Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 9, CT. 108-110: Nocturne No. 1 in B Flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1
2. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 9, CT. 108-110: Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 9 No. 2
3. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 9, CT. 108-110: Nocturne No. 3 in B, Op. 9 No. 3
4. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 15, CT. 111-113: Nocturne No. 4 in F, Op. 15 No. 1
5. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 15, CT. 111-113: Nocturne No. 5 in F Sharp, Op. 15 No. 2
6. Nocturnes (3) for piano, Op. 15, CT. 111-113: Nocturne No. 6 in G Minor, Op. 15 No. 3
7. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 27, CT. 114-115: Nocturne No. 7 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 1
8. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 27, CT. 114-115: Nocturne No. 8 in D Flat, Op. 27 No. 2
9. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 32, CT. 116-117: Nocturne No. 9 in B, Op. 32 No. 1
10. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 32, CT. 116-117: Nocturne No. 10 in A Flat, Op. 32 No. 2
11. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 37, CT. 118-119: Nocturne No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 37 No. 1
12. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 37, CT. 118-119: Nocturne No. 12 in G, Op. 37 No. 2
13. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 48, CT. 120-121: Nocturne No. 13 in C Minor, Op. 48 No.1

Disc 2:

1. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 48, CT. 120-121: Nocturne No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, Op. 48 No. 2
2. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 55, CT. 122-123: Nocturne No. 15 in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1
3. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 55, CT. 122-123: Nocturne No. 16 in E Flat, Op. 55 No. 2
4. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 62, CT. 124-125: Nocturne No. 17 in B, Op. 62 No. 1
5. Nocturnes (2) for piano, Op. 62, CT. 124-125: Nocturne No. 18 in E, Op. 62 No. 2
6. Nocturne for piano in C minor, KK IVb/8, CT. 128 (B. 108)
7. Impromptu for piano in A flat major, Op. 29, CT. 43
8. Impromptu for piano in F sharp major, Op. 36, CT. 44
9. Impromptu for piano in G flat major, Op. 51, CT. 45
10. Fantasy-Impromptu for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 66, CT. 46
11. Nocturne for piano in E minor, KK IV/b
12. Nocturne for piano in C sharp minor (doubtful), KK Anh.Ia/6

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10412 in Music
• Brand: Philips
• Released on: 1997-08-12
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com
Claudio Arrau considered the Nocturnes among Chopin's deepest, most searching works, rather than mere descriptive mood paintings, and he plays them that way. The same can be said vis-à-vis Arrau's Impromptus, with brooding textures and cosmic breadth that leave the drawing room behind. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Arrau is a masterful interpreter of Chopin
This is an inspired release by the Philips label; hopefully, it will generate new interest in Arrau's Chopin and give him the kind of credit he deserves. Arrau is so underrated as to almost pass unnoticed when the truly great exponents of Chopin are spoken of, yet I believe he belongs in the company of Horowitz, Rubinstein, Agerich, Pollini and Zimermann. Best known for his awesome Beethoven cycle, Arrau has an almost transcendent grasp of Chopin's many moods--he makes every Chopin piece he plays tell a compelling, unforgettable narrative. His chosen tempi really wring the emotion out of every note, but his treatment of a piece like the opus 15 #1 shows he has the kind of muscularity in his playing necessary to avoid being a mere Chopin sentimentalist. Arrau recorded most of his Chopin in the '70's, and his Ballades and Preludes are staggeringly good (I have yet to hear a better version than his of the fourth ballade). I am waiting for Philips to re-release these treasures on CD, and hopefully they'll do it as they did here with the Nocturnes and Impromptus--a remastered, 2CD for the price of one bargain. I started with the Nocturnes like many people do--by buying Rubinstein's set. They're fantastic, but Arrau just takes these pieces farther than I ever imagined they could go, and you can't ask for more than that.

ps. Check out Arrau under the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series that's available here on Amazon if you want to further sample his enormous repertoire.

The summit (forgive me, Rubinstein)
If anyone wanted an introduction to the late Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, and why I think he's one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, I'd point them to this set. This is some of the most distinctive Chopin playing I've ever heard, beautifully-recorded. I've been comparing this to Rubinstein's set all week and Arrau comes out on top almost every time.

Some people may find his push-pull rubato a little too much, but I like it here. Listen to how he never repeats a phrase exactly. Each time he plays it he caresses a different note, a different part of the phrase, accents a different beat ever so slightly. There's no such thing as "passage work" with Arrau. He has said that every note in a piece is equally important, and he plays these works that way, rather than as just light dreamy moonlight pieces, and thus brings out demons in them I've never heard before. For just one of many examples, listen to the pedal just before the coda in the Second Nocturne, Op. 9. No one does moments like that like Arrau--he makes a very special statement effortlessly, without flash or drama. His recordings reward careful, repeated listening, and bore those searching for surface flair.

It's interesting to note that he considered the Nocturnes to be the peak of Chopin's output, an extraordinary view. Most other pianists--Rubinstein is a fine example--handle the Nocturnes as small parlor pieces, but Arrau gives them a big-scale treatment. You could argue they lose some of their intimate charm, their old fashioned quality, this way, like listening to Mozart chamber music through a bullhorn, but I think Arrau's view has a lot going for it. He brings out a certain agitation in No. 2 in Op. 37 in G-major, that other pianists miss. He finds moonlight and mystery in the constantly changing figurations of No. 1 in B-flat minor--again, no such thing as passagework. And just wait till you hear the volcanic fury pent up in the C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1. I find these larger-than-life readings to be very satisfying, and despite Arrau's approach he manages to find plenty of small-scale charm in, say, Op. 15, No. 2. But what makes this set special to me is the extra material he mines from works like Op. 15, No. 1, here played more disturbingly than ones normally hears it. And, if you're in the mood for the drawing room approach, you should also have your Rubinstein set handy. (While I am a great admirier of Pires, I find her set, beautifully-played, to be a little intellectually lightweight compared to these.)

Don't listen to those who say either 1) Chopin played his works without a lot of rubato, or 2) there is heavy breathing here that makes these unlistenable. No one knows what Chopin played these works like--there was no recording then, obviously, and a verbal description is not reliable since everything is relative--what was considered "not a lot of rubato" in 1840 could be a lot today, just as meat that was "not very salty" in 1840 would probably assault our tastebuds today. Chopin's direct descendants were recorded, however, or many of them were, and they played his works with great freedom, rhythmic and otherwise. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that slavish workship of the printed note did not take effect until the second half of the 20th century, makes me suspect anyone who says Chopin did not want his works played this way or that way. As for Arrau's "breathing," I don't find it particularly bothersome. Anyone saying this makes the discs "unlistenable" must be a child of the electronic music age, and probably could not keep his concentration in a concert hall surrounded by people who are all, we hope, breathing.

A desert island disc
This is a marvelously conceived and executed version of the nocturnes. The word that comes most to mind is "poetic." Arrau is a master of incredible sensitivity to phrasing and dynamics. The remastered recording, while not so pristine as an all digital one, is still a major improvement over the original version. If you love Chopin, if you love the piano, or if you simply love human excellence and genuis in any endeavor, you will adore this recording.