When the name
Chopin is mentioned, what often comes to mind first are his Nocturnes and their dreamy qualities.
Chopin, of course, wrote much more than that, and some of it is quite dramatic and intense. However,
Daniel Barenboim seems to have missed getting that memo before recording
Chopin's Preludes and the other works on this album. There is both drama and intensity in at least a few of the Preludes, often overdone, but not here. Those marked agitato, Nos. 1, 8, and 22, are placidly performed, with little impetus to them, while the "Polish Dance," No. 7, has no strength in it. No. 12 in G sharp minor has a little more energy, and No. 16 has a little more forcefulness, both coming closer than the other Preludes to living up to their potential. At the opposite extreme,
Barenboim is generous with meaningful rubato in No. 17. The softness, gracefulness, and relaxed nature of
Barenboim's playing works well for the Berceuse, but not for much else. The Polonaise-Fantasy still leans toward weaker drama than it could have; the brillantes aspect of the Ludiovic Variations is lost until the very end; and the Paganini Variations sound like a Nocturne throughout. There is little bombast in
Chopin's music, but even if
Barenboim were trying to avoid melodrama, a little more resolve in these works would have been nice.