Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849)
David Wilde Plays Chopin - Vol. III
David Wilde (piano)
rec. 2013-15, Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
DELPHIAN DCD34159 [64:36]
David Wilde continues to perform the most personal Chopin
of any living pianist. “Personal” is a word which here means
“in a style like no-one else”. After the death of his wife
Jane, Wilde turned to Chopin to express his grief, in a recital (Wilde
Plays Chopin Vol. II) which I described as “the most intense,
idiosyncratic, personal Chopin recital to be recorded in years …
a devastating document.” This follow-up begins just where the
last volume left off. It is just as bold, just as daring and it is strongly
influenced by the emotional stage of its performer’s life.
Wilde declares what he is about on the first track, the nocturne in
C minor, Op. 48 No. 1. This is generally considered the most tragic
of Chopin’s nocturnes, and it’s also my favourite. David
Wilde’s performance is slow, heavy, funereal and filled with long
pauses. It builds to a tremendous dark power, undeniably awe-inspiring.
This nocturne clocks in at 8:17. I have scoured the nearly one hundred
performances available on Naxos Music Library: Wilde’s is the
slowest of all. It may well be the slowest ever recorded. Only Garrick
Ohlsson, on Hyperion, comes close. Both are great performances.
Wilde offers us the savage Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44, a warlike
performance which almost never relents in its attack. Then we move immediately
to the wallowing of a long, elegiac waltz in A minor. His performance
of the famous Etude Op. 10 No. 3 is slow enough that its consoling,
healing melody is infused with melancholy.
There are moments of light in this album, however. Also there are more
major-key works than last time, perhaps as the pianist continues to
recover from his grief. Wilde now gives us the “Minute”
Waltz and the short, jolly Ecossaises. The “Military” polonaise,
with the occasional grandly sweeping arpeggiated chord, is mostly presented
at maximum volume and maximum swagger. Wilde seems more at home in the
sunny, consoling trio of Scherzo No. 2 than in the stormy outer sections.
Maybe I am wrong to interpret these Chopin recitals as a personal diary
of the stages of David Wilde’s grief. In any event, listening
to them feels almost intrusive, so personal and so intimate are they.
Although the sound quality is not perfectly state-of-the-art, I have
to urge any Chopin enthusiast to listen to this. There is nothing else
like it.
Brian Reinhart
Track listing
Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1 [8:17]
Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 [4:32]
Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 [4:08]
Waltz in D flat, Op. 64 No. 1, “Minute” [1:50]
Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31 [10:31]
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44 [11:55]
Valse in A minor, Op. 34 No. 2 [5:59]
Mazurka in B flat, Op. 7 No. 1 [2:33]
Mazurka in A minor, Op. 7 No. 2 [3:36]
Three Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3 [2:40]
Polonaise in A, Op. 40 No. 1, “Military” [5:01]
Valse in A flat, Op. 69 No. 1 [3:33]
