Piano Concerto No. 1; Nocturnes Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8; Ballade No 1; Polonaise No. 6.

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1; Nocturnes Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8; Ballade No 1; Polonaise No. 6. Maurizio Pollini, piano; Paul Kletzki, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 67549 2.

I first discovered Maurizio Pollini's 1960 rendering of Chopin's First Piano Concerto in the mid-60s, and it has been among my top-ten favorite recordings ever since. I've owned two vinyl editions and now three different CDs from EMI, counting this newest "Great Recordings of the Century" edition. The only recording of the work that has impressed as much since then is Martha Argerich's 1998 one, also on EMI, with Dutoit and his Montreal players.

In the first movement, Pollini is in equal measure poetic and heroic. He strikes every note with uncluttered assurance and conveys a mood of unlimited tranquility. Chopin himself described the second movement as "... calm and melancholy, giving the impression of someone looking gently towards a spot which calls to mind a thousand happy memories. It is a kind of reverie in the moonlight on a beautiful spring evening." Such is Pollini's account, which lingers dreamily in the moonlight more than any other account. In the final movement, the Rondo Vivace, the interpretation is appropriately playful and vigorous. The accompanying shorter works, recorded in 1970, lend added value to this mid-price bargain.

I hear little sonic improvement in this reissue over its previous release on EMI Classics. It is certainly not in the same league as the newer Argerich rendering, which is richer, smoother, quieter, and more refined, although the actual piano sound of the older version may be a tad better focused and a bit more crisply defined. The 1960 orchestral sound is soft and warm, with only marginal transparency, air, or depth. It is not demo fare but private stock for private listening.

Anyway, this re-release affords me an opportunity once again to recommend it to you. It remains one of the great performances on records, and as such, cannot be faulted. Pollini's soaring lyricism should be a part of every classical collector's library.

Delius: ...