Louis Lortie plays Chopin Vol. 2

This is Volume 2 in our series of solo piano works by Chopin, played by the French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie.

Recording exclusively for Chandos, Lortie is recognised as one of the finest interpreters of Chopin today. He first recorded Chopin’s Études for Chandos more than twenty years ago; the disc was named as one of the ‘50 great performances by superlative pianists’ by BBC Music. Volume 1 of his current Chopin series also has received excellent reviews: the magazine Pianist wrote: ‘He is a pianist of our time when it comes to speed, energy and an unfussy approach to Chopin. His way of playing is like a sharply cut steel sculpture, super elegant and with not one single smudge.’ And in the words of International Piano: ‘These are full-blooded and eloquent performances, an auspicious start to what looks likely to become one of the finest of Chopin surveys.’

The ballade was associated with French poetry up until the mid-nineteenth century, when Chopin was among the first to transform the genre into a purely musical form for solo piano. His four ballades, recorded here, are among his most extraordinary and powerful works, full of dramatic contrasts, with moments of lyrical tenderness followed by passages of rambunctious energy.

The Irish composer John Field invented the piano nocturne as a lyrical and dreamy short piece, a charming and languorous creation that was later transformed and extended by Chopin into something with a much wider emotional range, and a general sense of wistfulness. This ‘Chopin’ style of nocturne soon came to replace the Fieldian style as the preferred model of the genre. The simplicity and directness of expression found in the nocturnes have made them the most popular of all Chopin’s works.

Composed towards the end of his life, the Barcarolle (originally a Venetian gondolier’s song) for solo piano is a melancholy, but sweepingly romantic work that conjures up strong images of Venetian boats, water, and oars. Also on this disc is the Berceuse (inspired by the traditional mood of the lullaby), based around a single four-bar theme which Chopin ornaments in increasingly elaborate ways as the piece develops.

Reviews

“… the playing here is extremely beautiful; Lortie’s ravishing tone and delicate touch are heard at their splendid best in the op.9/2 Nocturne an the Berceuse. Lortie is a profoundly thoughtful and refelctive artist, incapable of anything superficial or shallow I still find these to be superior accounts of these works, and have difficulty calling to mind any other living piasnist I would rather hear in them; one simply cannot take pianism of this order for granted …” James A. Altena – Fanfare – September/October 2012

“He [Lortie] plays with a firm rhythmic sense of forward momentum. His selected nocturnes are probably not bettered by any living pianist, and his ballades are interpreted with a dramatic touch that Alfred Hitchcock would have approved of. A rounded, full piano sound underlines this brilliant Chandos production ” * Marius Dawn – Pianist magazine – August/September 2012

* – Exceptional – Luca Segalla – Musica magazine – July/August 2012

“… The sound, though a bit reverberant, is detailed and full. The verdict here then is that Lortie gives us a somewhat different take on Chopin, but one that is deeply considered, sensitively rendered and generally self-effacing from a virtuosic point of view.” Robert Cummings – Classical.Net – 14 June 2012

“…These are thoughtful, engaging, and gorgeous performances that would be a worthy addition to any lover of Chopin’s music.” David A. McConnell – musicweb-international.com – 21 June 2012

Music ½ (Good) Sound *(Very Good) Frank Siebert – Fono Forum magazine – July 2012

Performance * Recording * “Louis Lorte’s second volume in his Chopin cycle for Chandos presents an understated view of the composer, yet one that is fully cultivated and always convincing a highly satisfying recital.” John Allison – BBC Music magazine – July 2012

“For the second volume of his Chopin cycle, Louis Lortie prefaces major pieces such as the Four Ballades with Nocturnes, contrasting a sense of improvisation with weightier, more concentrated works. And throughout his recital you will hear playing of the most patrician poise, fluidity and tonal finesse. Even Chopin’s most violent nerve-storms, while fully acknowledged, are seen within alucid and contained perspective. There is drama and passion but never violence or neurosis …” Bryce Morrison – Gramophone magazine – May 2012

“…I don’t know when I’ve heard this piece [Nocturne op 15 No 3] played so simply and directly, nor when I have heard it realised in a manner so thoroughly consistent with everything Chopin put on the page – and nothing more, since any addition would only blemish that rich sufficiency …” Patrick Rucker – International Record Review – March 2012