Cortot Plays Chopin

On this CD:

1. Sonata for piano No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, CT 203
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

2. Sonata for piano No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, CT 202
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

3. Ballade for piano No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, CT 2 (Four Ballades)
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

4. Polonaise for piano in A flat major, Op. 53, CT 155
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

5. Fantasy for piano in F minor/A flat major, Op. 49, CT 42
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

6. Barcarolle for piano in F sharp major, Op. 60, CT 6
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Alfred Cortot

Tracks:

Etudes, Op.10: No.1 In C
Etudes, Op.10: No.2 In A Minor 'Chromatique'
Etudes, Op.10: No.3 In E 'Tristesse'
Etudes, Op.10: No.4 In C Sharp Minor
Etudes, Op.10: No.5 In G Flat 'Black Keys'
Etudes, Op.10: No.6 In E Flat Minor
Etudes, Op.10: No.7 In C
Etudes, Op.10: No.8 In F
Etudes, Op.10: No.9 In F Minor
Etudes, Op.10: No.10 In A Flat
Etudes, Op.10: No.11 In E Flat
Etudes, Op.10: No.12 In C Minor 'Revolutionary'
Etudes, Op.25: No.1 In A Flat 'Aeolian Harp'
Etudes, Op.25: No.2 In F Minor
Etudes, Op.25: No.3 In F
Etudes, Op.25: No.4 In A Minor
Etudes, Op.25: No.5 In E Minor
Etudes, Op.25: No.6 In G Sharp Minor
Etudes, Op.25: No.7 In C Sharp Minor
Etudes, Op.25: No.8 In D Flat
Etudes, Op.25: No.9 In G Flat 'Butterfly'
Etudes, Op.25: No.10 In B Minor 'Octave'
Etudes, Op.25: No.11 In A Minor 'Winter Wind'
Etudes, Op.25: No.12 In C Minor
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 In C Sharp Minor
Hungarian Rhapsody No.11 In A Minor
'Rigoletto' Paraphrase
Jeux d'eau

Tracks:

Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Symphonische Etuden, Op. 13
Carnaval, Op. 9: 1. Preambule
Carnaval, Op. 9: 2. Pierrot
Carnaval, Op. 9: 3. Arlequin
Carnaval, Op. 9: 4. Valse Noble
Carnaval, Op. 9: 5. Eusebius
Carnaval, Op. 9: 6. Florestan
Carnaval, Op. 9: 7. Coquette
Carnaval, Op. 9: 8a. Replique
Carnaval, Op. 9: 8b. Sphinxes
Carnaval, Op. 9: 9. Papillons
Carnaval, Op. 9: 10. A.S.C.H.-S.C.H.A. (Lettres dansantes)
Carnaval, Op. 9: 11. Chiarina
Carnaval, Op. 9: 12. Chopin
Carnaval, Op. 9: 13. Estrella
Carnaval, Op. 9: 14. Reconnaissance
Carnaval, Op. 9: 15. Pantalon e Colombine
Carnaval, Op. 9: 16a. Valse allemande
Carnaval, Op. 9: 16b. Intermezzo: Paganini - Valse allemande (Reprise)
Carnaval, Op. 9: 17. Aveu
Carnaval, Op. 9: 18. Promenade
Carnaval, Op. 9: 19. Pause
Carnaval, Op. 9: 20. Marche des 'Davidsbundler' contre les Philistins
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 1. Ausserst bewegt
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch - Intermezzo I. Segr lebhaft - Tempo I - Intermezzo II. Etwas bewegter - Tempo I
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 3. Sehr aufgeregt
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 4. Segr langsam
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 5. Sehr lebhaft
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 6. Sehr langsam
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 7. Sehr rasch
Kreisleriana, Op. 18: 8. Schnell und spielend

Customer Reviews:

Best Chopin Etudes Ever! Wrong notes and all.......2004-10-17

This set would be a great introduction to Alfred Cortot. His Etudes are the finest on disc, though new listeners will need to get used to the performing methods of the 30's. Cortot himself is an aquired taste, he often hits wrong notes and overuses rubato, something all pianists of the era did. If you are curious about historical pianists and need a place to start. there is no better disc than this, and give it a chance, if for some reason you prefer today's etudes to Cortot's know this, his teacher was Chopin's favourite pupil, and you will never be closer to hearing them the way they were meant to sound,

A fine testament, but with some laboured playing.......2004-07-04

This is a fine historical testament to the playing of the important legend Alfred Cortot: the program selection is thorough and attractive (save for that one campy interpretation of Liszt's 2nd Rhapsody, which belongs in the garbage).

Every aspiring pianist should listen to Cortot's recordings at least once, and Cortot's devoted fans like to boast of his limitless vision.Yet I find it partisan to say that he is consistently brilliant. I have nothing against wrong notes; yet his often-praised recording of the Chopin Etudes is, to my ears, laboured. I hear a lot of struggling in it, and in very many cases the technique seems to get in the way of the music. Take the strained first Etude, for example, the insecurity of his No. 23, or the choppy F major No. 8. Listening to Cortot's Chopin Etudes personally makes me irritable and I find myself only returning to a select few (in the flitting account of the F minor Etude, Op. 25, for example, Cortot's true genius shines through). I prefer, for example, the more gentle poetry of these etudes played by his near contemporary, Guiomar Novaes.

For all its tender whimsicality, Cortot's reading of Schumann's `Carnival' is too balmy for my taste; though I would never say that his vision were peccant. The two highlights of this disc, for me, are Cortot's savage and at times magical account of Schumann's `Symphonic Etudes' (a favorite interpretation of mine), and the passionate account of `Kreisleriana'.

I also removed a star because of the CD itself. The transferring is solid, but I don't like having 48 pieces crammed up on one CD, and would have preferred it had been divided into three Cds; also, the packaging, though visually very nice, is annoying: in order to emulate a LP record, the discs slip out from a very tight casing, which probably lets dust in and makes the discs easily scratched (my CD has already begun jumping, so I guess it scratched while trying to slide it out).

The Greatest Artist of the 20th Century!!.......1999-06-02

Cortot is, in my opinion, the greatest interpreter of piano music that this century has witnessed. True, he missed a lot of notes, but what energy! what passion! what freedom his interpretations convey. He represents the lost "Golden Age" of pianism- the age of artistic integrity and excessive rubato! Pay special attention to Schumann's Kreisleriana. Cortot's version has never been equaled, not even by Horowitz himself. His J'eaux D'eau is not only unabashedly sensuous but also one of the fastest versions ever recorded. His Chopin E'tudes, though quite a few notes are missing, are the most energetic ever recorded. Their tempestuousness shows Cortot at his best. What he lacks in accuracy, he more than makes up for with sheer force of energy and tonal beauty. Cortot, with perhaps the exception of Kempff, plays more beautifully than any other artist. His music-making is pure poetry. He was never afraid to make music his own, and this integrity makes his recordings the most rewarding that I've had the pleasure to hear. The spontaneity will delight those listeners tired of the overperfection and timidity of todays interpretations. One more recommendation. Though not on this album, Cortot's 1933 recording of Chopin's masterpiece, the 4th Ballade, is in my opinion the best recording of Chopin period. He does more with the musical structure of the piece than any other artist, and I've heard numerous other interpretations- Hoffman's, Horowitz's, Richter's, Ashkenazy's, Moisewitch's, etc.I would recommend also the 3-cd set of Cortot, Casals, and Thibaud playing various chamber pieces in trio ensemble. This set also gives one a taste of Cortot's conducting. In his lifetime, he was a noted conductor and premiered Wagner's Parsifal in Paris. Well, enough said. Bye it or miss out.

Average customer rating:

Alfred Cortot Plays French Concertos

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000WW8
Release Date: 1993-01-20

Tracks:

Concerto No. 2 In F Minor, Op.21: Maestoso
Concerto No. 2 In F Minor, Op.21: Larghetto
Concerto No. 2 In F Minor, Op.21: Allegro vivace
Concerto No. 4 In C Minor, Op.44: Allegro moderato, Andante
Concerto No. 4 In C Minor, Op.44: Allegro vivace, Adante, Allegro
Etude en forme de Valse
Concerto for the Left Hand

Average customer rating:

Alfred Cortot Plays Short Works

Manufacturer: Biddulph Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Gavottes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Tangos | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000009KEP
Release Date: 1994-08-19

Average customer rating:

Alfred Cortot Plays
Chopin , Cortot , and Barbirolli
Manufacturer: Classica D'oro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00007K269
Release Date: 2003-01-07

Average customer rating:

After the Horowitz 1932 version, this is the best B minor

Alfred Cortot Plays Liszt

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000WUO
Release Date: 1993-01-04

Tracks:

Sonata In B Minor
Au bord d'une source
La Leggierezza
La Leggierezza
Legend: St. Francis Of Paula Walking On The Waves
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11
Spring (Wiosna) (Chopin-Liszt)
The Ring (Pierscien) (Chopin-Liszt)
Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase

Customer Reviews:

After the Horowitz 1932 version, this is the best B minor .......2004-10-17

Horowitz recorded his version the B minor in late 1932, and to date I believe it is still the best. YOu can find it on the second of the great pianists series or my preference is the Andante Horowitz Four disc set of his works from 1926-47.
Alfred Cortot's version of the B minor is the only comparison I have heard besides Horowitz's own 1950 version on RCA. People who know Cortot might think he doesnt have the power to pull this off, and it is true I cant think of another piece where he plays so forecefully, but after just one listening and you will be converted. Cortot plays with such assurance you never second guess his approach, nor will those who say he cant play the right notes ever feel they have a basis for that remark again. He never comes close to derailing, pulling off probably his best performance of any single work. This ranks with the authority of the etudes.

Average customer rating:

Alfred Cortot plays Chopin

Manufacturer: Monopoly
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JFZI
Release Date: 1999-12-08

Average customer rating:

Historical performances!

Cortot Plays Chopin

Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Polonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Barcarolles | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001OFA
Release Date: 1993-11-01

Tracks:

Son No.3 in b, Op.58: I. Allegro Maestoso
Son No.3 in b, Op.58: II. Scherzo (Allegro Vivace)
Son No.3 in b, Op.58: III. Largo
Son No.3 in b, Op.58: IV. Finale (Presto Non Tanto)
Son No.2 in B flat, Op.35: I. Grave
Son No.2 in B flat, Op.35: II. Scherzo
Son No.2 in B flat, Op.35: III. Marche Funebre/IV. Finale (Presto)
Ballade No.1 in g, Op.23
Polonaise No.6 in A flat, Op.53
Fant in f, Op.49
Barcarolle in F#, Op.60

Customer Reviews:

Historical performances!.......2005-08-19

The great pianist Alfred Cortot in those times must have been a total surprise in the great audiences. His profound erudition and the special circumstance of being one of the few pianists in the music history who played admirably Schumann and Chopin conferred him a special approach of Frederic Chopin; revealing the man and his circumstance but also the neurotic gaze of Chopin, going far beyond a simple exercise of good manners and tearful concessions to the great audiences.
That's why there are so many listeners who disagree with his performances. I am not a devoted admirer of Cortot but I must confess this is a valid approach. The Romanticism conceived in the XIX Century usage, kept its virginity in certain music teachers. But also discovered that Chopin literally demystified that squalid and painful vision of the Chopin we are so accustomed to see in the old daguerreotypes, impregnating of discrete sexuality and suggestive seduction instead simply a lone romantic.
In the Third Sonata Cortot makes an impressive and graceful figure in the final coda of the First Movement. Cortot is far distant from being another Romantic pianist. Paderewski was the highest ambassador of that old fashioned concept of the lacerating and distorted vision. In the third movement you listen an anti romantic performance, Alfred is much worried to remark hidden aspects of the musical score, cleaning the ancient patina of reminiscent airs that will never come. This apparent puzzle obeys perhaps to the aristocrat vision so misunderstood after the French Revolution, that substituted it by oligarchy.
The Finale is a breathtaking movement, powerfully expressive without regretful air.
There is little to comment about this approach around the Second Sonata. It's elegant quite elegant with a superior refinement in the Funeral March There are better choices in the market.
The Polonaise No. 6 is one of the standouts of this CD . Impeccably played with epic taste and heroic ardor.
The Fantasy in F minor is another example of the supreme interpretative excellence.
Finally let me remember you Cortot was the teacher of Dinu Lipatti, Samson Francois and Clara Haskill. Doesn't it mean anyhthing?
Go for this album because it will give you some facets never underseen beneath Chopin's soul.

Average customer rating:

Cortot Plays Chopin

Manufacturer: Biddulph Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000009IZ4
Release Date: 1994-08-18

Cortot Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1925-29 Recordings

Average customer rating:

Effortless, natural Chopin, before note-splicing came along
Exellent performance! Chopin himself would appreciate it

Cortot Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1925-29 Recordings

Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001OGS
Release Date: 1995-07-18

Tracks:

Ballade No.1 in g, Op.23
Ballade No.2 in F, Op.38
Ballade No.3 in A flat, Op.47
Ballade No.4 in f, Op.52
Berceuse in D flat, Op.57
Impromptu in F#, Op.36
Etude in A flat, Op.25 No.1
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.1 in C
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.2 in a
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.3 in G
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.4 in e
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.5 in D
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.6 in b
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.7 in A
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.8 in f#
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.9 in E
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.10 in c#
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.11 in B
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.12 in g#
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.13 in F#
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.14 in e flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.15 in D flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.16 in b flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.17 in A flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.18 in f
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.19 in E flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.20 in c
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.21 in B flat
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.22 in g
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.23 in F
24 Prlds, Op.28: No.24 in d

Customer Reviews:

Effortless, natural Chopin, before note-splicing came along.......2005-02-28

This disc, one of my favorite Chopin CDs around, may be hard for some listeners who are accustomed to note-perfect performances. It was recorded when note-perfection wasn't expected and wasn't the most important aspect of a recording's success. The advance of sonics and editing have largely proceeded at the expense of spontenaity and expressivity. These are very rich and warm and natural Chopin performances from a man who prized honing the content more than honing the technique; there are wrong notes every half dozen bars.

I'll take the wrong notes if one can have Cortot's majesty, however. These recordings, made between 1925 and 1929, sound as though Cortot came over to your living room (or "parlor" as they would undoubtedly say back then) and sat down and played Chopin spontaneously on your piano. There's no melodrama, no affectedness, just beautiful melodies connected with simple lines sung with a purity and directness that has vanished in our age of mannerisms and faked emotions (Kissin). Cortot is not trying to make The Big Statement. He's just playing Chopin distilled through a clear, clean, unfussy intellect, one that can see the path out of the woods when others are stumbling along, blocked by branches. While one might find, for example, individual Preludes one likes better from other pianists, Cortot holds them together as a whole better than anyone I've ever heard.

The sound on this disc is excellent for the time--airy and warm. The piano sounds almost velvety at times; at other points it's a burnished and dark sound he gets. Yet the sonics must hint as to what he sounded like in person, the way the decaying Last Supper indicates what Leonardo must have painted. These are the Preludes I would recommend highest of all recordings I know, the First Ballade is also superb, and one of my favorite Chopin works, the Berceuse for piano in D flat major, Op. 57, is gorgeously done here. After listening to this, the next CD in the changer in my car was more Chopin, this time played by Pollini. I had to turn it off after 30 seconds. I admire many of Pollini's accomplishements (his DG recital of Stravinsky's Petrushka, Prokofiev's 7th Sonata, Webern, etc. is one of the greatest piano discs of the 20 century for my money), but he can't touch Cortot when it comes to Chopin. Few others can, either.

Exellent performance! Chopin himself would appreciate it.......1999-04-07

Very rich sound. His playing is both dramatical and lyrical. The tragic aspects of music are neigher exaggregated nor diminished. Probably the best Chopin for Beethoven and Schumann lovers.

Average customer rating:

Cortot Plays Chopin
Chopin , and Cortot
Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00002MXQ1
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks: