Fryderyk CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Ballade in F minor Op.52 (1842) [11:06]
Impromptu in A flat major Op.29 (c.1837) [3:55]
Impromptu in F sharp major Op.36 (1839) [5:50]
Impromptu in G flat major Op.51 (1842) [5:18]
24 Preludes Op.28 (1834-39) [38:12]
Thomas Prat (piano)
rec. 2020, Centre Européen, Otrębusy, Poland
DUX 1687 [65:09]
This is an album about the pianist; the short booklet notes merely list the admittedly familiar contents of the recital then give us three paragraphs about Thomas Prat. Perhaps not surprisingly as this is to showcase Prat who was the first prize winner of the 4th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Amateur Pianists held in 2018. He studied with Jean Marie Cottet in Paris and later with Alicia de Larrocha pupil Eric Vidonne and along the way he benefited from the expertise of Anne Quéffelec and Eugen Indjic. His life took a different path though and he turned to engineering and applied mathematics at the École Centrale Paris; he continued performing however, playing to audiences as widespread as Milan and Shanghai.
The main thing that is evident straight away is the poised elegance of his Chopin; just listen to the opening of the ballade or the third impromptu, both with tasteful rubato and an admirable lilt to the phrases. He carries a melody well and for all his virtuosity does not turn the outer sections of the first impromptu into an study, reserving that for the more extrovert preludes, the tempestuous G sharp minor or B flat minor for instance. If I am not convinced by the running semiquavers of the D major prelude, which is correct but lacking Chopin's inner voicing, I am bowled over by his thrilling F sharp minor. He occasionally brings a heaviness to his playing that works well in the E major prelude but makes the central section of the second impromptu a little ponderous for my taste. The lilt found in the ballade is also present in his lovely version of the A flat prelude and he evidently responds well to the dramatic impetuousness of the F minor and G minor preludes and the nobility of the C minor. Some things fail to take flight for me; the E flat prelude and the close of the ballade where I wanted a little more sense of urgency or freedom but then he brings us a tumultuous and cascading final prelude in a marvellous performance; this is only let down by the final notes where he pedals the plummeting arpeggio into the tolling low notes making a sound that is ugly rather than threatening.
Recorded sound is full and rich allowing for plenty of detail and on the whole this is committed and warm hearted playing; I enjoyed his performances despite the little niggles I have and some playing here, the third impromptu or the A flat major and F sharp minor preludes, is really appealing.
Rob Challinor
