Catalogue Connection: 25752

This programme shows intelligent planning. A chronological approach saves us having to hear the four Ballades, Scherzi and so on back-to-back: and selective rather than comprehensive coverage means we don’t have to wade through the uncharacteristic Rondos, Variations on ‘La ci darem la mano’ and the First Sonata.

Burkard Schliessmann’s exhaustive booklet note explains his approach. Perhaps following up his earlier Bach release on the Divine Art label, he favours ‘crystalline clarity’ over ‘falsely applied emotionalism: Hence the sturdy rather than discreetly balanced accompaniments, the sober rather than soaring melody-lines, and the absence of featherweight or overwhelming extremes.

Try sampling the Preludes, pieces on which the booklet lays much emphasis. The slow ones are quite quick, the fast ones (Nos 5, 8, 16, 19. 23 and 24) slow and cautious-sounding. Could this be a symptom of Schliessmann’s deliberately moderate Baroque tempi? Persistent left-before-right is a matter of taste, but altered rhythms in No 1, semi-staccato left hand in No 3 (where the score has slurs), over-pedalled and uneven passagework in No 8, and incompletely balanced chords (here and elsewhere) are harder to justify.

Much thought must have gone into this set, recorded over six years, and the sound-quality is magnificent. However, for a more traditional view in this ferociously competitive market consider Valerie Tryon’s rival issue Chopin: .A Chronological Journey (APR 3071,3 CDs).

Ever since music started being recorded way back at the end of the nineteenth century, Chopin’s piano works have always been blessed with an unending torrent of interpretations by some of history’s greatest performers. To our great joy and delight, these legendary renditions have been captured on disc or some other musical medium to be left for posterity; so, one may ask, what is so new about this 3 CD set under review? From a musical point of view, Burkard Schliessmann interprets the various pieces with a lovely and singing tone, and his phrasing, which in Chopin is wholly pivotal, is imaginative and deeply probing.

What makes this project so interesting is the sequence of how these works were planned for taping, hence the name of the album. Chronological Chopin offers the listener fourteen masterpieces from Chopin’s oeuvre in the historical order of composition, thus giving one the opportunity to delve into the spirit of one of history’s most fragile and sensitive composers, and discover bit by bit the evolving process of his art and innermost emotional turmoil as they unfolded throughout his short life.

Schliessmann’s music making has much to admire, and his pianistic finesse and keyboard gentleness suit Chopin’s poetic inventions to perfection. Indeed, his flawless pianistic sheen has an unfailing poise and lucidity that puts him at the forefront of today’s leading pianists. The soloist must also be lauded for his exhilarating essay that encapsulates both the technical and historical aspects of the music with unbridled mastery.

An innovative Chopin adventure in luscious sound and presentation which I recommend unreservedly, even to the composer’s most ardent admirers.

Chopin is one of the favorite composer of piano virtuoso Burkard Schliessmann. In his new recording ” Chronological Chopin ” ( Divine Art), the internationally renowned pianist takes on three CDs a very enlightening journey through the works of Chopin, from the early Scherzo op. 20 and the Ballade op. 23 on the 24 Preludes, Op. 28 to towards the late Polonaise – Fantaisie op . 61.

Here Schliessmann emphasises the intimate essence of the music but without sentimentality . His playing is spirited and brilliant, but shuns the external effect – this is music of noblesse instead of glittering mirage! Every sound is at the right depth, is illuminated in its context, never losing sight of the overall piece . But what most impressed is the almost Bachian clarity with which Schliessmann reveals the structures and lines of Chopin’s composition.