SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews
FREDERIC CHOPIN: 12 Etudes Op. 10, Barcarolle Op. 60, Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor Op. 35 — Nelson Freire, piano — Decca
Dramatic view of Chopin which some may feel lacks some tenderness
Published on August 24, 2005
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FREDERIC CHOPIN: 12 Etudes Op. 10, Barcarolle Op. 60, Piano
Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor Op. 35 — Nelson Freire, piano — Decca
Multichannel SACD, 475-6617, 57:03 ***1/2:
Brazilian pianist and former child prodigy Nelson Freire has now made two Chopin discs in the 21st century and after this one, it’s safe to imagine more will be on their way. Not that this hour-long, brilliantly recorded recital will be to every opinionated listener’s taste. I found some of his interpretations actually distasteful, such as the way he slams out the return of the main theme near the end of the Funeral March in the Sonata. I also dislike his take on the Sonata’s famously strange fourth movement. Chopin doesn’t toss all structural sense to the winds as Freire does. Still, the disc is definitely high on the drama meter — capricious and untamed, contradicting any views of Chopin as someone who wrote only gentle lyrical nocturnes and tinkling parlor pieces.
The faster Etudes are every bit as stormy and exciting as one could hope for, marked by thunderous rushes up and down the keyboard that don’t obscure the thematic profile. In some of the slower pieces Freire pushes the limits of tempo and neglects legato phrasing, which saps some of the tenderness. His choices in these matters are more fitting in the opening movements. I especially enjoy the way he contrasts the first movement’s underlying motif as a snarling, intrusive thing always trying to claw its way over the melodic surface. His playing of the Barcarolle is similarly explosive. What begins as a gently rocking boat song transforms quickly into a chromatic whirlwind whose force is hard to resist.
— Zachary Lewis
Brazilian pianist and former child prodigy Nelson Freire has now made two Chopin discs in the 21st century and after this one, it’s safe to imagine more will be on their way. Not that this hour-long, brilliantly recorded recital will be to every opinionated listener’s taste. I found some of his interpretations actually distasteful, such as the way he slams out the return of the main theme near the end of the Funeral March in the Sonata. I also dislike his take on the Sonata’s famously strange fourth movement. Chopin doesn’t toss all structural sense to the winds as Freire does. Still, the disc is definitely high on the drama meter — capricious and untamed, contradicting any views of Chopin as someone who wrote only gentle lyrical nocturnes and tinkling parlor pieces.
The faster Etudes are every bit as stormy and exciting as one could hope for, marked by thunderous rushes up and down the keyboard that don’t obscure the thematic profile. In some of the slower pieces Freire pushes the limits of tempo and neglects legato phrasing, which saps some of the tenderness. His choices in these matters are more fitting in the opening movements. I especially enjoy the way he contrasts the first movement’s underlying motif as a snarling, intrusive thing always trying to claw its way over the melodic surface. His playing of the Barcarolle is similarly explosive. What begins as a gently rocking boat song transforms quickly into a chromatic whirlwind whose force is hard to resist.
— Zachary Lewis
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