Fryderyk Chopin: Ballades Nos. 2 & 4; Scherzo No. 4; Mazurkas & Waltzes

by Anna Zassimova

Overview

Pianist Anna Zassimova has released several albums of Chopin works and is developing into a specialist in the music of that composer, with persuasive things to say. Here, she focuses mostly on the mazurkas, interleaving them with larger ballades and concluding with a few rarely played pieces without opus numbers. It is a recital a 19th century audience would have liked, with the more imposing, structured ballades giving way to short pieces that have a reflective and sometimes humorous cast. The mazurkas are Chopin's most characteristically Polish pieces, deriving some of their appeal from turns of rhythm and harmony that are unexpected in a Western context, and Zassimova is alert to these. Sample the Mazurka in E minor, Op. 41, No. 2, which packs two tonal centers and hints of a third into its 82 seconds; the piece might be regarded as modal. Another draw here is the inclusion of four rarely played pieces without opus number; Zassimova gives highly sympathetic and idiomatic performances of these. Hear especially the Waltz in E major of 1829, a clever piece in Zassimova's hands, perched right where the composer's distinctive voice is beginning to emerge. Excellent sound from BIS, working at the Lisztzentrum in Raiding, Austria, completes a very satisfying Chopin package. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	06/02/2023
Label:	Bis
UPC:	7318599926193
Rank:	18947

Tracks

1. Mazurka in F sharp minor, Op. 6 No. 1
2. Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 6 No. 2
3. Mazurka in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3
4. Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op. 52
5. Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3
6. Mazurka in G minor, Op. 67 No. 2
7. Three Mazurkas, Op. 50~Vivace in G major
8. Three Mazurkas, Op. 50~Allegretto in A flat major
9. Three Mazurkas, Op. 50~Moderato in C sharp minor
10. Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
11. Mazurka in C major, Op. 67 No. 3
12. Four Mazurkas, Op. 41~Andantino in E minor
13. Four Mazurkas, Op. 41~Animato in B major
14. Four Mazurkas, Op. 41~Allegretto in A flat major
15. Four Mazurkas, Op. 41~Maestoso in C sharp minor
16. Waltz in A flat major, Op. 64 No. 3
17. Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54
18. Waltz in E major, WN 18
19. Sostenuto in E flat major, WN 53
20. Cantabile in B flat major, WN 43
21. Moderato in E major, WN 56

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Anna Zassimova   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Marion Schwebel   Post Production Editor,Engineer,Producer,Recording Producer,Post Production Mix
Andrew Barnett   Liner Note Translation,Typesetting
Horst A. Scholz   Liner Note Translation
Karl Brandl   Piano Technician
Magnus Arrevad   Cover Photo
Frederic Chopin   Composer
Robert Suff   Executive Producer
Christophe Sirodeau   Liner Notes