The
Chopin recordings of Argentine pianist
Nelson Goerner, released under the auspices of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, have been justly hailed as major and valuable revisions to the
Chopin performance tradition. Whether you're a longtime lover of
Chopin's piano music or just a general listener curious about what's up, this program of
Chopin ballades and nocturnes from
Goerner makes a good place to start.
Goerner plays a variety of historically accurate instruments, here an 1848 Pleyel piano, elsewhere a smoother Erard. Their voices are more intimate than those of a modern grand, and more evocative of the aristocratic salons where
Chopin played this music, but the unusual instruments aren't the only attraction. The beauties of the recording lie more in the way
Goerner uses the piano than in its sound, which isn't different in kind from a modern grand the way a fortepiano of 1800 would be. The main issue in many
Chopin interpretations, tempo rubato, is not of much importance here;
Goerner has a flexible approach to tempo, but when it comes to pushing it or slowing it down he's in the middle of the road. Where
Goerner excels is in unexpected uses of register, texture, and local contrast, matters that since the late 19th century have been governed by the various "schools" of piano pedagogy, none of which
Goerner fits. Each minute of the music is alive, in both hands, and nothing becomes mere "figuration." Sample the Ballade in F minor, Op. 38 (track 3), and hear the extraordinary contrast when the tumultuous second theme is introduced: a modern piano would be capable of greater volume, but not of the complete marshaling of resources that
Goerner pulls off here. The four
Chopin ballads are separated by nocturnes, which receive superbly poetic performances. The engineering brings out everything
Goerner finds in the piano and the music. Strongly recommended. Booklet notes are in Polish and English.