[.ca] Preludes Op28

Suprising but not genuine...:
I was very dissapointed in this CD. i am currently learning all 24 chopin preludes, and i decided this would be nice to add to my collection. But these preludes are not of the high calibur of many artists before him. His quirky "hiccup" sound and lightness on the fast peices merely brush the surface of what Chopin intended. And he draws out the long peices to a painful extent, No. 15 ecspecially..the dramatic melody is lost because he is going so slowly. His interpretations of the pieces are either to far one way or the other. for a true recording of these peices, try Martha Argerich.

Ponderous yes, but so potent:
Where other reviewers hear only ponderous or unusual interpretations, I hear music that moves me. The stretched timing on many of the pieces are rather like significant pauses in memorable conversations: more is said in the slightly over-long silences than in all the glorious runs (and they are amazingly dextrous). I find this recording to be one I listen to over and over again. ~Matt

Hothouse nothing:
This disc caricatures the modern, hothouse, competition era of piano-playing. In Chopin's Preludes, undoubtedly the greatest miniatures written for the piano and as a group one of the composer's finest achievements, the performer must imagine a wide palette of tone colors as he works against time restrictions. If such is achieved, the audience, in each spontaneous musical gem, will see the unfolding expanse of Chaucer's "God's plenty." Pogorelich's playing, by contrast, sounds as close to a mechanical, computerized rendition as is humanly possible. He is a freakish puppet, programmed to churn out notes in like fashion to the absolutely equilibrated steps of a child's wind-up wooden soldier. A general criticism: if the wrong tempo is chosen, a musical performance can be ruined. All good performers must come to understand this. A knowledge of metronome markings can improve it. Pogorelich's tempos are at polar extremes. In the slower preludes, Pogorelich's playing creeps like a slug. It is heavy, the rubato is forced and uneffective, the musical phrasing uniform in dynamic range, and utterly gross owing to a total lack of sensual appeal. In the fast pieces (such as the difficult b-flat minor), the scales are even, but the bass, what Alfred Cortot calls the piece's driving impetus, is almost non-existent. Additionally, there is not a whit a of dynamic control; thus the grand sweep of the passagework is lost. The only redeeming quality in Pogorelich's playing is that his overall volume is not as loud as some other pianists today such as Martha Argerich and Emmanuel Ax, who take cruel pickaxes to nearly every piece they attempt and bruise the hammers with continuous fortissimos. However, Pogorelich's playing is so sodden by excessive pedal use, so marred by lack of true legato, so limited by control over nuances, that the playing comes across nevertheless as containing heavily unbalanced, undifferentiated textures. In short, perhaps Pogorelich should change his career from pianist to data entry. Thus he might pardon the poor hammers of each and every piano he touches, those hammers which hope to be transformed from their natural role as percussion devices into the creators of the orchestral and symphonic illusions of the true chanteuse.

Fascinating, whether you love it or hate it.:
Those accustomed to the great traditional recordings of Chopin's preludes will possibly react very strongly to Pogorelich's version. I'm certainly no exception. Pogorelich will dazzle listeners with his inhuman, lightning-quick technique, only to later infuriate them with achingly slow tempi. Yet, I must admit that his impeccable, if not often pedantic and conceited pianism, never fails to fascinate me. It offers a new and refreshing perspective on Chopin's music and piano playing in general. Old-school fundamentalists have the right to hate this recording, but I encourage you to listen to it as you would embrace a new experience.

Beware:
Whenever you see a phrase like 'unfolding expanse of Chaucer's "God's plenty"', run for the hills. It's nonsense, as is the rest of the last review (including the notion that Pogorelich over-pedals throughout, which is deliciously ironic given the truth). If you want wonderful pianism with personality, get this recording.

• Preludes Op. 28: No. 1 in C major: Agitato
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 2 in A minor: Lento
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 3 in G major: Vivace
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 4 in E minor: Largo
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 5 in D major: Allegro molto
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 6 in B minor: Lento assai
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 7 in A major: Andantino
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 8 in F sharp minor: Molto agitato
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 9 in E major: Largo
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 10 in C sharp minor: Allegro molto
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 11 in B major: Vivace
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 12 in G sharp minor: Presto
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 13 in F sharp major: Lento
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 14 in E flat minor: Allegro
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 15 in D flat major: Sostenuto
• Preludes Op. 28: No.16 in B flat minor: Presto con fuoco
• Preludes Op. 28: No.17 in A flat major: Allegretto
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 18 in F minor: Allegro molto
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 19 in E flat major: Vivace
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 20 in C minor: Largo
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 21 in B flat major: Cantabile
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 22 in G minor: Molto agitato
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 23 in F major: Moderato
• Preludes Op. 28: No. 24 in D minor: Allegro appassionato