductory Remarks To Ballade No.3 - Murray Perahia
Ballade No.3 In A-Flat Major, Op.47
Ballade No.4 In F Minor, Op.52
Scherzo No.3 In C-Sharp Minor, Op.39
Mazurka In G Minor, Op.24 No.1
Mazurka In C Major, Op.24 No.2
Mazurka In B-Flat Minor, Op.24 No.4
Mazurka In C Minor, Op.30 No.1
Mazurka In B Minor, Op.30 No.2
Prelude No.2 In A Minor, Op.28
Prelude No.4 In E Minor, Op.28
Prelude No.5 In D Major, Op.28
Prelude No.8 In F-Sharp Minor, Op.28
Prelude No.17 In A-Flat Major, Op.28 'Raindrop'
Prelude No.20 In C Minor, Op.28
Nocturne In F Minor, Op. 55 No.1
Waltz No.1 In E-Flat Major, Op.18 'Grande Valse Brilliante'

Amazon.com

Have you ever wished to be present as a great instrumentalist teaches gifted pupils? Sony's set of Alfred Cortot's Master Classes can satisfy that fantasy, as well as provide insightful performances of works (and excerpts of works) including some Cortot never recorded, and hearing him expound on them from a performer's point of view. It's possible thanks to an engineering student who taped many of Cortot's classes in the late 1950s and Murray Perahia, who tracked down the tapes and produced this invaluable set. Don't understand French? Not to worry--French texts and English translations of Cortot's remarks are provided. We also hear Cortot playing with spontaneity and captivating spur-of-the-moment impetuousness, if also with rather more wrong notes than the fastidious would like. The inevitable frustration of wanting him to play an entire lengthy work soon gives way to appreciation for his insights and the beauties of the excerpts he's highlighting. Those insights include technical points like pedaling, rhythm, and touch. But more often he's teaching a work's expressive content. He'll relate a Beethoven Sonata to a love story or the way Chopin's Ballades reflect the Adam Mieckicwicz poems said to inspire them. There's Bach, Mozart, and Schumann here too. Cortot's main point, the lesson that pervades these discs, is one all aspiring artists need to absorb: "Technique can never really be separated from musical expression." This set is must for pianophiles, students, and admirers of one of the last century's greatest artists. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Five Stars with a Caveat.......2006-12-02

This is a collection of musical fragments with spoken commentary. The pieces stop and start unexpectedly, and if you just want to sit down and enjoy some music, you'll find this set unnerving.

But what fragments! The format actually highlights how vividly Cortot could make a musical point: Some of these ideas leap off the CD, and will send you heading to the piano to figure out how he did what he did. For instance, his interpretation of Mozart's C-minor Fantasia, though stylistically anachronistic, makes almost all other performances of this piece seem emotionally stultified. This is the Mozart of "Don Giovanni" translated to the piano.

Most of the repertoire wasn't recorded elsewhere by Cortot -- an additional appeal for pianophiles.

A must for any music connoisseur.......2006-01-31

This is one of the great treasures of the piano discography. I was swept off my feet when I heard the Partita No.1, Cortot's only ever Bach recording -- he plays it with elegance, elan, and warmth that easily surpasses Glenn Gould's account of the same piece. Cortot gives tremendous insight into all the works, even going as far as comparing Mozart's Fantasia in C minor to the epic Don Juan. The session was taped at the Ecole Normale de Musique in 1954, and although some of the playing is extremely messy Cortot's distinctive sound and poetry still stands out. This set will be a pleasure to both the professional and student alike.