An oddly chosen assortment of works performed by an oddly chosen assortment of players, this two-disc collection of
Chopin's solo piano music brings together two of the better sets of
Chopin recordings of the previous four decades along with a handful of not nearly in the same league recordings.
Agustín Anievas' 1969 recording of the waltzes is light, expressive, and wonderfully rhythmic, albeit without the depth and soul of
Dinu Lipatti's superlative performances of two decades earlier.
Andrei Gavrilov's 1985-1987 recordings of both groups of etudes are brash, brilliant, and marvelously virtuosic, albeit without the Olympian poise and the Dionysic drive of
Maurizio Pollini's of a decade earlier.
Danielle Laval's 1976 recording of the Trois Nouvelles Études is more than functional if less than exciting;
Tzimon Barto's 1991 recordings of the little-played Cantabile in B flat major and Contredanse in G flat major are just about more than acceptable if nowhere near actually interesting; and
Daniel Barenboim's 1973 recording of the Berceuse in D flat major is more than elegant if less than meaningful. For listeners previously unfamiliar with
Anievas or
Gavrilov, this collection will be informative. For listeners who want more than that out of their
Chopin, try the above-mentioned
Lipatti or
Pollini recordings -- they'll blow your hat in the creek. EMI's late stereo sound for
Anievas is warmer and clear than its cool and clean early digital sound for
Gavrilov.