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4 Ballades/Fantasie/Barcarolle [Import]

Frederic Chopin (Artist) | Format: Audio CD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 19.55 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
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Product Details
1. Balladen: No.1 in g, op.23
2. 4 Balladen - Ballades - Ballate: No 2 F-dur Op. 38
3. 4 Balladen - Ballades - Ballate: No. 3 As-dur Op. 47
4. 4 Balladen - Ballades - Ballate: No. 4 f-moll Op. 52
5. 4 Balladen - Ballades - Ballate: Barcarolle Fis-dur Op. 60
6. 4 Balladen - Ballades - Ballate: Fantasie f-moll Op. 49

Product Description

Amazon.ca

Krystian Zimerman's Chopin is big. He plays this music with a great dynamic range and huge contrasts, with little of the shading we love in Rubinstein's Chopin. Except for the Barcarolle, these are pretty big pieces, so Zimerman doesn't exactly overwhelm the music. It's just very 20th- century Chopin, not on the composer's original scale, but not badly done either. I think this disc would sound a lot better in a large listening room than in a small one, however (or in your car). The recording is too close up; we could have used more distance from the piano. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars
14 reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A surprising favorite Aug 24 2001
By Robert L. Berkowitz
Format:Audio CD
If I had to limit my collection of recordings of the Ballades to only one disc, I would choose this one. I have not always been an admirer of Zimerman's playing. I used to think that he was perfect to a fault and that his playing could be elegant and refined to a point of being detached. I hesitated buying this disc because of this incorrect impression. I was totally taken by these performances. His performances are passionate, individual and mature. I particularly love the way he builds to the end of the F minor Ballade -- one is just swept along in his growing surge of power and brilliance. The Barcarolle and Fantasie are also beautifully played. This is a luxury class performance. The stereo sound is first class. By way of comparison, my collection currently includes Perahia, Tryon, Ax (out-of-print), Davidovich (out-of-print), Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, Arrau, Vasary, Entremont. I enjoy them all (with special honorable mention to Ax and Davidovich).
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Power and polish at the hands of Zimerman July 14 2004
By Up North
Format:Audio CD
Krystian Zimerman demonstrates on this disc a truly fine-tuned and irridescent style in his interpretation of the Chopin works offered. With every work on this disc he achieves a multitude of colors and a commanding, yet disciplined technical treatment. The pianism here shimmers and excites while never seeming indulgent. Also, the sotto voce serenity that Zimerman manages to create in the slow sections of the Barcarolle and the Fantasy is a pleasure to experience. Zimerman's harmonic awareness illuminates even the most fleeting harmonies, as in the closing pages of the fourth ballade. These performances have few peers and no betters. Whole-heartedly recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossibly beautiful Mar 20 2004
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
This CD contains the most achingly beautiful performances of these pieces I have ever heard. I have listened to it dozens of times. 5 stars does not begin to do justice to these superb interpretations; 10 stars out of 5 would be more like it. Zimerman is phenomenal. Buy this CD now.
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Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars MANNERED
The pace is very slow, and the phrasing is mannered in a airheaded way. If you like Pogorelich, you will also like this Zimerman disc. Read more
Published on July 5 2003 by Mr. A
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply The Best
This disc is light years ahead of the competition. As is his custom, the playing is extremely clean and and impeccably recorded. Read more
Published on Feb 6 2002 by Terry Kildal
5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD
Refined performances and a crystal clear recording make this an obvious first choice for the Chopin Ballades. Read more
Published on Sep 1 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars Big-hearted romantic Chopin from a very intelligent pianist
I have to agree with most of the reviews below. Zimerman is really at home in these works, and the whole disc has a quality of cohesiveness and persuasiveness that transcends... Read more
Published on Jun 3 2000 by John Grabowski
5.0 out of 5 stars Coherent and Serene
I have to take issue with the editorial review. Gerber characterizes this performance as "big," "20th-century," and having "little shading. Read more
Published on Feb 23 2000 by Stan VanSandt
5.0 out of 5 stars Strength, Profundity, Grace.
There are some works for solo piano so rich with suggestion that they require having more than one interpretation close by: Schubert's Impromptus, Beethoven's late sonatas, and... Read more
Published on Feb 17 2000 by Christopher Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Chopin with unmatched accuracy and thought
I am a pianist myself and know the hazards that Chopin can present to the player: overexcitement, relying too much on momentum, not to mention the thousands of technical pitfalls. Read more
Published on Feb 17 2000 by Thomas B Dawkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Recording
Zimerman know Chopin. He made this wonderful recording
Published on July 19 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Recording
Zimerman know Chopin. He made this wonderful recording
Published on July 19 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the BEST recording on piano.
Zimerman is my favorite pianist, I have all his cd's you can get, and I think this is the best. His amazing colors and lightness and PERFECTness and sound and articulation and... Read more
Published on Jan 26 1999 by Adam Fryderyk Golka (chopin1999@hotmail.com)
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