Chopin: Tarantella in A flat major, Op. 43

The French pianist Samson François (1924–1970) recorded three complete Chopin sequences: the ballades, which brought him his first great success on record, the nocturnes and the polonaises. François learned his Chopin from Alfred Cortot, from whom he inherited a visionary style which suits the polonaises particularly well. (By an irony, Cortot himself played these works relatively rarely and recorded almost none of them.)

It was Chopin that François chose for his first recordings, which he made at the end of the 1940s on the Brunswick label. He recorded the polonaises twice: first in mono in 1958; then the present stereo version, made in the Salle Wagam in 1968 and 1969. There is no fundamental change of conception. If the mono recording benefits from the natural acoustic of the Salle de la Mutualité and at times offers something more rapt, it also affords less bel canto in the right hand too: the effect is more battling than dancing,so to speak.

Above all, these polonaises achieve a dramatic tension that sets them apart from other contemporary versions on disc: neither Rubinstein, supremely elegant as always, nor Stefan Askenaze, who cherishes the dance element, approach these works with such intensity.

The couplings are a handful of late works recorded at the end of sessions devoted to the nocturnes: the Trois Nouvelles Etudes, the Tarentelle, the Fantaisie in F minor and the F sharp Barcarolle share the same overcast outlook, and to that extent are a perfect foil to the often exuberant polonaises.

François played all the Chopin that was published in his day: even the C major Rondo for two pianos of 1828, reworked for four hands from an earlier solo piece, and recorded here with the pianist’s lifelong friend Pierre Barbizet.

All tracks are newly transferred and remastered to ART standard at Abbey Road Studios.

Award: Diapason d’Or

Daniil Trifonov is emerging as one of the brightest new names from the next generation of pianists. He was born in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia in 1991, has studied music since he was five and has received numerous piano prizes. This release showcases this brilliant young talent.

Jean Dubé is internationally recognized as one of the most important young pianists of our day. He has been playing all over the world since the age of only four. He gives master classes and performs as soloist, with chamber groups and orchestras throughout the world. His Chopin recital includes a selection of Mazurkas, Nocturne Op.9, Galop Marquis and Tarantella Op.43.

This fourth volume of late Cortot completes APR’s survey of the post-war recordings which the pianist made for EMI in the UK. We are now entering the era of tape recording, and apart from the Deutsche Ländler of 1951, all the other titles, which date from 1953-54, were recorded in this new medium. This gave the artist new freedom, as he was not restriced to the length of a 78rpm side for each take, and Cortot tackled much of his ‘big’ repertoire again. Sadly, by this time his failing health meant that many works remained unissued as they did not meet the standards of his earlier magnificent versions, however some old warehorses did stand the test of time, as can be heard in the Carnaval featured here. His playing may have become technically more fallible but the performances fully support the claim of the late Thomas Manshardt, one of Cortot's last pupils, that this period of Cortot's career "is his greatest in thought and warmth and mastery’.

The booklet contains a discography of all Cortot’s HMV sessions from 1953 to 1955.

Demidenko is famous for his perfomances of the Russian concerto repertoire. On this CD, he performs the works of Chopin with passion and artistry. These performances were recorded live at the Witold Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw in 2008.