The Chopin Collection: The Ballades; The Scherzos

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
We usually think of Chopin as the creator of exquisite miniatures: all those lovely preludes, mazurkas, and waltzes. But Chopin also has a bolder, visionary aspect, heard in the piano sonatas and in these eight exciting pieces. Whether or not the Ballades were actually written to express the content of narrative poems (a subject still debated by musicologists), they tell exciting stories. And the scherzos--Chopin uses that term to denote the contrasting content of each piece, not humorous qualities--are equally bold and large-scale in their conception. It takes a very wide range of pianistic abilities to do justice to these pieces. It's not enough to master their fearsome technical hurdles; the performer also has to give voice to the inner expressive qualities of the music, and to project equally well the stormier and more contemplative moments. Other pianists have given us memorable recordings of the music, but this disc captures Rubinstein at the height of his powers: every moment is alive with meaning. And the 1960s stereo still sounds excellent. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Ballade No.1, Op.23, In G Minor
Ballade No.2, Op.38, In F Major
Ballade No.3, Op.47, In A-Flat Major
Ballade No.4, Op.52, In F Minor
Scherzo No.1, Op.20, In B Minor
Scherzo No.3, Op.39 In C-Sharp Minor
Mazurka, Op.24 No.2, In C Major
Mazurka, Op.56 No.3, In C Minor
Mazurka, Op.59 No.1, In A Minor
Mazurka, Op.59 No.2, In A-Flat Major
Mazurka, Op.59 No.3, In F-Sharp Minor

Tracks:

Andante Spianato/Grand Polonaise Brillante, Op.22
Nocturne, Op.62 No.1, In B Major
Scherzo No.2 Op.31, In B-Flat Minor
Scherzo No.4, Op.54, In E Major
Etude In F Minor
Etude In D-Flat Major
Etude In A-Flat Major
Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op.61, In A-Flat Major

Amazon.com

Emanuel Ax here offers a fine selection of Chopin, showcasing every aspect of the great Polish composer. The G Minor Ballade is played as poetically as the Scherzos are played expressively, with some of the more chaotic moments presented in the most melodious way. Ax rarely showboats and is mostly interested in Chopin's long lines. His tone is always warm and never brittle; the argument could be made that some of the music is emotionally thornier than Ax acknowledges, but he nonetheless is always communicative, underlining the harmonic daring of the music this latter trait particularly in the mazurkas. The two CDs are programmed for variety and it works--listening straight through never tires the ear or the sensations. The sound is big and rich. Highly recommended. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Three phases of a great Chopin player.......2006-06-14

I think Emanuel Ax has settled into routine playing as he's aged, but these are premiere Chopin interpretations from two decades ago. Now that Sony and BMG have merged their classical divisions, it's possible to issue Ax's excellent 1985 reading of the four Ballades--the best ever done by an American--with a 1988 recital of Mazurkas and the four Scherzi. The first recital was originally on RCA, the second on Sony. But just to confuse things a bit more, the readings here of Scherzos #2 and #4 are dropped in from an even earlier RCA recording.

The provenance won't matter that much to the general listener, who will be happy with the budget price for probably the best Chopin two-fer on the market. Begin listening with the four Ballades, where Ax is at his most impassioned and inspired. Even three years later, when he got to Scherzos #1 and #3, he had become more refined and relaxed, less a romantic risk-taker. He's remained that way ever since, but here at least we can hear Ax in his glory. Faithful as I am to Pollini and Kisin in this repertoire, this collection often rises to their heights.

Artur Rubinstein: The Chopin Collection; The Ballades/ The Scherzos

Average customer rating:

Artur Rubinstein: The Chopin Collection; The Ballades/ The Scherzos

Manufacturer: Musical Heritage Society
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000E7R534

Product Description

Frederic Chopin. 1810-1849 The Ballades: No 1 in G Minor, Op. 23 (9:17), No. 2 in F, Op. 38 (6:38), No. 3 in A-Flat, Op. 47 (7:15), No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52 (10:41). The Scherzos: No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20 (9:02), No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 31 (9:42), No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 39 (7:12), No. 4 in E, Op. 54 (10:55).

The Chopin Collection: The Ballades; The Scherzos

Average customer rating:

The Triumph of the Artist
The ultimate Chopin.
Rubinstein: "Live" in studio
A testament to Rubinstein's greatness, and Chopin's

The Chopin Collection: The Ballades; The Scherzos

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25
Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1/Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2
Schubert: Piano Quintet "Trout"; Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
Haydn: The London Symphonies, Vol. 1
Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner

ASIN: B000003EQI
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

The Ballades: No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 23
The Ballades: No. 2 In F. Op. 38
The Ballades: No. 3 In A-Flat, Op. 47
The Ballades: No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 52
The Scherzos: No. 1 In B Minor, Op. 20
The Scherzos: No. 2 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 31
The Scherzos: No. 3 In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 39
The Scherzos: No. 4 In E, Op. 54

Amazon.com essential recording

We usually think of Chopin as the creator of exquisite miniatures: all those lovely preludes, mazurkas, and waltzes. But Chopin also has a bolder, visionary aspect, heard in the piano sonatas and in these eight exciting pieces. Whether or not the Ballades were actually written to express the content of narrative poems (a subject still debated by musicologists), they tell exciting stories. And the scherzos--Chopin uses that term to denote the contrasting content of each piece, not humorous qualities--are equally bold and large-scale in their conception. It takes a very wide range of pianistic abilities to do justice to these pieces. It's not enough to master their fearsome technical hurdles; the performer also has to give voice to the inner expressive qualities of the music, and to project equally well the stormier and more contemplative moments. Other pianists have given us memorable recordings of the music, but this disc captures Rubinstein at the height of his powers: every moment is alive with meaning. And the 1960s stereo still sounds excellent. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

The Triumph of the Artist.......2003-03-05

When one thinks of Chopin the first thing that comes to many people's mind is a composer of soft, gentle music with lovely melodies. True, much of his music was soft, some of it gentle and the melodies are the greatest ever created. But beneath the gentle exterior beat the heart of a patriot and warrior. He expressed his passion to his piano - his alter ego - and nowhere is it more apparent than in these eight works.

While the Nocturnes are languid, the Mazurkas quirky, the Polonaises military and the Etudes tours de force of technical skill, the Ballades and Scherzos are emotional paydirt, the core of the real Chopin. Although he was a minituarist, his skill at structuring the plot of the medium length piece (6-10 minutes) is as remarkable as that for the small work.

The Ballades are hard to define. One finds arching melodies, spectacular story lines and feverish, intense drama. They are like reduced symphonies and Rubinstein is the best conductor around. His interpretations have been criticized as too light, too airy, too " " (fill in the blank). I've heard better performances of individual Ballades (Cliburn, Horowitz, Kissin) but as a group, there is no equal.

The first Ballade - the only one I ever learned to play - rises and falls as the competing melodies vie for attention. The finale is extremely difficult and requires an extraordinary set of hands. The Fourth, my favorite, is quintessentially Chopin. Rubinstein handles the Presto con Fuoco at the end remarkably well which is rare since this is usually a mishmash of hurried notes.

The Scherzos are dramatic in the extreme. They have earned enormous praise that is richly deserved. Under Rubinstein's direction, the only word is "masterful". They never spin out of control yet maintain the fervor throughout. One rarely notices Chopin's organization of material but this is as important to his music as the creation of melodies or quixotic chord combinations. In this instance, the four have a similar but varying structure in which the theme is reprised through successive forays into secondary and tertiary themes. The C Sharp Minor is as all time favorite and Rubinstein carries just the right vigor.

Yet another splendid addition to the "Chopin Collection"

The ultimate Chopin........1999-06-22

I'm not short of versions of the ballads and the scherzos so I have compared the Rubinstein's to many other (Ashkenazy, Pollini, Rachmaninov, Argerich, Janis, Kissin etc.). For the ballads I put Rubinstein and Ashkenazy in a special place. Ashkenazy has a better sound (thick and deep bass sound which is familiar in his recordings) and his playing he is exstremely powerfull. Rubinstein's sound is a bit flat but has no hiss or that kind of stuff. The playing is clean, every note is heard and the fantasy-feeling gets perfectly through. For the scherzos I put Rubinstein in the first place. In the 2nd I also like Argerich's powerfull approach and Kissin's playing in this schrezo is also superb. But for me no one gets the 3rd better than Rubinstein. Just listen to the "raindrops" in the right hand! I like the 4th very mush but find the Ashkenasy best. So after all I think that this must be the recording if you are looking for the ballads and the schrezos on one recording.

Rubinstein: "Live" in studio.......1999-06-07

Ever since reviwes have been made on Rubinstein he has been accused of "tighting up" a little too much in a studio. Even though there is some truth in this comment when you compare his live performances of Beethoven against his studio recordings, in Chopin and in this album this thought simply does not hold on. Here you get passionate Rubinstein in warm, articulate, logical performances of Chopin at his boldest. Please, listen carefully to the details in the Ballade No.4. It just keeps on building climax after climax, and the conclusion seems inexorable. And yet this is always Rubinstein letting music do all the talking.

A testament to Rubinstein's greatness, and Chopin's.......1998-09-15

If anyone needed to make a case for Rubinstein's genius not only as a Chopin interpreter, but as a pianist of the first rank, they'd need do little more than offer this one recording as evidence. The control of melodic line, lift, chordal technique, brilliance in ornamentation and fioriture - all of them are at the service of Chopin's conception, but come together with a sound that can only have been made by Rubinstein. Perhaps most moving is the first ballade; the grandeur of the main E major theme has never been brought out so compellingly, and the closing Gm section is nothing short of demonic. I've listened to this recording well over a thousand times, and have explored every other commercially-available recording of the ballades. Nothing quite compares. If I had only one piano record, perhaps even only one record of any kind, to choose for the proverbial desert island, this one would be it.

Chopin: The Scherzos, Ballades, and Waltzes

Average customer rating:

Chopin: The Scherzos, Ballades, and Waltzes

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000DSDA
Release Date: 1991-01-14

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Ghost of You Pt.1 [CD-single] [Import]

Monastery Voices

In My Own Dream

Groove Update

I'm Going to Do What I Wanna Do: Live at My Father's Place 1978 [Live]

Percy Sledge

Lulu's Back in Town

Mozart: Sonatas, Vol. 3

Latin Music: 15 Canciones Favoritas

The Essential

Reckless Precision