Chopin - Nocturnes, Scherzos, Sonata in B flat minor (Louis Lortie) (2010)

"Lortie's playing is very personal, his presentation scrupulously thought-out, his intelligence unmistakable, but he is not, as a performer, conspicuously intellectual. His playing is characterised by great warmth and lyricism, his virtuosity is formidable but unflaunted, his individuality communicative but never distractingly idiosyncratic. As an interpreter he is highly discriminating, playing no two pieces in quite the same way... This is Chopin playing of a high order.” (International Record Review)

'Louis Lortie has produced a distinguished Chopin discography. In 1986 he recorded the etudes as his first solo CD, a rendition that remains among the preferred versions. In 1997 he recorded the op. 28 Preludes, a technically brilliant account that to me sounds a little chilly emotionally. Thus, I expected great things from his new Chopin collection. Even so, on first listening to the disc my reaction was somewhat incredulous. Could any modern pianist’s Chopin actually be this good? To conduct a reality check, I pulled out Arthur Rubinstein’s 1932 set of the scherzos and 1946 recording of the Second Sonata. If you haven’t heard Rubinstein’s 78s, you aren’t fully aware of what he was capable of. I concluded that Rubinstein outdistanced Lortie a bit in sheer machismo, although how macho Chopin should be I actually don’t know. But in fantasy and the play of light and shadow, Lortie comes very close to equaling Rubinstein. This disc is just superb Chopin.

Lortie here plays a fine-sounding Fazioli piano. He prefaces each of the scherzos with a nocturne. Lortie explains in a note that early piano recitalists were in the habit of offering improvisations prior to each piece. Nelson Goerner and Etsuko Hirosé have done something similar with nocturnes before the ballades. Lortie’s choice of nocturnes is very appealing. He begins with Chopin’s earliest nocturne, op. 72/1, sustaining its long melodic line beautifully—until it diminishes into nothingness. Opening the First Scherzo truly con fuoco, Lortie performs its second section sotto voce, like a reverie. The Nocturne, op. 55/2, has a telling ambiguity. The Second Scherzo begins with a sense of breadth and spaciousness, while its second section is jewel-like in tone. Wistfulness characterizes the Nocturne, op. 62/2. The rhythm at the start of the Third Scherzo is unusually pronounced, revealing the influence of Bach; this leads to a rich statement of the second subject. The counterpoint in the coda is especially clear.

The Nocturne, op. 62/1, offers a tender, quiet romantic interlude. In the Fourth Scherzo, the big tune of the second section is especially ravishing. Lortie’s version of the Second Sonata challenges my memory of Abbey Simon playing it at Rutgers University in 1988. Lortie takes the exposition repeat in the first movement, which is welcome given his slightly brisk tempo. After the turbulence of the opening, the second subject exhibits poise. The scherzo begins very precisely rhythmically without rushing, leading to a tranquil second section. The funeral march displays calm grandeur, followed by the movement’s meditative second section. The return of the march after this has added tension. The sonata concludes with a fourth movement of unusual clarity.

Chandos veteran Ralph Couzens produced and engineered this disc in the Britten Studio at Snape Maltings. The sound is pleasantly airy and full, though a little distant. I am hesitant to recommend alternative CDs. For the record, I like Cécile Ousset and Kevin Kenner in the scherzos, and Ousset and Leif Ove Andsnes in the sonata. Suffice to say I think Louis Lortie is one of our finest pianists, and this new disc displays him at his formidable best. The album is titled Volume 1; I eagerly await subsequent releases. ' (Fanfare)