Classic Voice
Chopin: The Mazurkas - Pietro De Maria
"...the conclusion of an exciting voyage begun five years ago with a prestigious recording of the Etudes..."In time out of mind I don’t believe there has been an edition of the complete piano works of Chopin entrusted to an Italian pianist by an important record company. Both Decca and De Maria have kept their promise and today we are in possession of a voluminous heritage of unquestionable artistic value, the conclusion of an exciting trip begun five years ago with a prestigious recording of the Etudes. We well know that the Mazurkas are one of the most complex areas to tackle, as there are so many criteria that the performer must keep in mind for a correct interpretation. In the case of a recording of the complete works it is also necessary to make a fundamental choice of “genre” which almost always leads to diminishing the difference in style, which undoubtedly exists, between the juvenile and the mature works to arrive at a total vision which illustrates the significance, at once intimate and universal, of these dances, which are almost a personal diary of the composer. In this, De Maria follows the historical line of the three complete works recorded by Rubinstein, a line from which few musicians have diverged (and in this we may recall the very unusual and intelligent reading of Ashkenazy). The third CD of Decca’s box is dedicated to other milestones of Chopin’s creative course, and I particularly admire the equilibrium and poetic definition of the Fantaisie Op.49, one of the most complex moments of his work, and the brilliant and intense reading of the three Rondeaux Op.1, 5, 16 and of the neglected Bolero. I would not have included among the works to be recorded the Rondeau in C major (1828) in the version for a single piano, published posthumously by Fontana in 1858 in the deservedly better known version by the composer for two pianos, much richer in the effects which justify the drawing room inspiration of the piece.
Luca Chierici, Classic Voice, March 2012
"...the conclusion of an exciting voyage begun five years ago with a prestigious recording of the Etudes..."In time out of mind I don’t believe there has been an edition of the complete piano works of Chopin entrusted to an Italian pianist by an important record company. Both Decca and De Maria have kept their promise and today we are in possession of a voluminous heritage of unquestionable artistic value, the conclusion of an exciting trip begun five years ago with a prestigious recording of the Etudes. We well know that the Mazurkas are one of the most complex areas to tackle, as there are so many criteria that the performer must keep in mind for a correct interpretation. In the case of a recording of the complete works it is also necessary to make a fundamental choice of “genre” which almost always leads to diminishing the difference in style, which undoubtedly exists, between the juvenile and the mature works to arrive at a total vision which illustrates the significance, at once intimate and universal, of these dances, which are almost a personal diary of the composer. In this, De Maria follows the historical line of the three complete works recorded by Rubinstein, a line from which few musicians have diverged (and in this we may recall the very unusual and intelligent reading of Ashkenazy). The third CD of Decca’s box is dedicated to other milestones of Chopin’s creative course, and I particularly admire the equilibrium and poetic definition of the Fantaisie Op.49, one of the most complex moments of his work, and the brilliant and intense reading of the three Rondeaux Op.1, 5, 16 and of the neglected Bolero. I would not have included among the works to be recorded the Rondeau in C major (1828) in the version for a single piano, published posthumously by Fontana in 1858 in the deservedly better known version by the composer for two pianos, much richer in the effects which justify the drawing room inspiration of the piece.
Luca Chierici, Classic Voice, March 2012
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