Track Listing

1. Polonaise in a Flat, Op. 53
2. Nocturne No. 17 in B, Op. 62, No. 1
3. Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49
4. Etude in A Minor, Op. 25, No. 11
5. Etude in E, Op. 10, No. 3
6. Ballade No. 3 in a Flat, Op. 47
7. Waltz No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor Op. 65 No. 2
8. Scherzo No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 34

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12739 in Music
• Brand: RCA
• Released on: 1997-10-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Customer Reviews

Chopin at its best
I am a fan of remasters. Old recordings receive a second wind through their re-release on a digitally-mastered CD. Van Cliburn is as convincing as ever in this Chopin recital. He sings through the instrument on the E major Etude. He goes to war on The A-Flat Polonaise. Van Cliburn and Chopin make a good match. An exceptional programme performed with virtuosity.

A wonderful performance by "our boy"
No one can honestly argue that Van Cliburn is poor at Chopin. His lyrical pianism is at its incomparable best, especially (despite what some say) in the "Heroic" Polonaise. Please discount the negative reviews - I was sorry to read them. To date I've not heard one recording of the Polonaise that equals Cliburn's interpretation, except one rare film of Arthur Rubinstein performing it - it was just as good as Cliburn's, though not better. (I think it may be impossible to play it better.) (The film is in the movie, "Carnegie Hall." Amazon sells it, and while the plot is thoroughly ridiculous, the music is incredible.)

It's not only the Polonaise that is marvelous - every other piece is purely beautiful. The "Winter Wind" Etude is dazzlingly furious and is played with spine-tingling eloquence - and faintly wistful and sad is the Waltz in C-sharp minor. The fact that one so young could easily express so many and varied, thoroughly convincing emotions is just one proof of his genius. Your dollars will not go to waste on this CD recorded by one of history's greatest pianists, who has all the best qualities of the legendary virtuosos; while he humbly considers himself "just a tiny mirror of the great legends I have known."

The Best Classical Piano Album of All Time
I loved this album so much I have bought it four times; I wore out two vinyl copies and a CD. This is the best pianist of the 20th century playing some of the best piano music ever written. Van Cliburn's meteoric rise to fame was no accident. His effortless technical perfection, his ability to play the great works with feeling and grandeur are unique. On this album he has chosen 8 tracks that demonstrate the incredible breadth of Chopin's piano music.

It opens with the stirring `Heroic' Polonaise, a piece found in many Chopin collections, but often played badly. Too many pianists treat this with exaggerated rubato, or worse as a race to finish as fast as possible. Chopin despised wildly exaggerated tempos (he kept a metronome on his student's piano at all times). Cliburn plays it as it was intended - with strength and majesty.

Following is the 19th Nocturne, a deeply introspective mood piece played with great feeling, its harp-like ending one of the most beautiful in classical music.

The Fantaise is Chopin's longest work, a powerful piece blending many themes of great beauty. Its mournful adagio section provides a tranquil interlude between many restless and turbulent passages.

Next are two of Chopin's popular Etudes, `Winter Wind', which boils and swirls up and down the keyboard, a piece of great technical difficulty perfectly played. The E major etude is by the composer's own admission "the most beautiful melody" he had ever penned.

The Ballade in A flat is infrequently recorded; a bright and happy piece who's dance-like opening statement comes back over and over in many delightful forms. Concluding with a great flourish, its easy to see why Cliburn chose this as a favourite; its fun to play. It is followed by the well known Waltz in C# minor.

The album concludes with the powerful Scherzo in C# minor, an intense and often wild piece, with startling contrasts in mood from dark thundering octaves of the main theme, to the beautiful cascading arpeggios; it is Chopin at the peak of his creativity.

You would never guess that MFC was recorded in 1961; this re-mastered production has bell-like clarity, better than many more recent piano recordings. If you buy only 1 Chopin album, this is the one.