Search - Frederic Chopin, Nikita Magaloff :: Chopin Recital

Enchanting

David Saemann | 08/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't be fooled by the appearance of this disc in the Decca Heritage series. The 1954 sound engineering, from Geneva's Victoria Hall (home of Ernest Ansermet's orchestra), is excellent, with only a modicum of tape hiss. There is a noticeable splice in the slow movement of the sonata, where the beginning of the movement sounds louder and hissier than the rest of the recording. Perhaps the remastering engineer had to use a different source tape to repair some damage to the original master. As for the performances, they are up to the same level as Magaloff's wonderful Chopin series for Philips in the 1970's. The Sonata is given a somewhat leisurely rendition, with loving attention to detail. The Impromptus are wonderful in every way, with brilliant technique and limpid shaping of melodies. The Fantasy-Impromptu is given a highly touching performance. As for the Berceuse, it passes with a winsome quality that shows how well Magaloff adapts from one genre of Chopin's music to another. Magaloff, was a beautiful, if somewhat unheralded, champion of Chopin's music, and this disc is an especially fine souvenir of his advocacy."