Search - Frederic Chopin, Jerzy Semkov, Janos Kulka :: Chopin: Piano Works [Etudes - Impromptus - Sonatas - Concertos - Mazurkas - Polonaise - Berceuse]

Vasary's Chopin Etudes - Finally on CD.

Mark Terran | Salt Lake City, UT, USA | 09/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1981, I stumbled upon an unlabeled cassette recording of the Chopin op. 10 Etudes. Greatly impressed, I spent the next eighteen years searching and listening to dozens of recordings of the Etudes in an effort to identify the pianist and recording. Meanwhile, I was finding no match for the sheer musicality of what I was hearing on the cassette. At last I discovered that the mystery pianist was Tamas Vasary, in a recording he made in the 1960's and available once again as part of this freshly-released, 3-CD box set. Here one will find technique and pianism aplenty as Vasary demonstrates his mastery of the assorted technical problems found in the Etudes. But unlike many pianists, some of whom see the mastery of these problems (or, in some cases, the avoidance of them) as the end or goal in playing the Studies, Vasary keenly perceives, and never loses sight of, the truth, beauty and poetry behind this music, and compromises nothing in his pursuit. In the playing of that counterpoint passage in op. 10 #4, for example, one will not hear the pedal being used as a crutch, or whitewash, as it often is in this instance. Rather, one will hear, with perfect clarity combined with a wonderful, round tone, music of a composer who was, after all, a great fan and disciple of that master contrapuntist, J.S. Bach. A first regard for musicianship and, above all, a love for the music itself, clearly is in evidence in Vasary's recording. Get it - even though you already have a recording of the Etudes."

It's Analog, But He's Digitally Right On

Ron Spencer | Sandy, Oregon | 03/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first listened to Tamás Vásáry rendition of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor in the late 1960s when I was 15 or 16 years old, studying piano and very much interested in "big time" younger pianists. The concerto came to me as a gift from Dad on a DG vinyl pressing of decent quietness and dynamic range, and it quickly became my favorite classical record. Vásáry appeared to be 30 years old or so back then--a bit of an Eastern European analog of our own Van Cliburn, though with a style I preferred to the young Texan's, especially in the Chopin.



Now that you know the nostalgic side of this, I can say that this set of CDs comes through very, very well audially (considering that the original recordings were made in the 1960s). It appears that DG may have recorded the concertos at 30 inches per second on reel-to-reel tape, hence there are no instances of tape oversaturation and distortion, and the background hiss while present, does not directly compete with even the quieter passages. DG clearly devoted its then-best technical efforts to this then-young artist. And with reason.



Vásáry has a reputation as a phenomenal technical and interpretative virtuoso, and this comes through in the recordings. His young fingers are forever fluid but precise, and for sheer joyful tunefulness, Vásáry's interpretations fit Chopin's spirit wonderfully well. Younger ears than mine may fault the late-1960s' audio quality, but the sheer musicality and precision of playing places these recordings near the top of the heap. The fact that the set is attractively priced helps make this set a great gift for a lover of music trying to build a basic classical library. This is Chopin wonderfully played."

More outstanding Chopin from an unjustly neglected pianist

Dr Karl | 12/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As with his recordings of the Scherzi and ballades, Vasary proves himself one of a handful of really great Chopin interpreters. I found his Etudes far more 'poetic' (yes, these etudes are no mere studies in barn-storming virtuosity) than Perahia's, his sonatas as involving as Ashkenazy's and nearly all the other pieces on par with the best. Maybe most remarkable are the two concertos that I hadn't heard since their days as LPs in the 1960s. They sound every bit as good now, and, for my money, they would be the versions to choose among all others. I hear Vasary several times over the years in concert hall, but unfortunately he never really repeated those pianistic marvels of his youth. To be treasured."