Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 [Weissenberg/ Skrowaczewski-Orchestre De La Societe Des Concerts Du Conservatoire]
This is the very first time i've played this disc, and i was surprised at how good it was, it's a 1967 recording, and i can hear it's age, but it's been remastered very well, quite a bright recording, but really thrilling too, maybe Skrowaczewski takes the slow movements a little too slowly, but he holds it up well, the piano is very alive and forward in the recording, somewhat spotlit in the aural picture, i'm not all that enamoured by the Chopin Piano Concertos, and i don't have that many recordings as a consequence, but today i feel i've developed a new love for these works.
Alexis Weissenberg was Bulgarian, he died three years ago [1929-2012], and he recorded this disc in 1967, this is a re-issue on the red line series for EMI, with some really nice discs in this series, and i certainly enjoyed this one, the front cover photography is really excellent, showing ornate windows with shutters, and balconies with iron railings, there's a gorgeous symmetry to it all, and the white box for the lettering, and the dash of red, make the black & white photo really stand out, a lovely finished product.
So onto the music, and the first movement was tremendous, and yes i must admit that i've never been so thrilled with this work as on this disc, i now have a new appreciation of it, because of the recording fortes can sound a little shrill, but regardless the 1967 recording is a marvel, Skrowaczewski develops real drama in the orchestral introduction [0:00-2:55], whipping up the players into a nice passion, and when Weissenberg comes in, yes it really is louder than life, very spotlit in retrospect, but it's so good to hear Weissenberg precisely and clearly, great piano sound, i feel that he's a hard hitter of the piano, if i could only turn the piano down a notch, and turn up the orchestra a notch too, it would sound more balanced, it's amazing how quiet the background is, you can even hear the slight creak of a chair clearly!, also i appreciate more than ever Chopin's beautiful melodies and ideas, there's real romance hear, even though it may seem that in this Concerto the orchestra are reduced to accompanists, Weissenberg's playing is virtuosic in complex passages, and compassionate in quieter passages, the final conclusion is that yes, i do have a problem by the balance between the piano and orchestra.
Here's Weissenberg playing this movement on YouTube.
Alexis Weissenberg was Bulgarian, he died three years ago [1929-2012], and he recorded this disc in 1967, this is a re-issue on the red line series for EMI, with some really nice discs in this series, and i certainly enjoyed this one, the front cover photography is really excellent, showing ornate windows with shutters, and balconies with iron railings, there's a gorgeous symmetry to it all, and the white box for the lettering, and the dash of red, make the black & white photo really stand out, a lovely finished product.
So onto the music, and the first movement was tremendous, and yes i must admit that i've never been so thrilled with this work as on this disc, i now have a new appreciation of it, because of the recording fortes can sound a little shrill, but regardless the 1967 recording is a marvel, Skrowaczewski develops real drama in the orchestral introduction [0:00-2:55], whipping up the players into a nice passion, and when Weissenberg comes in, yes it really is louder than life, very spotlit in retrospect, but it's so good to hear Weissenberg precisely and clearly, great piano sound, i feel that he's a hard hitter of the piano, if i could only turn the piano down a notch, and turn up the orchestra a notch too, it would sound more balanced, it's amazing how quiet the background is, you can even hear the slight creak of a chair clearly!, also i appreciate more than ever Chopin's beautiful melodies and ideas, there's real romance hear, even though it may seem that in this Concerto the orchestra are reduced to accompanists, Weissenberg's playing is virtuosic in complex passages, and compassionate in quieter passages, the final conclusion is that yes, i do have a problem by the balance between the piano and orchestra.
Here's Weissenberg playing this movement on YouTube.
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