Track Listing

1. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 1 in C major. Agitato
2. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 2 in A minor. Lento
3. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 3 in G major. Vivace
4. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 4 in E minor. Largo
5. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 5 in D major. Allegro molto
6. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 6 in B minor. Lento assai
7. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 7 in A major. Andantino
8. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 8 in F sharp minor. Molto agitato
9. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 9 in E major. Largo
10. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 10 in C sharp minor. Allegro molto
11. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 11 in B major. Vivace
12. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 12 in G sharp minor. Presto
13. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 13 in F sharp major. Lento
14. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 14 in E flat minor. Allegro
15. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 15 in D flat major. Sostenuto
16. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 16 in B flat minor. Presto con fuoco
17. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 17 in A flat major. Allegretto
18. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 18 in F minor. Allegro molto
19. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 19 in E flat major. Vivace
20. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 20 in C minor. Largo
21. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 21 in B flat major. Cantabile
22. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 22 in G minor. Molt agitato
23. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 23 in F major. Moderato
24. Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 28, CT. 166-189: No. 24 in D minor. Allegro appassionato
25. Musica callada, 28 pieces for piano in 4 books: No. 15 (sur le th�me du pr�lude No. 4 de Chopin)
26. Trois nouvelles �tudes, for piano, KK IIb/3, CT. 38-40 (B. 130): No. 1 in F minor. Andantino
27. Trois nouvelles �tudes, for piano, KK IIb/3, CT. 38-40 (B. 130): No. 2 in D flat major. Allegretto
28. Trois nouvelles �tudes, for piano, KK IIb/3, CT. 38-40 (B. 130): No. 3 in A flat major. Allegro
29. Prelude for piano No. 9 (Languido)
30. Prelude for piano No. 25 in C sharp minor, Op. 45, CT. 190
31. Prelude for piano No. 26 in A flat major ('Presto con leggerezza'), KK IVb/7, CT. 191 (B. 86)
32. Paisajes, for piano: El lago (Le Lac)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15495 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Customer Reviews

One of the Finest Preludes on Disc[!] from a rising star
Alexandre Tharaud is one of the greatest pianists among the new stable of pianistic talent. His only rival among the new breed maybe Vgenny Sudbin. He is that good. He started out on Naxos with a cycle of Poulenc and Milhaud, also recorded some modern music such as Boulez and Dutilleux before hitting stride with Harmonia Mundi. My first disc revevlation came with his Bach Italiano disc, a disc which still provides so much pleasure that I cant help but listen at a sitting each time. His Ravel cycle was fabulous. His Arpeggione sonata was pretty good, Couperin and Rameau were top-tier. His recent journey into Chopin has been a fabulous treat for the listener. His waltzes were utterly compelling.
Now to this absolute masterful interpretation. If only to provide an idea of my experience with these pieces, I have somewhere near 40 different versions. From Cortot, to Moiseiwitsch, to Argerich, to Arrau, Bolet, Pogorelich, and more, I would rival these with any and would now claim them to be my reference version.
Listen to number eight. Recent chopin winner Rafael Blachaez plays it yet towards the end apex, cannot sustain a timely phrase and, if you listen closely with headphones, many sloppy passages will be revealed. Not so with this release. I have been far-up to find any qualms with this-let alone some[as did the gramaphone reviewer] want a tad more sentiment in the more passionate preludes. HogWash. These are nearly ideal and the absolute best modern versions available.
I would not want to be without Cortot 34, or Moiseiwitsch, or some other historical versions[not to mention a few modern ones[stay away from Pogorelich[worst released by a major pianist-even my father, who doesnt listen all that well was appalled].
THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION

CHOPIN PRELUDES op28
recommended recordings
1. Tharaud
2. Cortot 34, 42
3. Arrau
4. Moravec
5. Sokolov
6. Argerich
7. Moiseiwitsch
8. Bolet[carnegie Hall & Eloquence
Worst Recordings;
1. Pogorelich
2. Barenboim

Tharaud doesn't get in the way.
This will be brief because I'm neither a musician nor an audiophile.
For me, the preludes are emotional enough as Chopin wrote them, when played simply without excessive iterpretation: fermatas, dramatic changes in tempo, exaggerated dynamics. Many versions of romantic works sound like unintentional parodies. To me.
This version is sublime, almost perfect to my taste. I was moved to tears. He mostly just plays the notes. Only more artistic restraint would improve it.

Excellent alternative version
Four and a half stars, really. Tharaud plays everything beautifully, and the Mompou inclusions on this disc make it worth the purchase even if you already own several recordings of the preludes. Tharaud definitely puts an individual stamp on these works. There are a couple of interesting (and not entirely successful) tempo choices here, most notably in preludes 13-15. I think he plays 13 too swiftly, especially in the piu lento section, where he could have afforded to luxuriate a bit in the shifting harmonies of the left hand. 14 is a stunner, extremely fast, but could possibly have benefitted from a slight easing of tempo. 15 is one of the most famous preludes ("Raindrop"), and here I think the tempo drags a bit too much. Prelude 22 is ferociously played, and very effective, but as a result the somewhat more reticently played number 24 comes off as a bit anticlimactic. Still, these are fascinating versions, very well played, and good alternative views of these oft-recorded works. I will also add that the opus 45 prelude receives here one of the finest perfomances ever committed to disc.