COMPOSERS: Chopin
LABELS: DG
WORKS: Nocturnes (complete)
PERFORMER: Daniel Barenboim (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 453 022-2 1982
Effortlessly expressive, unfailingly beautiful in tone, free of mannerism and superbly recorded, Barenboim brings to his playing here the basic simplicity of utterance required of all great Chopin playing. In the suppleness of his melodic inflection, he continually emphasises the ‘singing’ ideal which lies behind most of Chopin’s music. Whether he also captures the inner tension, even turmoil, that so often lies just below the surface is more debatable. This is a predominantly comfortable Chopin. But was Chopin, for all his popularity, a comfortable composer? I wonder. Jeremy Siepmann
Chopin: Nocturnes (complete)
Effortlessly expressive, unfailingly beautiful in tone, free of mannerism and superbly recorded, Barenboim brings to his playing here the basic simplicity of utterance required of all great Chopin playing. In the suppleness of his melodic inflection, he continually emphasises the ‘singing’ ideal which lies behind most of Chopin’s music. Whether he also captures the inner tension, even turmoil, that so often lies just below the surface is more debatable. This is a predominantly comfortable Chopin. But was Chopin, for all his popularity, a comfortable composer? I wonder. Jeremy Siepmann
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm