Last year marked Chopin's 200th birthday anniversary. Among the thousands of celebrations all over the world dedicated to this most famous Polish composer, the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw released a very unique CD box-set. On 21 discs, it contains all of Chopin's works - from the early polonaises and songs of young Frycek (as he was affectionately called by his relatives), through to the many mazurkas, nocturnes and preludes he wrote throughout his life. The box-set showcases some of the most renowned pianists in the world - e.g. Nelson Goerner, Janusz Olejniczak, Kevin Kenner, Fou Ts' ong, Dina Yoffe, etc...
What's so special about it, you might ask? Well, what makes these CDs unique, in my opinion, is the fact that all of the recordings have been made using historical instruments - an 1849 Erard and an 1848 Pleyel; both made in Paris around the time of Chopin's early death. There's also an extra bonus: the CD marked NIFCCD OOO is a recording from a 1948 concert held at the Belvedere to mark the 138th anniversary of Chopin's birthday. The performer - Raul Koczalski - was a student of Karol Mikuli, who in turn was Chopin's pupil. Koczalski devoted his life to Chopin's music and considered himself a true heir of Fryderyk's style. Well, after all, Koczalski received lessons from a guy who took direct notes from Chopin himself! I really think that's the closest we can get to hearing what Chopin wanted his music to sound like.
Do the pianos make such a difference, you might ask? Well, quite frankly, they do. The pianoforte instrument, as we know it today, underwent many changes which shaped its current look. If you recall Miloš Forman's 1984 Oscar-packed film "Amadeus", then you might remember the weird-looking instrument played by Mozart. The white keys were black and vice versa...Well, that's the harpsichord, the predecessor of the modern-day pianoforte. The idea of the harpsichord was then 'upgraded' many times up until Chopin's era - the range was raised from 4 to 7 octaves, the frame was made of wood rather than iron and the hammers came to be made out of felt instead of leather. With these changes, a new instrument was created - the pianoforte - which, although stems from the idea of the harpsichord, is not directly related to it in its mechanical construction.
The differences between modern-day pianofortes and the ones contemporary to Chopin - like the use of single-escapement key mechanisms or the varying strike-points in the higher registers - meant that Chopin's music sounded completely different in the 19th century than it does nowadays. It is virtually impossible to achieve the same sostenuto sound that Chopin had in mind, with the pedal mechanisms we have in pianos these days.
And if that wasn't enough for authenticity, the piano concerto CDs were recorded with Frans Brüggen's 'Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century', which consists of nearly 60 musicians, all of them playing on historical instruments or on contemporary copies. The only two piano concertos Chopin has ever wrote - the E-minor op.11 and the F-minor op.22 - are far from being my favourite pieces by the composer. However, I really like the idea of 'historically-informed' performances and so I found this CD really interesting.
You can check out the recordings at:
BTW - the http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/ portal (the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute website) is a fantastic resource for all your Chopin inquiries - whether it be biography, events, compositions, filmography, letters, etc. And apart from that, you can listen to all of the CDs from the box-set and buy them on-line. Check it out!
It's a real shame that Chopin died only a couple of dozen years before people figured out a way to record sound. We will therefore never be able to hear the great composer play his own work. However, these CDs, I believe, are really close to hearing the 'real deal'.
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