A happier combination of poetry and virtuosity is scarcely imaginable: the 20-year-old Frédéric Chopin had composed the two concertos in Warsaw before his much-lauded Paris debut. And Christian Zacharias knows better than anyone how to do justice to the intimate and extroverted moments of this music. In the "Preziosa" series from MDG, Chopin's piano concertos have been reissued, remixed, and carefully remastered, and are now available for the first time on Super Audio CD – for a typically MDG sound experience that leaves you feeling wonderful from head to toe.
That the 2003 recording still sounds as fresh as the day it was made is not only due to the phenomenal performance of the artists, but also to the care and precision with which the recording was made. As always with Preziosa, label head Werner Dabringhaus provides fascinating and entertaining insights into the creative process.
The artists are able to fully immerse themselves in the music, which is palpable from the first to the last note. Particularly moving: the personal moments in the slow middle sections radiate an intimacy that reaches straight to the heart, including the unfulfilled romance of a "dream on a beautiful, moonlit spring night"…
Christian Zacharias was chief conductor in Lausanne for many years; the recording of the Chopin concertos is one of the highlights of an extremely fruitful collaboration. The way the orchestra makes room on stage for the soloists is a true pleasure: a collaboration that brings pure joy!
Reviews
"(++++) A must-have. Sometimes something that's close to your heart can mean as much work as love. That seems to be the case with these recordings of Chopin's piano concertos with Christian Zacharias – as evidenced by the extraordinarily engaging and informative commentary by Werner Dabringhaus. These recordings date from 2003 (Concerto No. 2) and 2004 (Concerto No. 1) and are now released on MDG Preziosa, a kind of 'archive' label within the company. Anyone who thinks that classical recordings are mainly about placing microphones and tweaking a few knobs or volume and balance controls here and there, allowing the musicians to simply do their thing, will be convinced otherwise by Dabringhaus' description of the complexity of these specific recordings. It covers everything, from the impossibility of using air conditioning in the control room to the need to reposition instruments to accurately capture sound in a theater hall not designed for orchestral performances – and all this after the original recording location couldn't be found due to inaccurate map data. Dabringhaus' recollections form a well-told story about events that, in hindsight, are amusing and memorable. They provide a broader context than listeners typically get to understand how a particular recording came to be, which might otherwise not have seemed worth the effort. Of course, none of this would matter much if, musically speaking, it hadn't been worth remastering the performances for SACD format. Fortunately, Christian Zacharias' feeling for Chopin, both as a pianist and as conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, makes this release a highly worthwhile experience that requires no prior knowledge of its creation story from the audience to allow them to immerse themselves deeply in the high-quality interpretations." (transcentury.blogspot.com)
"Alongside the piano concertos of Schumann and Brahms, those of Frédéric Chopin certainly rank among the most frequently performed in concert halls of this country. There are countless recordings, which often differ only minimally from each other. What sets these recordings, made more than twenty years ago, apart from the rest is primarily the translation of what Robert Schumann would probably have described as 'poetic' and what manifests itself in these two early works by Chopin, especially in the slow middle sections. For while the outer movements are conceived primarily as virtuosic showpieces, the two Larghetti are much more intimate and subtler in tone. And it is precisely here that the great empathy and dynamic nuance of Christian Zacharias' playing shines through. He lets this 'poetic idea' sparkle while allowing the piano to sing. One would always wish to hear Chopin performed with such color, sensitivity, and tonal refinement." (Klassik Festival) Stereoplay 07/05: "The unmistakable pleasure in playing comes across directly in elegance and in equally thoughtful as beautiful phrasing; the delicate articulation and refined tone are entirely devoted to bringing the music to life."
"Chopin's piano concertos are the perfect fusion of virtuosity and profound expression. In this recording, Christian Zacharias brings each intimate and exuberant moment to life with unparalleled sensitivity. Listeners are enchanted by the lyrical depth and poetic nuances of each movement. Zacharias' many years of collaboration with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne come fully into their own in these recordings. The orchestra provides attentive, finely calibrated accompaniment that does full justice to the pianist's interpretation. This synergy transforms every passage into a vibrant, emotionally compelling musical dialogue." (HRAudio.net)
