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Friedrich Gulda plays Chopin

Friedrich Gulda (piano)

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult

Friedrich Gulda plays Chopin

Awards:

These recordings…are a fitting tribute to his idiosyncratic artistry: immediate, vibrant, original and at times utterly volcanic…he shapes the melodic architecture of the more songful preludes...

BBC Music Magazine, September 20105 out of 5 stars

More reviews

Friedrich Gulda plays Chopin

Friedrich Gulda (piano)

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult

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Awards:

These recordings…are a fitting tribute to his idiosyncratic artistry: immediate, vibrant, original and at times utterly volcanic…he shapes the melodic architecture of the more songful preludes...

BBC Music Magazine, September 20105 out of 5 stars

More reviews

About

Gulda's hottest Chopin phase was the mid-1950s, when he regularly played the complete Preludes and complete Ballades in concert. Captured here are recordings from a variety of sources, all released for the first time, with the exception of the Piano Concerto recording, made for Decca (with whom he also recorded the Preludes and Ballades)

Performances are sometimes fiercely virtuosic, sometimes dreamily spun-out. The Ballades in particular are carried off with great panache.

First ever releases of 24 Preludes, 4 Ballades and single pieces.

Special compiled improvisation, in which Gulda (among other things) muses over his (broken) relationship with Chopin.

All newly mastered / remastered by Paul Gulda, who writes the liner notes.

Contents and tracklist

Chopin: Preludes (24), Op. 28
Work length35:33
1. In C Major
Track length0:39
2. In A Minor
Track length2:10
3. In G Major
Track length0:55
4. In E Minor
Track length1:56
5. In D Major
Track length0:32
6. In B Minor
Track length1:56
7. In A Major
Track length0:40
8. In F Sharp Minor
Track length1:40
9. In E Major
Track length1:28
10. In C Sharp Minor
Track length0:28
11. In B Major
Track length0:38
12. In G Sharp Minor
Track length1:11
13. In F Sharp Major
Track length3:50
14. In E Flat Minor
Track length0:29
15. In D Flat Major ("Raindrop")
Track length5:01
16. In B Flat Minor
Track length1:04
17. In A Flat Major
Track length2:27
18. In F Minor
Track length0:48
19. In E Flat Major
Track length1:04
20. In C Minor
Track length1:41
21. In B Flat Major
Track length1:22
22. In G Minor
Track length0:39
23. In F Major
Track length0:44
24. In D Minor
Track length2:11
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Work length37:09
1. Allegro maestoso
Track length18:55
2. Romance (Larghetto)
Track length9:16
3. Rondo (Vivace)
Track length8:58
Chopin: Ballades Nos. 1-4
Work length30:23
Ballade No.1 In G Minor, Op.23
Track length8:17
Ballade No.2 In F, Op.38
Track length6:47
Ballade No.3 In A Flat, Op.47
Track length6:03
Ballade No.4 In F Minor, Op.52
Track length9:16
Chopin: Nocturne No. 13 in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
Work length5:49
Chopin: Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
Work length8:15
Chopin: Nocturne No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2
Work length3:22
Chopin: Waltz No. 14 in E minor, Op. post., KKIVa:15, B 56
Work length1:42
Chopin: Nocturne No. 17 in B major, Op. 62 No. 1
Work length6:44
Gulda: Epitaph für eine Liebe
Work length20:46
1. Epitaph
Track length1:51
2. Entzückung
Track length1:05
3. Erfüllung
Track length4:34
4. Enttäuschung
Track length1:19
5. Entfernung
Track length3:29
6. Erstarrung
Track length1:56
7. Entsagung
Track length1:16
8. Epilog
Track length5:16

Awards and reviews

September 2010

These recordings…are a fitting tribute to his idiosyncratic artistry: immediate, vibrant, original and at times utterly volcanic…he shapes the melodic architecture of the more songful preludes with such good sense that you wonder why doesn't everybody do likewise.
5 out of 5 stars

June 2010

Forever the nonconformist, Gulda may sometimes be wilful and irascible but he is never less than mesmeric and fascinating. Time and again he casts a novel and intense light on even the more familiar phrase, making you hang on every note...the sheer mastery and strength are like an elemental force of nature.

26th February 2010

There's a freedom to Gulda's approach which brings the music vividly to life, in a manner which would doubtless be frowned upon today – but then, he was the original "terrorist pianist" with a taste for free jazz, who played with Chick Corea.
4 out of 5 stars
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