Alfred Cortot: The Late Recordings, Volume 3 = CHOPIN: Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat; Nocturne No. 4; Nocturne No. 7; 3 Etudes; 3 Nouvelles Etudes; Barcarolle; Prelude No. 15; Berceuse, Waltzes; MENDELSSOHN: Variations – Appian Recordings

by | Dec 15, 2007 | Classical Reissue Reviews | 0 comments

Alfred Cortot: The Late Recordings, Volume 3 = CHOPIN: Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2; Nocturne No. 4 in F, Op. 15, No. 1; Nocturne No. 7 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 1; 3 Etudes; 3 Nouvelles Etudes; Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60; Prelude No. 15 in D-flat, Op. 28, No. 15; Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45; Berceuse, Op. 57; 6 Waltzes; MENDELSSOHN: Variations serieuses in D Minor, Op. 54

Appian Recordings APR 5573  79:15  (Distrib. Harmonia mundi) ****:

Recorded between 1949 and 1951, these late inscriptions of Chopin by Alfred Cortot (1877-1962) both celebrate and exacerbate his repute as a colorist and often shoddy practitioner of his art. The natural fluency of expression and poetic sensibility continue to exert themselves in the three nocturnes, although the knotty middle sections of the F Major and the C-sharp Minor become thick with smeared notes. Always the master of pedaled rubato, Cortot has the several etudes–like the punishing C-sharp Minor from Op. 10–well in hand, and the Trois Nouvelles Etudes enjoy a haunted polyphony quite ravishing despite a finger slip or two. The 17 October 1951 Chopin Barcarolle oozes luxuriant water colors, but suffers an unfortunate clutter of notes in its middle section that mars an otherwise gripping, taut account.

The so-called Raindrop Prelude (30 October 1950) suffers from harsh sonics and crackly, swishing surfaces; a pity, for these raindrops often fall with passionate fury.
The Op. 45 Prelude easily provides the overtly sensual model that Michelangeli followed in his own elegant style.  The D-flat Berceuse (4 November 1949) rings with jeweled clarity and melting transitions; and even if Solomon remains a favorite, this version vibrates with gossamer effects. The willful hesitations and accelerations that mark the six waltzes will likely alienate purists, but they testify to  facile poet of the keyboard. The A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2 becomes a tristesse study in noble languor. Speed and eccentric accents mark the D-flat Minute Waltz, perhaps a brilliant vestige of the Hofmann influence.  Suave metric variants move the pulsations in the A-flat Major, Op. 69, No. 1 in two separate takes, markedly different, yet ending with only a second’s difference between them! Sparkling wit (almost a Schubert laendler) for the G-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 1, while the final piece from the series, the F Minor, Op. 70, No. 2–despite slurred sound–exploits an individual approach to rubato in the course of its earnest, tripping figures.

Cortot recorded Mendelssohn’s Serious Variations in two sessions (24 & 30 October 1950) that maintain both the high tension and intimacy of expression he establishes at the outset, as the music traverses a number of styles that embrace Beethoven, Schumann, and Bach.  Curious, that Cortot and Horowitz selected only this piece to pay homage to their feeling for Mendelssohn. The tremoldandi and fughetta passagework under Cortot bespeak a natural interpreter in music that declaims and sings at once. The last, convulsive variant offers pained fioritura, a moment a dire tragedy in Mendelssohn’s otherwise sunny persona.

— Gary Lemco
 

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