The first of a promised
handful of Cortot-Chopin discs brings
us the much less well-known 1926 traversal
of the Op.28 Preludes. Collectors will
know the 1933/34 set, which is on Philips
and may well be aware of the 1942 set
on EMI but the earliest of the trio,
this early electric album, is something
of a rarity. So it’s good to have it
corralled here with some other less
recognised examples of Cortot’s art.
In respect of the latter recordings,
especially the post-War ones, I should
alert you to the fact that there is
no overlap with APR’s excellent Cortot
disc devoted to recordings made after
his re-emergence following his disgraceful
conduct during the War.
All the highest qualities
and felicities are here in the Preludes.
A warm, singing tone, legato, daemonic
drive and an almost unparalleled oceanic
sense of space, though never one that
is unduly lingering. The A minor [No.2]
has a sense almost of improvisatory
quickness along with its gravity. The
E major [No.9] is a stupendous feat
of digital control and vivid imagination,
the D flat major dramatic, animated
by Cortot’s bass power. The sixteenth
in B flat minor is played with commanding,
almost sovereign control; the F minor
[No.18] is animated by profound rhythmic
incision. Maybe he cuts off the pedal
at the end of the E minor [No.4] rather
too early and grades the climaxes with
individualistic timing but the results,
notwithstanding this or the finger slips
in, say, No.21 in B flat major (probably
the most obvious example) are still
kaleidoscopic in their surveying of
the emotive landscape of the Preludes.
The companion records
are no less worthy of note. His 1950
remake of the D flat major Prelude [No.15]
is a touch slower than the 1926 recording
though the recording is a quarter of
a century more up-to-date. The Impromptus
– his only recording undertaking of
them - are delicious in their whimsical
colouration and the Tarantelle will
be new to CD collectors as it’s never
been made available in this form before.
The transfers preserve
the upper frequencies, especially in
the 1926 Preludes, to impressive effect.
Some have more shellac noise than others
but listening pleasure is not at all
impaired. This is a cannily chosen selection;
leading with the 1926 Preludes and the
Tarantelle will whet many an appetite
and rightly so.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review by
Dominy
Clements
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Alfred Cortot (piano) 
