Chopin : Valses - Double Intégrale

Description

Why this double recording? Over more than 20 years of concerts and masterclasses during which I have confronted Chopin's works on both historical and modern pianos, I have observed how much the period instrument demands a careful and meticulous re-reading of the text. Whether it’s about managing dynamics, polyphony, or the sustain pedal, everything is different. I could have chosen to record these waltzes on a period piano, but I preferred to confront two versions: one on a historical instrument and the other on a modern piano. The goal is not to oppose two interpretations by trying to convince that one is better than the other, but rather to show all the benefits that can be gained from adapting the reflections born from the use of the period piano to the modern piano. For this exciting confrontation, I chose two exceptional instruments: a Pleyel measuring 2.27 meters, no. 5612, which left the Parisian maker's workshop on April 17, 1837, and one of the new concert grand pianos measuring 2.82 meters, no. 215 250, which came from the Berlin maker's factory in 2020. The recording circumstances were also different: on one side, the historical instrument recorded in a salon with an audience, and on the other, the modern concert grand piano recorded in a concert hall without an audience. Nevertheless, there are many commonalities between the two versions, as well as significant differences...